Celebrating 55 years at the Environmental Center

At the Environmental Center, we love to find reasons to celebrate. Whether it’s walking in the CU Homecoming Parade or congratulating an ECenter alumni on an awesome job they got after graduation, there are many ways to reflect on our work and why we do what we do here.  

And guess what, this year, we are celebrating longevity and symmetry... it’s our 55th Anniversary! How cool is that? In honor of 55 years, we thought it would be fun to look back at some of the milestones along our journey and the many sustainability “Firsts” we’ve accomplished here at CU and the Environmental Center.        

1970- First global Earth Day Teach-in united CU students to form the EcoCenter 

1976- CU Students start the first collegiate recycling program in the nation 

1991- The Bus Pass Program begins- it's the first national bus program supported by student fees 

1994- CU buys more recycled paper than virgin paper for the first time  

2000- The Blueprint for a Green Campus is issued  

2000- Environmental Center successfully works to pass first-in-the-nation student fee vote funding wind energy power of UMC, Rec Center and Wardenburg  

2004- The first solar panels on campus are installed on the UMC 

2004- The CU Bike Station opens, and new bicycle programs are initiated 

2005- Sustainable CU referendum passes, creating student-fee funded E-Center administered campus sustainability improvement grant program 

2005- First zero waste event on campus when recycling is collected at Global Jam 

2008- CUSG requires all student-funded food/dining events to be Zero Waste 

2008- CU Athletics Department commits to Zero Waste football games and launches Ralphie’s Green Stampede in partnership with Environmental Center and Facilities Management 

2009- CU is ranked the nation's #1 Eco-friendly college by the Sierra Club 

2010- SCORE student run energy assessment program created 

2011- CU receives the nation's first Sustainability Tracking and Assessment Rating System (STARS) Gold rating for environmental leadership 

2012- CU Bike Program opened a second bike station, the Folsom Bike Station outside the Engineering Center entrance 

2012- Innovation Lab premiered a partnership with Deming Center for Entrepreneurship 

2014- CU Boulder hosted national Sports Sustainability Summit attended by athletes, coaches and sustainability professionals from across collegiate and professional sports 

2015- The Recycling Operations Center (ROC) opens, designed to increase landfill diversion rate and reach 90% diversion goal 

2015- Environmental Center began new Eco-Social Justice Leadership Program with professional staff supporting student work in Environmental Justice 

2015- Sustainable CU funded the installation of campus pollinator gardens in conjunction with the Environmental Design Program 

2016- CU Boulder is recognized with Gold Bicycle University award from League of American Bicyclists 

2016- CU Green Labs Program was recognized by the International Institute of Sustainable Labs with their “Go Beyond Award” 

2017- Environmental Center piloted PIPs Rewards program which rewards students for sustainable actions on campus with “positive impact points”, redeemable for gift cards and other prizes 

2018- CU Recycling worked with non-profit partners to divert 44 tons of materials from student move-out (more than double the tons diverted in 2012) 

2018- CU Boulder campus waste diversion (measured as weight of material kept out of landfills through recycling, composting, and reusable drive) on campus topped 50% for the first time ever 

2019- CU Boulder won the PAC-12 Zero Waste Challenge, awarded to the campus that diverts the most material from a single season football game, for the second year in a row 

2019- Environmental Center Transportation Program partners with Boulder B-Cycle to provide free bike-share memberships to students 

2019- CU Boulder becomes first university in the nation to commit to the United Nations Sports for Climate Action Framework 

2020- First President's Sustainable Solutions Challenge with cash prizes from CU President’s Office for student-led sustainable innovations for CU’s campuses, held online in 2020 in conjunction with the Campus Sustainability Summit  

2021- Chancellor issues Campus Call to Climate Action 

2022- First Sustainable Solutions Showcase, with student cash prizes sponsored by Mission Zero 

2025- Green Graduation Pledge of Social and Environmental Responsibility taken by more than 750 graduates at CU Boulder 

Those are just a few of the highlights from the past 55 years for CU and the Environmental Center. Together, we can continue the work of making CU and our world a more sustainable place to live. If you’d like to get involved, check out some opportunities with the ECenter.