Wesleyan’s Sustainability Office is excited to release our campus’s 4th Sustainability Strategic Plan (SSP) annual report.
We invite you to view the full report at bit.ly/sspreport2026 (a text-only version is viewable at bit.ly/ssp2026text) and to read below for highlights.
Highlights from 2025-26:
Carbon
- Wesleyan’s carbon footprint is down 29% from our 2008 baseline (up from 32% in 2025).
- 76% of campus converted from steam to hot water heating, improving efficiency and laying the groundwork for net zero emissions for buildings (up from 70% in 2025).
- 21,918 rides on the XtraMile on-demand shuttle and River Valley Transit buses (up from 12,882 rides in 2025).
- Began a “carbon onsetting” partnership with Ecuador-based nonprofit Pachaysana to invest financially in “carbon onsetting,” which supports ecologically and socially sound economic development in the rural, indigenous, Amazonian community of Mushullakta.
Curriculum
- 79% of students participated in one or more sustainability activities (up from 64% in 2025).
- 2,382 students took one or more courses including sustainability (up 300 students from 2025).
- Through funding from the Bailey College of the Environment (BCOE), the Sustainability and Environmental Justice (S&EJ) initiative awarded stipends to 8 faculty course proposals. In part due to these efforts, 94% of departments included at least one sustainability course in the past three years.
- 50 students’ sustainability research and internships funded through Bailey College of the Environment and Gordon Career Center.
Community
- Student-run Garden Fest was a huge success in Spring 2026, with 55 student and community groups tabling. The event raised $1,500 for Amazing Grace Food Pantry
- The Community Matchbox project, which connects Wesleyan and the greater Middletown, expanded its student and community directories to 48 groups. Stay tuned this fall for exciting next steps with Matchbox.
- Bailey College of the Environment’s Rooted Solidarity initiative engaged over 500students, faculty, staff, and community members. statewide via workshops, meetings, and presentations and collaborations with the CT Food Sovereignty Collective.
Questions? Email Sustainability Director Jen Kleindienst.