Back to Sustainability at Trinity

Current Goals and Recent Accomplishments

Trinity’s current sustainability goals include:

  1. Operations
    1. Reduce waste, increase reuse, and improve recycling and compost rates
    2. Improve infrastructure, energy, and water efficiency
    3. Cultivate sustainable purchasing decisions
  2. Research, Teaching, and Learning
    1. Encourage integration of sustainability into the academic curriculum and academic research
    2. Create a Sustainability Experiential Certificate

 

Trinity has achieved STARS Silver status! Read more here.

In the last few years, Trinity made a lot of progress on our sustainability goals. Some of our biggest accomplishments can be found below.

Campus Operations

  • Water Bottle Filling Stations
    • Trinity has added bottle filling stations to all but 2 dorms (construction in process on those) and many academic and administrative buildings. You can see all of the locations on the campus map.
  • Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
    • Trinity has 6 EV charging ports on campus open to the public
      • 4 are located in the Crescent St. Lot
      • 2 are located in the Admissions Lot
      • We have 2 additional ports at Facilities specifically for our fleet vehicles
  • Low Mow Zones
    • Trinity has three low mow zones on campus to encourage biodiversity. They are mowed only 1-2 times per year.Trinity's Low Mow Zone

 

  • Food N Stuff
    • In Fall 2025, Food N Stuff moved to a bigger location in Mather Hall in the Cave Community Room

Research, Teaching, and Learning

  • Created a Sustainability Internship for credit
  • Collaborated with CTL for an event called Teaching About Sustainability
  • Increased the number of departments that offer sustainability related courses
  • Increased the number of departments that do sustainability related research

Waste

  • Significantly increased percentage of items collected during Ditch the Dumpster
    • 137.5% increase in mini-fridges
    • 76% increase in lamps
    • 83.3% increase in fans
  • New initiative in Fall 2025 to recycle bottles and cans
    • Collected about 1900 bottles and cans
  • Trinity College Bookstore committed to stop using plastic bags at checkout
  • Offer reusable containers at the dining hall to reduce take-out waste

Community Engagement

  • Did sustainability training during orientation for
    • RAs
    • Orientation Leaders
    • First Year Seminar Mentors
    • PRIDE leaders
    • International Students
    • First Generation Students and Summit to Success
  • Hosted a Sustainable Careers Panel in Fall 2025 with 3 Trinity alumni who spoke about their journeys from Trinity to their careers in sustainable fields
  • Created the Sustainable Athletics Representatives Program to engage student athletes in sustainability
    • Each team is encouraged to designate one or two athletes to be their sustainability reps and lead their teams towards more sustainable behaviors