Interdisciplinary Sustainability Studies Minor focuses on connections between society and environment. The Minor enrolls nearly 300 students and involves 50 faculty members. An introductory course covers sustainability concepts and a capstone course delves into systems thinking and resiliency. Capstone students undertake collaborative group projects addressing campus sustainability challenges. Examples of recent projects include conversion of fryer grease to biodiesel and social marketing for the campus energy conservation campaign. Elective courses explore sustainability from specific disciplinary perspectives.

In partnership with students, staff, and other partners like the Will Steger Foundation, Alliance for Sustainability, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, and Minnesota Zoo, the Minor sponsors events -- Global Warming Teach In, a seminar series, a Climate Change workshop for educators, an Earth Day celebration and workshops. Over 20 students groups are active in sustainability at the University, including Active Energy, the Minnesota Environmental Studies Club, Ecowatch, Greenlight (design), a green business club, MPIRG and Engineers Without Borders. During orientation week, 5,000 students attend sessions on campus sustainability and sustainability research and spend a day engaging in community outreach activities that include sustainability.

Other sustainability-related academic programs include the Environmental Design major, the Environment, Science, Policy and Management (ESPM) major and minor, a Corporate Environmental Management track within the ESPM major, and Sustainable Agriculture minor. Departments offering sustainability courses include Agronomy, Animal Science, Anthropology, Architecture, Civil Engineering, Conservation Biology, Education, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, English, Forestry, Landscape Architecture, Geography, Global Studies, Sociology, Public Health and Urban Studies. Students in the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs undertake an environmental sustainability semester focused on social change.

The Institute on the Environment (IonE) fosters interdisciplinary research on providing energy, food and freshwater to the world in sustainable, secure and economically viable ways. The 30 fellows in IonE’s resident fellows program are emerging leaders in science, technology, education and policy. IonE sponsors five ongoing initiatives:

• The Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment (IREE) provides $5 million to nearly 400 experts researching sustainable solutions to today’s renewable energy challenges. IREE’s mission includes developing sustainable, healthy and diverse ecosystems following a systems-based approach integrating scientific, economic and social perspectives. The annual E3 conference showcases current technologies, environmental benefits and market opportunities in renewable energy.
• The Initiative for Sustainable Enterprise (iSE) promotes collaboration among business, academic, government and nongovernmental sectors. Working across industries and disciplines, iSE 30 experts will develop high-demand, high-impact and timely approaches to sustainability, with a focus on stakeholder-driven research.
• The Global Landscapes Initiative supports research to understand extreme land use changes, to improve our ability to balance human needs with environmental stewardship, and to promote secure landscapes across the globe.
• The RiverLife program develops sustainable relationships between healthy rivers and healthy communities, drawing on case studies from the Mississippi and rivers across the globe to identify best practices in research, urban design and planning.
• Climate Central produces TV, Web and print content about climate change and has established an ongoing series on PBS’ NewsHour.