Like many other schools and organization, The University of Texas at Austin faces a near future in which entities of all sizes are held to greater accountability for their environmental impact. The university’s road to sustainability has produced a number of positive outcomes, both environmentally and economically, yet a number of barriers remain and are complicated by the university’s vast size. However daunting a task, more centralized efforts on the part of the school’s top-level governance is necessary to capitalize on existing and untapped energies among the faculty, student, and staff in order to further mitigate the school’s large carbon footprint. The challenge and complexity of becoming a sustainable institution in terms of reducing emissions and waste entails setting aggressive targets and goals among the school’s governance, academics, and operations over the next several decades.