Annual Sustainability Report
Each year, Caltech's Sustainability Office issues an annual report reviewing the Institute's progress toward enhancing campus sustainability. Progress in the six main sustainability focus areas of energy, water, materials, built environment, mobility, and emissions are chronicled in each year's report.
From the Chief Sustainability Officer
The theme of our 2022 annual report was one of patience in navigating volatility and short-term challenges while anticipation built for the promise of transformational change. We had all hoped that 2023 would bring the volatility and challenges to an end, but ongoing unplanned outages of the cogeneration plant and poor performance in waste management and recycling have proven to be persistent trends.
While it is easy to focus on these issues and their dampening or reversal of key performance indicators, that cursory review misses the steady progress and quick wins that portend a return to consequential change. Most importantly, the Sustainability Advisory Council began meeting in April 2023 and quickly moved to chart a path toward decarbonization of the campus energy systems. Work is already underway to source renewable electricity and more thoroughly engineer a conversion from steam to hot water. The new Resnick Sustainability Center really took shape with the completion of the mass-timber atrium, through which every Caltech undergraduate student will soon pass on their way to their introductory courses in green chemistry. This past year also saw the continued growth of the Green Labs program, the return of a reusable mug program at Caltech Dining, and the introduction of an e-bike rental program that all resulted from strong student engagement and coordination with the Sustainability Advisory Council.
The scientific method dictates that the path to breakthrough discoveries is neither linear nor predictable. The same is true of the path toward a more sustainable future. The needed reminder is that persistence, excellence, ambition, and rigor are the required prerequisites.
John Onderdonk; Assistant VP of Facilities Operations and Services, Chief Sustainability Officer
