This post was originally published on The Washington Informer

By Jada Ingleton

It’s been over a decade since Howard University (HU) first began to seriously engage in efforts to promote sustainability. Since then, the school has invested in new academic programs and campus facilities projects focused on carbon reduction, climate resilience and environmental justice.

From left: Second-year law student Morgan Taradash and law professor Carlton Waterhouse join Shalanda Baker, director of the Office of Energy Justice and Equity, to unpack the realities of energy and climate justice in a panel discussion at the Howard University School of Law on March 26. (Ja’Mon Jackson/The Washington Informer)
From left: Second-year law student Morgan Taradash and law professor Carlton Waterhouse join Shalanda Baker, director of the Office of Energy Justice and Equity, to unpack the realities of energy and climate justice in a panel discussion at the Howard University School of Law on March 26. (Ja’Mon Jackson/The Washington Informer)

Howard joined seven other District schools in signing the D.C. Mayor’s College and University Sustainability Pledge, which was first created in 2012 and updated in 2019. The pledge’s signers commit to working with each other and the District government to meet certain climate and environmental protection targets. 

“I think the biggest goal is to work with other entities within the Washington D.C. area, become a leader in the space – especially for Black and brown people – and then offer more at the university,” said Ariel Triplett, director of Emergency Management and Safety. “It’s about being green, being resilient…especially in an urban environment and underserved population.” 

Howard was one of the first HBCUs to introduce an environmental studies program, which the school launched as an interdisciplinary major in 2016. That same year, the school signed a deal with Volt Energy—a company founded by two HU alumni—to install solar panels on rooftops around campus in what was at the time D.C.’s largest on-site solar project.

The solar project was completed in 2020, but it was initially scheduled to be fully online three years earlier, according to a 2016 case study document by Edison Energy. Funding obstacles and other setbacks have required the university to adopt an incremental approach to many aspects of its sustainability agenda. However, after a decade-long journey, the support of local regulations and implementation of campus projects has proven that the grass, quite literally, is greener on the other side.

The 2020 Central Campus Master Plan outlines the university’s priorities for long-term improvements to its main campus, and environmental sustainability features as a core principle. The document includes recommendations for increasing greenery around campus, improving energy efficiency, creating more walkable spaces and preventing stormwater runoff. 

“So much is changing to create resilience for the university, and this is the best way to do it,” said Janelle Burke, interim chair of the Department of Earth, Environment, and Equity. “The community, the degrees we’ve built [and] the interaction with the Office of Sustainability has only grown. Of course, we can do better and we can keep growing…but we’re on a great trajectory.”

Some of the projects the institution currently lists in its plans to address conservation, climate change and waste management include: 

  • The creation of a steam plant, intended to lower the campus’s carbon footprint and further Howard’s energy-saving objectives
  • Installation of solar arrays in the West campus parking lot, which will power the Howard University School of Law, provide parking shade and decrease the reliance on electric methods
  • Strengthening the recycling program to combat waste management 

Earlier this spring, the university responded to a rat infestation issue related to compost bins on campus by demolishing both the bins and the student-run garden connected to them. 

Bison Community Environmentalism Beyond University-Funded Initiatives

Howard students and alumni also advance sustainability through several campus-based organizations and activities. Students can get involved in environmental action through the annual RecyleMania contest, the Howard chapter of conservation group Defend our Future and the Halo G.R.E.E.N Garden Club. 

Taylor Campbell, a junior political science major and Howard ambassador for Defend our Future, speaks to where she believes the biggest sustainability issue lies within her peers. 

“I think a lot of people are not aware of how environmental justice affects the Black community,” Campbell said. “As I started to learn more about diversity and some of the reasons why people in our community have different health concerns, it has a lot to do with environmental racism. I think to tackle the problem, you have to make sure people are aware that there even is a problem.” 

Students can learn about environmental justice and related issues through the new Department of Earth, Environment, and Equity (E3), which will welcome its first students next fall. According to Burke, learning your rights, understanding what’s harmful to you and examining how you can effectively change it will increase awareness about environmental injustices. She said that if it were up to her, sustainability would be one of the key pillars to Howard’s next strategic plan, post-2024. 

“We are the next generation of people to live this way, and [so are] our children, so [we need] to make sure that we make it clean and safe,” Campbell said. “Figure out how to change in your own community and how your [community] members can contribute to this. It’s going to impact you at some point, so whether you believe that or not, do the best thing for yourself and your loved ones.”

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