Siena University: What Are We Doing?

In March 2024, the Siena University Board of Trustees declared an "unwavering support for efforts for initiatives aimed at deepening the understanding of and response to the environmental crisis..."

Siena University has two LEED certified buildings on campus, Rosetti Hall and the Trustco Bank Center. Rosetti Hall features solar panels and a geothermal heating and air conditioning system. The Trustco Bank Center features solar panels supplying 40% of its electricity. Gioia Hall also operates with a geothermal heating and cooling system.

The Academic Center for Sustainability provides opportunities and facilitates sustainability education and scholarship. Our mission is to work across all academic disciplines to equip the Siena community with knowledge, tools, and opportunities to create a more just, peaceful and humane world for both people and planet.

Siena University's School of Business is a leader in addressing societal impact and sustainable development using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Read more about their accreditation and MBA program initiatives at the links below!

Creative arts are a powerful way to express important values. Siena's creative arts department has used the stage as a platform to promote care for our common home.

A green revolving fund (GRF) provides capital for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and/or sustainability projects that generate cost savings. The majority of the funds are invested in high return on investment (ROI) projects; the savings are calculated and added back to the fund, so it grows over time.

Siena University seeks to become a Zero Waste Campus. Created by Siena Sustainability Scholars, this plan provides a framework and goals to reduce the campus waste to zero. Read the plan here:

Standish Library on the Siena campus is journeying to become a certified sustainable library through the Sustainable Libraries Initiative Certification Program. Standish Library works with Better World Books to ensure books are recycled properly, limiting paper print jobs, increasing recycling of paper, plastic and metals in the facility, and installing a water filling station.

In March 2024, the Siena Research Institute conducted a survey among New York State residents on their beliefs and opinions on environmental policies and issues.