Since UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Jean MacCormack signed on as one of the first to ratify the College and University President's Climate Change Initiative, our campus has been on a mission to become carbon neutral by 2050. The Sustainability Initiative and the Office of Campus and Community Sustainability came into being.

Sustainability endeavors on campus over the past three years have included increased recycling, the implementation of an energy savings contract, re-engineering of the campus generator, installation of pinpointed University heat and cooling controls, a food-waste composting system, a forestry management plan, and more. We've instituted a University's Green Jobs Training Center at Cove Street in New Bedford, where local unemployed and underemployed citizens are being taught weatherization skills under a $1 million grant from the Department of Energy.

In the process is the development of a "Sustainability Extension Service" which will connect South Coast residents with leadership and assistance in adopting green policies, business practices, and environmental law. These services will be offered at minimal cost to recipients and will allow University students to flex their skills in applied learning challenges.