Carleton launches Sustainable Futures framework, furthering commitment to sustainability, climate action, and environmental justice
In push away from carbon neutrality goal, the College focuses on action, not offsets.
On October 24, the International Day of Climate Action, Carleton’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to adopt Sustainable Futures: Carleton’s Framework for Sustainability, Climate Action, and Environmental Justice. Through this bold new initiative, Carleton is doubling down on its long-standing efforts to reduce emissions through collective action, education, and infrastructure investments in the face of an urgent climate crisis.
Already a leader in sustainability in the higher education landscape, Carleton has demonstrated a commitment to climate action through significant investments in renewable energy and campus–community collaboration, as well as divestment from fossil fuels. The first college in the U.S. to install a utility-grade wind turbine (in 2004, adding a second in 2011), Carleton has reduced its direct operational and purchased fossil energy needs by 54% and 72%, respectively, since 2008 — beyond most institutions that have proclaimed carbon neutrality, which often relies on purchased offsets and renewable energy credits.
“Sustainable Futures is an ambitious, forward-thinking strategy that expands our long-standing efforts to reduce emissions, and to make Carleton a model for the integration of environmental education and sustainable practice,” President Alison Byerly said. “Carleton has been a nationally recognized leader in sustainability for many years, and is now forging a new path grounded in action, not offsets, to educate the next generation of citizens and leaders.”
The College achieved remarkable progress with its 2011 Climate Action Plan, the predecessor to Sustainable Futures that prioritized integrating sustainability into Carleton’s facilities and utility planning — including the construction of Minnesota’s first geothermal district energy system (in 2017), a LEED Platinum-certified integrated science complex (in 2019), and the first group of PHIUS-certified student housing buildings in the U.S. (in 2024) — and fostering a culture of operational sustainability.
That 2011 Climate Action Plan included a goal for the College to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 — a goal that was later advanced to 2025 — yet Sustainable Futures shifts away from this pursuit.
“Many leaders in climate action are moving away from focusing primarily on institutional carbon neutrality, as such goals typically rely on some proportion of carbon offsets, a strategy viewed with increasing skepticism from experts,” Byerly said. “Carleton will instead invest in a broad and ambitious array of solutions that support mitigation, adaptation, and environmental justice both on campus and in the community.”
While Carleton still aims to pursue the elimination of natural gas and greening the College’s electricity, moving away from carbon neutrality — which would have required purchasing carbon offsets — allows the College to pursue a broader and more ambitious suite of solutions that support mitigation, adaptation, and environmental justice with a scope of action not just on Carleton’s campus. Instead of narrowly focusing on reducing historically measured campus emissions, as is common in pursuing carbon neutrality, Carleton will instead invest its resources into educating climate leaders, measuring and addressing new emissions, and supporting broader transformation through work with community partners and those most impacted by the climate crisis.
A new Center for Sustainable Futures is planned to serve as a nexus for interdisciplinary and solutions-focused learning and collaboration, bringing campus leaders and learners together to deepen experiential learning while sharing their best thinking with one another, and with the nearby community.
Students, faculty, and staff have a long and successful history in connecting education to action and supporting complementary cultural change at Carleton, and the new center will support these efforts. Collaborative initiatives — such as the Food Recovery Network, Lighten Up, Empty Bowls, and Carleton’s support for the City of Northfield’s Climate Action Plan — provide students with high-impact experiences and apply the expertise on campus to the broader interests and needs of the community around Carleton.
“Even with these past successes, the Carleton community has felt urgency not only to continue, but to deepen the College’s response,” said Associate Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies Aaron Swoboda ’01, who co-led the working group that helped to develop the framework alongside Director of Sustainability Sarah Fortner. “Sustainable Futures places students and their education and experiences at the center of Carleton’s future.”
“This is about equipping faculty, staff, and students with the tools they need to unite and address real-world challenges, and to connect across academic and applied expertise to catalyze change,” Fortner added. “The solution to the climate crisis is not only about what we do as individuals or within organizations, but how we collaborate locally and through civic engagement for resilience and justice.”
About Carleton College
Consistently ranked among the nation’s top liberal arts institutions, Carleton is a private college of about 2,000 students located in Northfield, Minnesota, just 45 minutes south of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Nationally recognized as the nation’s top college for undergraduate teaching, Carleton is known for its academic rigor, intellectual curiosity, and sense of humor. Carleton offers 33 majors and 40 minors in the arts, humanities, natural sciences, mathematics, and social sciences. Learn more about Carleton on the College website.