Sustainability is a core value for Cascadia. We show this through our waste reduction, LEED certified buildings, reduced energy and printing waste, support in education across the curriculum, and of course, our impressive campus grounds! Cascadia College was featured in the Herbicide-Free Campus annual report, a project at the non-profit Earth Island Institute, as one of the few exemplary pesticide-free campuses in the US. The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) has recognized our Bothell campus as the #1 campus in the nation for Sustainable Grounds since 2018!
Cascadia’s Cornucopia Food Forest is an integrated learning project that creates opportunities for students from multiple disciplines to engage in and learn about permaculture, won the 2021 AASHE Campus Sustainability Achievement Award, recognizing outstanding progress in higher education sustainability, and Cascadia won the 2024 Water Stewardship award from the Puget Sound Business Journal. In addition, Cascadia hosts a campus farm and a restored 58-acre wetland, the second largest wetland restoration on the west coast in 2000.
Degree Concentration in Sustainability
The Sustainability Degree Concentration is an integrated, multi-disciplinary program focused on value driven solutions for society. The Sustainability Concentration provides students with a widespread understanding of the complex, interconnected challenges surrounding sustainability, including environmental, social, cultural, and economic issues such as resource and supply management, climate change, business and transportation efficiency, and inequality.
Students in any program may select Sustainability (SU) designated courses throughout their education that help develop and enrich their understanding of how sustainability efforts impact the planet and deepen their understanding of the issues society is facing. Through a selection of designated courses, students will deepen their knowledge of these global issues and develop critical skills in problem-solving, empathy building, resilience, systems thinking, and creative innovation needed to achieve both long-term and short-term goals. By applying their learning to real-world solutions, students will be prepared to contribute meaningfully to sustainable practices across industries, whether in business, policymaking, or community-based initiatives. Regardless of their academic or career path, an understanding of sustainability provides any student with a competitive advantage. Students will apply their knowledge and creativity to developing solutions for the future.
The Sustainability Concentration can be achieved through select Sustainability (SU) designated elective courses without adding any additional coursework.
For information on the Sustainability Concentration contact Cascadia’s sustainable programs office: sustainability@cascadia.edu