At the University of Notre Dame, we are committed to caring for our common home. Through the power of partnerships and collaboration, action is being taken today to ensure enhanced energy efficiency and resiliency for tomorrow. While we know we still have much work to do, we’ve made great progress. This timeline of major events demonstrates that progress. Thanks to the dedication and commitment of campus and community partners, we are paving the way to a more sustainable future for the University and the greater community.
2001: Warren Golf Course achieves Audubon Certification, making it one of only eight golf courses in the state of Indiana to receive this distinction. Warren maintains this certification today. The Cooperative Sanctuary Program helps golf courses to both protect the environment and also to preserve the natural components of the golfing tradition. To reach Audubon certification, course personnel demonstrate that they are maintaining a high degree of environmental quality in categories such as environmental planning, wildlife & habitat management, outreach & education, chemical use reduction and safety, water conservation, and water quality management.
2008: Then University president, Rev. John Jenkins, C.S.C., declares sustainability a major goal for Notre Dame. Initial implementation plan includes energy conservation measures: lighting replacement, HVAC controls and set temperature points, water conservation, energy metering, and building design standards.
2009: Notre Dame commits to renovating 24 older campus buildings, with an expected reduction of over 4,000 metric tons of carbon emissions annually.
2010: Four newly constructed buildings receive LEED Gold certifications: Geddes, Ryan, Stinson-Remick, and Leighton. Going forward, all new construction has a building standard of achieving a LEED certification.
2010: Notre Dame reduces coal consumption by 50 percent.
2011: New electric vehicle (EV) charging stations are installed on campus, supporting EV commuters.
2011: Solar panels are installed atop Stinson-Remick Hall of Engineering.
2011: A solar array is installed atop Fitzpatrick Hall of Engineering
2013: New LED lighting system in the Purcell Pavilion arena at the Joyce Center reduces energy consumption by 73 percent, saving 469,000 kilowatt hours annually—the equivalent of removing 63 passenger cars from the road.
2015: The Pope’s encyclical, Laudato Si’, is published, calling us to care for our common home.
2015: Then University president, Rev. John Jenkins, C.S.C., responds to Laudato Si' and announces the University’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions by more than half in 2030 and cease burning coal by 2020.
2016: The East Campus geothermal system is installed near McCourtney Hall.
2017: A former coal ash pile is remediated to become the Charles B. Hayes Sculpture Park. The Sculpture Park is now one of the most biodiverse spots on campus. Located in the Arts District on the edge of campus, this natural landscape holds hundreds of species of flora and fauna and mimics a prairie grass landscape. In addition to its biodiversity, the park serves as a water retention basin to reduce flooding and return water to local aquifers.
The park displays sculptures by artists that include Jaume Plensa, Fr. Austin Collins, and Jenny Holzer. The Sculpture Garden is a part of the University's greater vision for a "greenbelt" to create a natural southern entrance to campus.
2017: The Kenmore Solar Array is established in South Bend.
2018: Basilica LED lighting renovation reduces energy consumption by 78 percent—the equivalent of planting 24 acres of trees per year.
2018: The East Plant is developed for a thermal energy production and storage facility constructed on the northeast edge of campus. This storage system provides an efficient and cost-effective way for the University to meet campus peak energy needs by supplementing operating chillers during peak energy use hours. The East Plant also houses the mechanical equipment for new geothermal well fields and can provide up to 16,000 ton hours of chilled water.
2018: Indiana's largest green roof is installed atop the Joyce Center. At 68,000 square feet, this roof helps to insulate the Joyce by retaining heat and A/C, reduce heat island effects, support biodiversity, and sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
2019: The University and the Vatican co-sponsor the conference “The Energy Transition and Care for Our Common Home.”
2019: Notre Dame ceases burning coal a year ahead of schedule.
2019: Three Grind2Energy systems are established to reroute food waste from the landfill. The rerouted waste is sent to a local farm to be anaerobically digested, producing enough biogas to power 1,000 homes per hour. Notre Dame's campus has G2E systems on-site at North and South Dining Halls, as well as the Center for Culinary Excellence.
2019: University Power Plant installs combined cycle combustion gas turbines to produce electricity and steam. This system replaces older power plant boilers with more efficient, lower emission-producing sources of energy.
2020: Modeled after the Grotto of Lourdes, France, the Grotto is a peaceful place for quiet prayer, meditation, and reflection. Students, faculty, staff, and community members visit the Grotto to light a candle, pray, or enjoy a time of peace. Each year, approximately 250,000 candles are burned. When it was realized that the candle jars couldn't be reused or recycled because of the remaining wax residue, the University partnered with a company that washes them, allowing them to be refilled by our candle supplier. This effort prevents nearly a quarter of a million glass jars from ending up in the landfill each year. The jars are used indefinitely, unless a jar becomes damaged.
2020: Two additional geothermal well systems are installed near Ricci Family Fields and Notre Dame Stadium Lot.
2021: The University of Notre Dame officially commits to becoming a carbon-neutral campus by 2050.
2021: The University is a founding partner in the Saint Joseph Solar Farm, making the project possible by agreeing to purchase 40% of the annual renewable energy certificates for thirty 30 years. The 210-acre solar farm is located off campus and operated by Indiana Michigan Power.
2022: Hydroelectric facility along the St. Joseph River commences operation and produces approximately seven percent of the electricity needed to power campus, depending on how high the water is flowing along the river.
2023: A fourth geothermal well field is completed in the Joyce Lot.
2023: Additional EV chargers are installed across campus parking lots to support the growing number of EV campus commuters and visitors.
2023: Below the trees throughout Notre Dame’s parking lots, the University utilized silva cells during lot construction. These cells are grid-like systems that allow tree roots to grow freely underground without disrupting the pavement. Having healthy trees among paved areas and walking paths helps to reduce heat island effects and absorb water to reduce severity of flooding events.
2024: University announces new on-campus solar array installation begins. The project will reduce emissions by up to 700 tons of carbon annually—the equivalent of avoiding 777,570 pounds of coal being burned.
2024: Notre Dame's fifth geothermal well installation begins in the southeast district of campus near Jordan Hall of Science, and construction of the Southeast Geothermal Plant for campus commences.
2024: Notre Dame achieves 49 percent carbon reduction (2005 baseline).
2025: Notre Dame is officially recgonized as a Tree Campus by the Arbor Day Foundation.
Our carbon reduction efforts are not finished. We are actively striving to achieve our goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. As we progress, this timeline will be updated to reflect the work we've completed. In the meantime, we continue collaborating with campus and community partners to further our mission of caring for our common home.
Credits:
Created with an image by Adrian Grosu - "The pope blessing people"