State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Undergraduate Major in Sustainable Development11

  • Students Explore the World of Corporate Sustainability

    The Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development was pleased to host Katy Mixter, a program associate at Citigroup, on Friday November 8th at the fourth of six autumn brown bag events for undergraduates. The topic of sustainability in the private sector attracted both undergraduate and graduate students from various programs. Mixter, who works on Citi’s corporate…

  • Sustainable Development Seniors Gain Experience as Consultants

    As part of the fall semester Capstone Workshop in Sustainable Development, seniors in the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development have partnered with organizations in the New York area to work on a range of projects aimed at combatting challenges to sustainability. This semester’s clients include West Point Academy, the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, and West Harlem…

  • Passion for Recycling Propels CC Graduate’s Career

    Passion for Recycling Propels CC Graduate’s Career

    “What I enjoy most about my job,” said Silverstein, “is the satisfaction I get out of knowing that my efforts to drive Amgen’s recycling program yield results that have a direct effect on our planet, by reducing the amount of material sent to landfills. The challenge is generating innovative ways to bring value to our…

  • “Green Bling” and Other Sustainable Architecture Insights

    Students in the Undergraduate Program for Sustainable Development were joined by the Columbia community at large to hear Ilana Judah, Senior Associate and Director of Sustainability at FXFOWLE Architects, speak on sustainable architecture.

  • Students Explore Sustainable Agriculture at McEnroe Farm

    The McEnroe Farm opened in the late 1980s, with the help of the McEnroe and Durst families of Duchess County, who had a shared vision for the future of sustainable agriculture. Over time, their endeavor has grown from a small farm with a roadside stand to one of the largest organic farms in the Northeast,…

  • Fall Semester Kicks-off with a Welcome Mixer

    By: Deborah Sachare Returning students in the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development joined new students and faculty for hors d’oeuvres at a Welcome Mixer this past September. The annual mixer, held each fall, “is always a great chance for our faculty and students to connect at the beginning of another exciting and busy academic year,”…

  • Students Work on Net Zero Energy to Adaptation Planning Projects

    By Noah Morgenstein This past May, seniors in the Capstone Workshop in Sustainable Development delivered their final presentations to fellow students and faculty at Columbia University. The workshop is a required course for students in the Sustainable Development major or special concentration. Unlike traditional courses, the workshop requires students to work collaboratively on a client project…

  • Of Cow Dung, Cook Stoves and Sustainability in Practice

    Of Cow Dung, Cook Stoves and Sustainability in Practice

    When the Environmental Defense Fund asked me to measure how biogas cook stoves were changing the lives of farmers in rural India, there wasn’t a word in that question with which I was comfortable. Having just graduated from the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development, I had never done fieldwork; and the concept of a biogas…

  • Students Tour Via Verde, New York’s Most Sustainable Urban Housing in the Bronx

    By Noah Morgenstein This May, students in the Master of Science in Sustainability Management and the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development toured Via Verde, one of New York’s greenest housing complexes. From the photovoltaic solar panels to the rooftop gardens and water reclamation system, Via Verde embodies many of the practical approaches to sustainable development that…

Banner: Climate Week NYC 2025, September 21-28, 2025
  • Students Explore the World of Corporate Sustainability

    The Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development was pleased to host Katy Mixter, a program associate at Citigroup, on Friday November 8th at the fourth of six autumn brown bag events for undergraduates. The topic of sustainability in the private sector attracted both undergraduate and graduate students from various programs. Mixter, who works on Citi’s corporate…

  • Sustainable Development Seniors Gain Experience as Consultants

    As part of the fall semester Capstone Workshop in Sustainable Development, seniors in the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development have partnered with organizations in the New York area to work on a range of projects aimed at combatting challenges to sustainability. This semester’s clients include West Point Academy, the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, and West Harlem…

  • Passion for Recycling Propels CC Graduate’s Career

    Passion for Recycling Propels CC Graduate’s Career

    “What I enjoy most about my job,” said Silverstein, “is the satisfaction I get out of knowing that my efforts to drive Amgen’s recycling program yield results that have a direct effect on our planet, by reducing the amount of material sent to landfills. The challenge is generating innovative ways to bring value to our…

  • “Green Bling” and Other Sustainable Architecture Insights

    Students in the Undergraduate Program for Sustainable Development were joined by the Columbia community at large to hear Ilana Judah, Senior Associate and Director of Sustainability at FXFOWLE Architects, speak on sustainable architecture.

  • Students Explore Sustainable Agriculture at McEnroe Farm

    The McEnroe Farm opened in the late 1980s, with the help of the McEnroe and Durst families of Duchess County, who had a shared vision for the future of sustainable agriculture. Over time, their endeavor has grown from a small farm with a roadside stand to one of the largest organic farms in the Northeast,…

  • Fall Semester Kicks-off with a Welcome Mixer

    By: Deborah Sachare Returning students in the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development joined new students and faculty for hors d’oeuvres at a Welcome Mixer this past September. The annual mixer, held each fall, “is always a great chance for our faculty and students to connect at the beginning of another exciting and busy academic year,”…

  • Students Work on Net Zero Energy to Adaptation Planning Projects

    By Noah Morgenstein This past May, seniors in the Capstone Workshop in Sustainable Development delivered their final presentations to fellow students and faculty at Columbia University. The workshop is a required course for students in the Sustainable Development major or special concentration. Unlike traditional courses, the workshop requires students to work collaboratively on a client project…

  • Of Cow Dung, Cook Stoves and Sustainability in Practice

    Of Cow Dung, Cook Stoves and Sustainability in Practice

    When the Environmental Defense Fund asked me to measure how biogas cook stoves were changing the lives of farmers in rural India, there wasn’t a word in that question with which I was comfortable. Having just graduated from the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development, I had never done fieldwork; and the concept of a biogas…

  • Students Tour Via Verde, New York’s Most Sustainable Urban Housing in the Bronx

    By Noah Morgenstein This May, students in the Master of Science in Sustainability Management and the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development toured Via Verde, one of New York’s greenest housing complexes. From the photovoltaic solar panels to the rooftop gardens and water reclamation system, Via Verde embodies many of the practical approaches to sustainable development that…