JULY 2025

EDITION 21

IN THIS EDITION

GovEx Podcast on Travel Emissions Dashboard • Waste-to-Use Chemistries • Richfield Farm Visit • CLF Newsletter Debut • Sustainability Practitioners Tour Harbor Wetland and IMET • Plastic Free July

Summer is in full swing, and the Office of Climate and Sustainability is back with another newsletter! This edition includes a recap of the inaugural Green Labs Vendor Fair, recent podcast from the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence highlighting the JHU Travel Emissions Dashboard, details of recent local trips made by Hopkins Dining and JHU Sustainability Practitioners, and information about the Center for a Livable Future’s brand new newsletter. Check out our tips for reducing plastic waste for Plastic Free July and beyond, plus some new media suggestions, including a podcast from the Bloomberg School of Public Health and two books recently published by JHU faculty. Plus, read on for news from across the university and a selection of green gatherings at JHU and in the community!

Inaugural Green Labs Vendor Fair Connected Researchers to Sustainable Lab Products and Services

Thank you again to everyone who joined us for the inaugural Green Labs Vendor Fair last month! The event connected more than 200 faculty, researchers, and students interested in reducing the environmental impact of their research with 22 vendors and organizations. Check out more details and photos from the event here.

In addition to hosting the Vendor Fair, our Green Labs program manages multiple initiatives to improve the sustainability of labs across the university. Enrollment is now open for Green Lab Certification, a UN Race-to-Zero endorsed program that provides a framework for reducing a lab's impact on the environment. To receive Green Labs updates, including information about the next vendor fair and other ways to improve lab sustainability, researchers at all levels are encouraged to sign up for the Green Labs newsletter.

GovEx Data Points Podcast Spotlights Travel Emissions Dashboard

LISTEN HERE

A recent episode of the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence (GovEx) Data Points podcast highlighted the JHU Travel Emissions Dashboard, a project of GovEx and OCS. Supported by our Campus as a Living Lab initiative, the dashboard features interactive visualizations with comparable statistics across all Johns Hopkins divisions, allowing users to compare the emissions data of different methods of transportation, which enables them to make more environmentally-friendly choices as they conduct their business.

The podcast interviewed four contributors to the project to discuss how the tool was built and how cities can use it as a model to support their own climate change initiatives: Sara Betran de Lis, Director of Research and Analytics at GovEx; Heather Bree, Data Visualization and D3 Developer at GovEx; Debi Denney, OCS Assistant Director; and Rose Weeks, Senior Research Associate at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Waste-to-Use Chemistries for Carbon Negative Building Materials

Materials science and engineering PhD student Hadas Elazar-Mittelman studies chemistries for carbon negative building materials. Her current research focuses on finding ways to sequester carbon dioxide into a solid form. "If successful," she explains, "we can create carbon negative building materials from by-products sourced from common waste streams, such as mine tailings, that also contain solid carbon derived from carbon dioxide." Check out the full Q&A with Elazar-Mittelman from the Johns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology.

READ THE Q&A

Credit: Gina Wadas

Hopkins Dining Visits Local Partner Richfield Farm

Earlier this summer, the Hopkins Dining team visited Richfield Farm, the dedicated partner behind Homewood’s on-campus farm stand. Owned and operated by local farmer Ian Seletzky, the farm has become a valued part of the Hopkins community through seasonal farm stand events that connect students, faculty, and staff with fresh, local produce.

Richfield Farm first brought its offerings to campus in Fall 2024, providing colorful flower bouquets, heirloom squash, crisp apples, and leafy greens. To celebrate the local harvest, Hopkins Dining’s Recipe Development Chef Dale Savel-Turek also hosted a live cooking demonstration using ingredients sourced directly from the farm. The launch was met with overwhelming enthusiasm, prompting additional pop-up markets during spring’s Picnic for the Planet and Earth Fest.

“Sustainability is about more than sourcing local—it's about building relationships and understanding the story behind our food,” said Graham Browning, Sustainability Manager for Hopkins Dining. “Visiting Richfield Farm allowed our team to see firsthand the dedication and complexity involved in growing the kinds of foods we serve. We believe that these experiences should become part of the Hopkins journey, helping students connect with the broader food system.”

Stay tuned for future farm stand events on the Homewood campus!

Center for a Livable Future Debuts Quarterly Newsletter

The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future has released the first edition of their newsletter, The CLF Quarterly. This new outreach initiative is designed to keep subscribers updated on CLF's events, research, policy activities, and other work they are doing to build a healthier, more equitable, and resilient food system. Read the first edition here, and subscribe to receive future issues!

OCS and Sustainability Practitioners Visit Harbor Wetland and IMET

OCS staff and sustainability practitioners from across the university recently had the opportunity to visit the National Aquarium’s Harbor Wetland and neighboring Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET) to learn more about both institutions’ sustainability efforts and research.

Harbor Wetland is a set of floating islands mimicking a native salt marsh habitat that once existed in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The wetland helps to provide a habitat for native species like otters and blue crabs, promote healthy water (e.g. by capturing excess nitrogen and increasing oxygen levels), trap plastic waste, and more.

At the next pier over to the Harbor Wetland is a joint University System of Maryland research institute. IMET’s mission is “to develop innovative approaches to protect and restore coastal marine systems and their watersheds, sustainably use resources in ways to benefit human well-being, and to integrate research excellence with education, training and economic development.” Their work includes research in aquaculture, coral bleaching, immunology, marine bioenergy, and more. IMET serves as an incubator space for students, entrepreneurs, and science start-ups looking to bring marine research to commercial markets.

The JHU Sustainability Practitioners are grateful to the staff and researchers of these impressive facilities who took the time to educate the group on local Baltimore ecology.

Dear Green Guide,

How can I reduce plastic waste?

GOT A QUESTION FOR THE GREEN GUIDE? SUBMIT IT HERE

We’re halfway through Plastic Free July, an annual challenge to reduce plastic consumption and waste. Check out this calendar from Beyond Plastic with suggested actions you can take each day to reduce plastic in your home and community.

But you don’t have to stop trying to cut down on plastic at the end of the month! Here are some ways you can reduce plastic this month and beyond:

BYO Bags, Bottles, and Cups – Plastic bags, bottles, and cups, including the lined paper cups that most to-go hot drinks come in, are a huge source of plastic waste and litter. Instead, pack a reusable bag, carry your own water bottle, bring your own reusable cup or tumbler when you go out for coffee or tea, or opt to use a reusable mug or glass when dining in. Bonus: a good reusable tumbler will keep your drinks cold or hot for longer than the disposable ones!

Educate Yourself and Others – Read up about the issues with plastic or watch a documentary to learn more; check out our summer media list for inspiration. Consider hosting a book club, watch party, or talk to share the information with your friends, family, and community. Post on social media and spread the word about the need to cut down on plastics!

Host a Plastic-Free Event – Opt for reusable utensils, plates, and decor instead of single-use, set up composting and recycling stations for your guests, focus on plant-based food, and encourage guests to bring their own water bottles. Check out additional tips for hosting green events, whether on campus or elsewhere.
Advocate for Reducing Plastic – Contact your local representatives to talk to them about the plastic pollution issue and ask them to take action. Reach out to your grocery stores, restaurants and cafes, faith communities, clubs, and other groups to encourage them to reduce single-use plastics.

Make Plastic-Free Swaps at Home – There are many small swaps you can make to cut down on the plastic you consume around the house. A few ideas include:
1. Swap liquid soap, shampoo, and conditioner for solid bars
2. Check out your local refill store to see what you can get in refillable containers instead of plastic (e.g. Mount Royal Soaps for liquid and bar soaps and more; FOBA Refillery for bath and bath and bod care and cleaning supplies; MOM’s Organic Market or OK Natural Food Store for pantry staples, herbs & spices, and tea)
3. Switch to reusable menstrual products, diapers, or razors

Clean Up Plastic Waste – Pick up plastic waste in your neighborhood when you see it, join a community clean-up event, or organize your own event with your friends, family, or neighbors. Our events calendar includes a number of clean-ups you can join; and if you set up your own, email us at sustainability@jhu.edu so we can add it!

BOOK: American Poison: A Deadly Invention and the Woman Who Battled for Environmental Justice

Daniel Stone, lecturer in the Environmental Science and Policy Program (KSAS), tells the story of Alice Hamilton and her legal fight to get a dangerous lead additive removed from gasoline.

BOOK: Something Between Us: The Everyday Walls of American Life and How to Take Them Down

Professor in the Department of Anthropology (KSAS), Anand Pandian's new book explores the things that divide and unite people across the U.S.

ARTICLE: Climate change is a local issue – and here’s what’s happening in every part of Maryland

Capital News Service explores the varied impacts of climate change across the state, from dying trees to urban heat islands to increased flooding from sea level rise.

ARTICLE: A soaring success: Maryland’s bald eagle population recovery

Good news from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources: Chesapeake Bay is now home to one of the largest populations of bald eagles in the U.S., thanks to pesticide restrictions, habitat restoration, and protection efforts in the region! 🦅

PODCAST: Public Health on Call

Produced by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the podcast helps listeners understand complex public health issues. Recent topics include food waste, the impacts of PFAS, childhood asthma, meteorology and hurricanes, the environmental costs of our food systems, and more.

DOCUMENTARY: Between Earth and Sky

Follows forest ecologist and science communicator Nalini Nadkarni, who studies “what grows back” after an ecological disturbance, as she explores the effects of disturbance and recovery throughout her own life.

CHECK OUT MORE JHU CLIMATE AND SUSTAINABILITY NEWS

If your organization or department is planning a climate- or sustainability-related event, please send it our way (sustainability@jhu.edu) so we can add it to our calendar of events.