Office of Sustainability Newsletter: March 2025

Employee Sustainability Guide, Earth Month Preview, and more

Employee Sustainability Guide Now Available

Now available, the Employee Sustainability Guide provides resources to implement sustainable practices in your Georgia Tech role. We are also pleased to share that the guide is included in new hire orientation materials.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Week 2025 (March 3-7) and the Georgia Tech Sustainability Showcase (February 27-28) have come to a close. Thank you to our campus partners for successfully hosting more than 20 events to learn about and engage with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Pictured above (clockwise): A Sustainability Showcase Georgia Tech campus resilience panel, moderated by OOS's Dr. Jennifer Chirico and featuring OOS staff Dr. Jairo Garcia and Jermaine Clonts, hosted by the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems; Students planting a tree at the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB), hosted by IBB; the opening of the Jackets for Jackets thrift store for Infrastructure & Sustainability employees; students presenting their SDG-focused project at the SDG Teaching and Learning Poster Showcase, hosted by the Center for Teaching & Learning; a Teaching with the SDGs workshop, hosted by the Center for Teaching & Learning; and an additional photo of students at the tree planting at IBB

Helium Shortage Prompts Action in IBB:

Avoid Helium Balloons for Events

Helium is a non-renewable element used in a variety of applications. As a result of a global helium shortage, the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB) asks all IBB-hosted events to use non-helium balloons. We encourage the campus community to join this initiative. You can learn more about helium conservation from this 2020 American Chemical Society overview.

Earth Month: April 2025

Earth Month is almost here! We welcome the campus community to join us in our Earth Day observance throughout April. Explore ways to get involved below:

Register your event on the OOS Earth Month Event Calendar:
- If you are planning an Earth Day or other sustainability event during April, please consider registering your event on the 2025 OOS Earth Month Event Calendar so that we can help promote it.
Reserve your spot at Georgia Tech’s 2025 Earth Day Sustainable Org Fair and Celebration on Thursday, April 17, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the Kendeda Building:
- If your organization, club, or department is interested in tabling, please RSVP here to reserve your spot and see event details.
Spread awareness and attend events:
- Whether tagging a friend on social media or forwarding information to your networks, please help us get the word out! Share content provided by our Office via Instagram and LinkedIn, or post your own content highlighting sustainability-focused work using the hashtag #GTEarthMonth2025. Want to be featured on our feed or need help promoting your event on Instagram? Tag us! @sustainatgatech. Then attend the programming offered across campus all month long.

Campus Water End Uses

On average, Georgia Tech annually purchases more than 350 million gallons of potable water from the City of Atlanta. This water is primarily used for domestic purposes (bathing, washing, cooking, drinking, etc.), energy (cooling tower makeup water and steam), and irrigation. Water management strategies include increasing efficiency and conservation, reducing potable water use for non-potable applications (such as energy and irrigation), and onsite water treatment. Learn more about how Georgia Tech is actively working to reduce our water consumption.