Center for the Environment

The Catawba College Center for the Environment is a key component in our quest to become the leading environmental small college in the Southeast and a national center of distinction.

Environment and Sustainability Student with binoculars in Preserve

Since its founding in 1996, the Center has led a living-learning laboratory for campus sustainability that provides hands-on environmental learning opportunities for Catawba’s students while helping them learn how to advocate for and lead positive environmental change. The Center also serves as a research, convening and policy development hub for issues ranging from regional air and water quality to state and national environmental and energy policies.

The Center is housed in a stunning structure that emerges from a sloping stand of hardwood trees at the edge of the College's 189-acre ecological preserve. Every aspect of the building embodies leading sustainability principles, which creates one of the most sought-after spaces for environmental gatherings in North Carolina. Over the years, the Center has hosted leading environmental speakers such as Erin Brockovich and Rocky Mountain Institute co-founder Amory Lovins, and events like the National Environmental Youth Summit and NC Breathe.

In the fall of 2022, the Center for the Environment began a new chapter under its second director. Exciting recent accomplishments include becoming the first college in the Southeast and the thirteenth nationally to be certified as carbon neutral by Second Nature, launching the NC Clean Future Project in a partnership with Wake Forest University and obtaining the College’s initial AASHE STARS rating of Gold. The Center aspires to be nationally recognized in the fields of environmental stewardship and energy and environmental policy.

National Environmental Summit

National Environmental Summit

for High School Students

This annual summit empowers high school students to discover how to create the change needed for a sustainable future, strengthen their creative and collaborative thinking skills, build relationships with like-minded individuals, explore the preserve, and more.

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EnviroSmart Schools

EnviroSmart Schools

The EnviroSmart Schools Program encourages, supports, and recognizes the efforts of all NC P-12 schools that have taken strides to make their schools 21st century institutions of quality and sustainability.

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National Environmental Summit for High School Students

This annual event is designed to help students discover how to create the change needed for a sustainable future. During this week-long camp, they will strengthen creative and collaborative thinking skills, explore individual interests, work with environmental leaders and faculty, meet like-minded individuals, explore the 189-acre preserve, and experience college life.

EnviroSmart Schools

This program helps schools build a strong foundation to get involved and start the process of becoming a green school. Schools will learn to reduce environmental impact and costs, improve the health and wellness of students and staff, and provide effective environmental and sustainability education.

Environmental Stewards

Established in 2012, the Environmental Stewards Program supports the ideals, values and commitment of conservationists and environmental stewards. In addition to emphasizing the importance of environmental stewardship, this program follows the mission of Catawba College: Catawba College is committed to providing students an education rich in personal attention that blends the knowledge and competencies of liberal studies with career preparation. The college draws strength from Judeo-Christian values, sustains a dynamic community of learners and seeks to unite a diverse population of students, faculty and staff as active co-participants in scholarship and service. Catawba College prepares students to reach their highest potential while becoming responsible citizens with a zeal to enrich human life.

The Center for the Environment facility opened in 1996 and instantly became a model of sustainability as one of the first “green” buildings constructed in the state. Aspiring to lead by example, it has encouraged others to use environmentally friendly products and practices in the construction of new facilities since its inception.

This structure reflects the spirit of the college’s Environment and Sustainability program. Long before construction began in November 1999, the planning process engaged everyone from donors and the College president to faculty, staff and students. The 21,000-square-foot building emerged as a three-dimensional incarnation of the Center’s sustainable curriculum — an exciting teaching tool, as well as an environmentally friendly sound project.

Located on the edge of the College’s 189-acre ecological preserve, it merges seamlessly with the natural environment. Everything about the facility — from the site design to the environmentally friendly building materials, from energy and water conservation issues to recycling and waste management — is grounded in principles of sustainability. For example, Catawba College students implemented the waste reduction plan, recycling more that 86 percent of the construction waste. This facility represents now and to future generations Catawba College’s commitment to the conservation and sustainable use of the earth’s resources.

In 2021, the Center celebrated its 25th anniversary, inviting serious reflection on the many ways it has brought positive change to our community and our region – efforts that have laid the foundation for the next 25 years.

Renovations on the facility began in 2022 with a planned completion date of 2023.

The Green Event Certification is a way to demonstrate that your event meets several different sustainability criteria, with the goal of reducing your event’s environmental footprint as much as possible. Read more and submit the checklist below!

Green Event Certification

Certification Checklist

Tour the Facility

Tour the renovated Center for the Environment facility, a great example of the many ways we implement sustainability on Catawba's campus.

Make a Gift

Make a Gift

Demonstrate your commitment to environmental stewardship by making a contribution to the Catawba College Center for the Environment. All gifts are tax-deductible.

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A Leading Sustainability College in the Southeast

We look at sustainability holistically and our roles in the environment. We provide our students with the skills and knowledge to change the world. Sustainability is not just an academic program at Catawba College, but a way of life.

Sustainability at Catawba

Environment and Sustainability Programs

Learn how you can turn your love of preserving our planet & its resources into a rewarding, meaningful career by majoring in Environment and Sustainability at Catawba College.

Recent News & Events

News and Events from the Center for the Environment:

Catawba President David P. Nelson speaking at NCICU clean energy workshop

NCICU Hosts Workshop on Sustainable, Clean Energy Projects at Catawba College

NCICU hosted an Inflation Reduction Act workshop at Catawba College geared towards empowering campuses for sustainable energy projects on July 25, 2024.

Catawba College Honored Among 2024 US Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools

Catawba College, a 2024 US Department of Education Green Ribbon School, was honored in a ceremony on Wednesday, July 10, in Washington, DC. Catawba was recognized for its innovative efforts to reduce environmental impact and costs, promote better health, and ensure effective sustainability and environmental education.

Catawba College Featured by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) for Achieving Carbon Neutrality

Catawba College was recently featured by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) after setting the record as the first college in the Southeast to achieve carbon neutrality. The EESI has provided science-based educational resources to policymakers and the public since 1984.

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Upcoming Events

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