George Mason University plays a leading role in addressing critical sustainability challenges through its research, academic mission, and physical footprint. We celebrate Earth Month all year long through our dedication to solving big problems in collaboration with the local, regional, and international community to foster healthy people, a healthy planet, a healthy economy, and a healthy society.
Sustainability is one of George Mason's core values.
We educate leaders, conduct interdisciplinary research, invest in sustainable infrastructure, and promote and support socially conscious entrepreneurship. Join us in solving the complex challenges of today to create a better world tomorrow.
Rescuing our future to ensure a healthy planet, healthy people, healthy economies, and healthy societies will be the central organizing cause of the rest of our lives. It is our job to conduct research to find solutions to our overlapping grand challenges – and to educate students to solve them.”
Dr. Gregory Washington
George Mason's Campuses are a Living Lab
From the canopies of the trees in our accredited arboretum to the stormwater running into Mason Pond, George Mason experts are conducting research locally that can and will have an impact globally. Learn more.
Fuse at Mason Square recognized for environmental impact and sustainable design
Fuse at Mason Square earned the Environmental Impact Award at the Annual P3 (Public Private Partnership) Awards in New York City. The digital innovation hub was praised for its cutting-edge approach to sustainability in design, construction, and operations. Discover why Fuse was recognized across multiple categories.
Student-led Chesapeake Bay project showcases George Mason’s commitment to environmental stewardship
George Mason students led hands-on restoration in the Chesapeake Bay—building oyster reef structures that advance environmental stewardship and real-world learning. Learn more.
Bringing safe water to the table
George Mason researcher Daniel Smith is combining engineering and social science to bring safe water solutions to communities from Northern Virginia to Uganda. Learn more.
Access to Excellence Podcast
The modern grid: the intersection of energy and the environment
On this episode of Access to Excellence, Leah Nichols and Liling Huang join President Gregory Washington to discuss George Mason’s capabilities as a living laboratory for students, faculty, and staff to find solutions to our Grand Challenge of preserving and protecting humanity's ability to build the future of its choosing. Listen now.
Are Earth's oceans suffocating?
President Washington speaks with Geoffrey Gilleaudeau, associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences Department in the College of Science, about the past, present, and future of Earth’s oceans according to the physical and chemical characteristics of sedimentary rocks.
Latest News
- October 20, 2025
- September 9, 2025
- June 30, 2025
- November 25, 2024
- June 7, 2024
Follow George Mason
George Mason University puts research and scholarship into action to support a just, prosperous, and sustainable world. George Mason launched its Institute for a Sustainable Earth (ISE) to lead this applied research. The ISE supports interdisciplinary research by connecting experts in various fields with each other and to policymakers, businesses, civic organizations, and communities.
In addition to the ISE and the university-wide Center for Resilient and Sustainable Communities, nine of our schools and colleges have affiliated research centers that focus on an aspect of sustainability. George Mason is one of the top research universities in the nation, holding an R1 designation from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
Learn More
Institute for Sustainable Earth
Center for Climate Change Communication
Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation
Potomac Science Center
Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center (PEREC)
- PEREC focuses on Potomac River restoration and local sustainability practices, so that the local ecosystem will be healthy for years to come. We translate our research into award winning and engaging field programs for K-12 students and the larger community.
- PEREC faculty and students have researched a large number of watersheds within the northern Virginia area including many in Fairfax County, Prince William County, and Clarke County.
Mason Research Centers
George Mason has a variety of degree programs, minors, and classes in the field, such as Environmental Science, Conservation Biology, and Food Systems. Many are designated Green Leaf Programs and Courses focusing on sustainability. George Mason provides students interested in sustainability with an immersive experience that will allow them to craft a career in any field.
Buildings
Our practices include: constructing LEED buildings; managing stormwater runoff; growing food in our greenhouse; planting bee pollinator gardens and teaching apiary management; making carbon-neutral/green purchases; being energy efficient; composting; and reducing waste.
Fuse at Mason Square will be a LEED Platinum, smart, net-zero-ready building with Fitwell 2-star and RELi resiliency. It will feature a green roof for energy-efficient heating and cooling, an agile floor design to enable responsive team or project growth, and specialized labs for robotics, virtual reality, simulation, security and data visualization.
Potomac Science Center is a destination for environmental science research along the Chesapeake Bay watershed and meets LEED Silver certification standards.
Food Sustainability
Our food system produces approximately 2,000 pounds of fresh produce every year, which supplies our dining halls and raises $20,000 to pay for supplies, staff, and utilities.
