Energy, Environment & Sustainability

Cornell is a global leader in sustainability and climate change research, teaching and engagement. Our campuses are living laboratories for developing, testing and implementing solutions that address these most challenging issues.


Lund fellows program supports undergrads and organic agriculture

A new summer internship enables undergraduates across disciplines to learn about organic, restorative and agroecological practices while working at diversified, small-scale farms around New York state.

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Cornell celebrates 65 years of leadership in biogeochemistry

Biogeochemistry – an interdisciplinary field that examines the elemental cycles through Earth’s air, land and water  –  is critical to understanding climate change. Learn how it found its origin at Cornell CALS more than six decades ago.

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Research guides future of plastic waste chemical recycling

New research from the College of Engineering aims to ease the process of chemical recycling – an emerging industry that could turn waste products back into natural resources by physically breaking plastic down into the smaller molecules it was originally produced from.

U.S. labor secretary speaking at climate jobs summit co-sponsored by ILR

The Worker Institute and the LR School’s Lois Gray Labor Innovation Initiative is a sponsor of the Sept. 21 Climate Jobs Summit, which will feature U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh.

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Project celebrates the beauty of humpback whale songs

“The Whale Listening Project,” which runs Sept. 23-26, is a four-day immersion in the beauty of whale song and a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the best-selling 1970 album, “Songs of the Humpback Whale,” co-produced by Roger Payne, Ph.D. ’61, and Katy Payne ’59.

Center for Bright Beams awarded $22M in grant renewal

A collaboration of researchers led by Cornell has been awarded $22.5 million from the National Science Foundation to continue gaining the fundamental understanding needed to transform the brightness of electron beams available to science, medicine and industry.

Lara Skinner wins Movement Builders Award

ILR's Labor Leading on Climate Director Lara Skinner will be recognized Sept. 21 for helping make New York City a model of progress for the nation.

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Grow-NY startups pioneer food and ag innovations

From fully autonomous berry harvesters to plant-based lupini bean protein bars, the startups competing for $3 million in prize money at this year’s Grow-NY Food and Agriculture Competition are bringing revolutionary innovations to market.

Elephant project recordings evoke the rainforest

Over a million hours of sound recordings are available from the Elephant Listening Project (ELP) in the K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology – a rainforest residing in the cloud.