Mt. SAC Earns National Sustainability Recognition
September 29, 2026 - 05:01 PM
Mt. SAC has earned the Carnegie Elective Classification for Sustainability, becoming one of the first 14 institutions of higher education in the nation to receive the new classification.
The classification recognizes institutions that demonstrate how sustainability is integrated across their campuses including curriculum, research, operations, career preparation and community engagement.
Dr. Tania Anders, who served as Mt. SAC’s first Faculty Sustainability Coordinator from 2020 to 2024, said the recognition reflects decades of work across the College. “This designation honors and recognizes our collective and sustained commitment to sustainability at Mt. SAC going back more than 20 years,” she said.
She pointed to sustainability efforts that have developed over the past two decades, from the formation of the College’s sustainability committee to its first Climate Action Plan, LEED-certified buildings and current solar project.
Mt. SAC participated in the 2025 pilot program, which brought together diverse higher education institutions in a national community of practice to test and help shape the classification's framework, application process and review criteria.
Faculty Sustainability Coordinator Lauren Greenberg said the timing of the Carnegie Sustainability Classification was especially meaningful for Mt. SAC. As California’s largest single district community college, Mt. SAC has sustainability efforts spanning numerous disciplines and areas. Greenberg said the classification process brought colleagues together from across the College, including Instruction and Facilities, and helped highlight the breadth of work already underway.
“As the College finalized Mt. SAC 2035, advanced the second draft of our Climate Action Plan, completed a 10-year greenhouse gas inventory, and expanded student internship and fellowship opportunities, the classification process provided an ideal opportunity to document, showcase, and share our progress,” she said.
The Carnegie Elective Classification for Sustainability is hosted by the University of Colorado Boulder, working alongside the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education.
