Sustainability At FIT

Sustainability—acting in ways that ensure that the planet and its people stay healthy, safe, and productive now and in the future—is one of FIT’s most important commitments. That’s why our academic programs and extracurricular activities promote environmental awareness and ethical behavior. And why our faculty and students are researching innovative materials and inventing alternatives that can make the world better for generations to come.

Meeting the Mayor's Challenge

In 2001, then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg challenged New York City colleges and hospitals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030. FIT achieved a 40% reduction in less than four years. To date, FIT’s efforts have reduced the college’s carbon footprint by 62%.

How are we doing it? New steam-powered heating, ventilation, and cooling systems; a sophisticated energy-management system; and using less electricity on the hottest days, when air conditioning drains the city’s available power.

Sustainability permeates FIT’s new Joyce F. Brown Academic Building on 28th Street. Construction materials were chosen to minimize their impact on the environment and human health. The well-insulated, glass-covered building uses energy and water efficiently, and its 39 solar panels bring in an estimated 21,222 kilowatt-hours of energy per year.

We not only save energy, we have earned back over $1.25 million—so far—from the City of New York for outstanding performance in reducing power use! And we’re a test case for other institutions in New York and around the world.

40%

greenhouse gas reduction in <4 years

Greener Roofs, Cleaner World

New York City is a few degrees warmer than its environs due to “heat island effect,” but FIT’s 1⅓ acres of green roofs are helping lessen this. The roofs benefit the campus and the environment by insulating the buildings, decreasing the need for heating and air conditioning, improving air quality, and reducing the college’s carbon footprint by absorbing carbon dioxide. They also soak up water from heavy rainfall, preventing untreated sewage from flooding sewers and flowing into the Hudson and East rivers.

Bee Happy

With the help of The Bee Conservancy, FIT installed two beehives on a campus green roof. The bees have helped grow New York City’s honeybee numbers at a time when global bee populations have been dropping dramatically. The FIT Hives project also fosters education about bees and their role in the environment—and in the fields FIT teaches. The college’s bees have produced more than 20 pounds of honey—and that’s hard work. A mere tablespoon of honey is a lifetime’s labor for two bees.