Symposium on Sustainability

The Symposium on Sustainability is an annual event held each February dedicated to the celebration and showcasing of ISU student, faculty and staff sustainability commitment, initiatives and accomplishments.

Iowa State University's Live Green Initiative provides a call to action to all students, faculty and staff to be fully committed and engaged in ensuring our next sustainable decade. Through our actions and decisions regarding our campus, its operations and initiatives we can make efforts to support our next sustainable decade.
 
Initiated in 2009, the Symposium on Sustainability features a keynote speaker highlighting excellence nationally and/or internationally in environmental, economic or social sustainability. Accompanying the Symposium is the annual Sustainapalooza event. Spearheaded by The Green Umbrella student organization, Sustainapalooza offers interactive GIY "Green-It-Yourself" Centers, opportunities to explore and pledge individual sustainability commitment, sustainably-minded giveaways, as well as local food and food ingredient refreshments. A poster and tabling reception highlights each years event, showcasing campus and community dedication to and engagement in sustainability, as well as offering opportunities for dialogue and connections. Each year’s event also features additional opportunities for education, engagement and empowerment either through panel discussions, documentary screenings or dialogue sessions.

2026 Symposium on Sustainability

The 2026 Symposium on Sustainability will take place March 2-3, 2026 in Memorial Union.

Symposium on Sustainability Timeline of Events.

Symposium Overview

The 2026 Symposium on Sustainability will celebrate the sustainability efforts and initiatives taking place within our campus community focusing on supporting and nurturing enablement and empowerment toward a sustainable future that extends into the Ames community, as well as communities across the state and throughout the world. Features of this year’s event included a keynote speaker, sustainability tabling and art exhibits and the accompanying multi-faceted, interactive event, Sustainapalooza.

Keynote Speaker

This year's speaker will be Ashlee Piper, a sustainability expert, TV personality, speaker and author of the book No New Things.

Ashlee Piper is a sustainability expert, TV personality, author, and globally recognized speaker whose work has appeared in more than 310 television segments — including The TODAY Show, Good Morning America, LIVE with Kelly & Mark and CNN — and in outlets such as VOGUE, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Marie Claire, The Atlantic and Newsweek. Her 2018 book, "Give A Sht: Do Good. Live Better. Save the Planet.", has been praised as a “sustainability Bible,” and she has consulted for major companies including Airbnb, LUSH, Nissan, and Eileen Fisher, served as a cabinet-level advisor to two Massachusetts Governors, and judged the Marie Claire Sustainability Awards. Piper has spoken at the United Nations, SXSW and delivered a popular TED Talk; she also created the award‑winning #NoNewThings Challenge, which will be published as her second book. A former Professor of Sustainability Marketing at Loyola University Chicago and eco‑instructor for LinkedIn Learning, she holds degrees from Brown University, the University of Oxford and IIN/Columbia University. She lives in Chicago with her beloved 18‑pound rescue cat, Skip, in a home that’s 98% secondhand.

For more information visit the ISU Lectures Program page.

Sustainability Tabling and Artwork / Research Exhibit

A sustainability research, artwork and poster reception provides an excellent venue to discuss and exchange sustainability interests and initiatives. Sustainability-connected displays and sustainability-inspired artworks from campus activities and projects including research, administration, operations and student organizations that support and further sustainability and the Live Green Initiative. 

For more information please view our Call for Multi Media Art or our Call for Poster and Tabling Displays.

To register fill out our Artwork Registration Form or Poster Display Registration Form.

The deadline for all applications is Feb 16.

Posters are invited and encouraged from the following areas:

  • Alternative/Renewable Energy Sources
  • Arts and Culture
  • Biodiversity
  • Energy Efficiency & Resource Conservation
  • Food Systems
  • Green Design & Products
  • Green Transportation
  • Social Engineering/Behavioral Change
  • Sustainable Community Planning
  • Sustainable Materials
  • Toxic Reductions
  • Waste Management, Diversion, and Reduction
  • Water Quality/Flood Management

Live Green Awards for Excellence in Sustainability

The Live Green! Excellence Award recognizes Iowa State University students, faculty and staff who are making an impact on the campus sustainability efforts by generating awareness and interest through initiatives that focus on teaching, research, outreach and/or operations.

For more details and how to apply check out our 2026 Live Green! Excellence Award Nomination Form.

The deadline for nominations is Feb 16.