Initiatives

Social Support & Opportunity

We engage across campus to ensure that we are providing opportunities and social support to all members of the Pitt community.  

Opportunity & Access icon

The related Pitt Sustainability Plan Goals are:

  • Maintain and grow the student resource net to proactively meets students’ physical, social, financial, and mental health needs.  
  • Continue to integrate sustainability tenets into the University’s procurement guidelines, processes, and contracts.  
  • Increase the Pitt community's understanding about the purpose and management of the Consolidated Endowments Fund (CEF), including education and engagement about the CEF’s aggregate status, trends, and current and future fossil fuel exposure (including the basis for any material changes in expectations).  
  • Work across all impact areas of the Pitt Sustainability Plan to ensure benefits for all within the Pitt community. 
Creating a Thriving Culture
Basic Needs
Clothing
Food
Financial Resources
Health
Housing
Professional Development & Career Assistance
Strengthening Economy
Find Local & Small Suppliers
Purchasing Services' Sustainability Initiatives
Sustainable Purchasing Best Practices
Celebrating Culture
Pitt Indigenous Culture Festival
Land Acknowledgment
Pitt Heritage & Cultural Celebration Events
Pride at Pitt
Protecting Rights
Civil Rights & Title IX
Disability Resources & Services
Technology & Accessibility
Our Progress
Digital Accessibility

Adopted in 2020, Pitt’s Electronic & Information Technology Accessibility Policy established standards for accessibility in digital environments. As a result, Pitt websites have become 25% more accessible, with 63% of all Pitt-hosted websites meeting the industry benchmark for accessibility. 

Get Digital Accessibility Resources
Menstrual Resources

Since 2019 there have been a variety of student-led partnerships to distribute reusable menstrual cups and pads. In addition to avoiding waste, the efforts makes reusable menstrual products more visible and financially accessible to students.   

Zero Waste Period Initiative
Center for Health Equity

Since 2011, Pitt’s Center for Health Equity (CHE) has sought to understand and ultimately eliminate health inequities in under resourced, vulnerable, and underserved communities and populations, particularly those in Western Pennsylvania.

More About CHE
Research Equity and Community Health

The Department of Psychiatry’s Research Equity and Community Health (REACH) collaborative conducts research that can be leveraged to reduce and eliminate health inequities for marginalized populations.

Learn About REACH
Center on Race and Social Problems in the School of Social Work

Established in 2022, the Center on Race and Social Problems (CRSP) conducts applied social science research on race, color, ethnicity and their influence on the quality of life for all Americans. 

Visit the CRSP Website

Environmentally & Socially Responsible Investing

Since the 1970s, the University of Pittsburgh has reviewed and discussed environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in its investment decisions, as outlined in the Board of Trustees Investment Committee’s governing documents. 

In 2022, the University published its inaugural annual fiscal year ESG Report and has done so each year since, increasing transparency regarding the CEF and application of the ESG policy, enhancing awareness about the CEF, and advancing dialogue on this important topic. 

News
Responsible Data Science
Pitt a Leading Disability Employer
Assistive Technologies Research