In response to UF’s goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2025, the Neutral UF Coalition was envisioned as a multi-faceted way to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions of the university. The Neutral UF Coalition is designed to lower the carbon footprint of campus by addressing areas such as employee transportation; buildings, offices and operations; and university events and business travel.

The initial phase of the Neutral UF Coalition—the Carbon Neutral Commuter Program—was launched in 2016 and is the first-of-its-kind among higher education institutions in the US.

Employee commuting accounts for 6 percent of UF’s total carbon footprint, and the Carbon Neutral Commuter Program empowers faculty and staff to offset the environmental impact of their commutes to and from campus through a voluntary post-tax payroll deduction of $1 per pay period. This amount ($26/year for 12-month employees) can be started or stopped at any time and it completely offsets the average UF employee commute. One hundred percent of the voluntary deduction amount goes to the local non-profit offset partner, We Are Neutral, which funds tree plantings on local conservation land and provides energy retrofits for low-income housing in the Gainesville community.

Learn more about all the aspects of the Neutral UF Coalition and how to become a Carbon Neutral Commuter here.