Erin Kluge
Sustainability Coordinator
Start Date: July 10, 2024
Erin Kluge is Stony Brook University’s Sustainability Coordinator.
Within minutes of introductions, it is clear that Erin is a force to be reckoned with. She shares that she recently received her Master’s in Management from Hobart William Smith, and though this is her first job since graduating, Erin has incredible experience. While a sustainability graduate assistant in grad school, Erin worked on carbon offset projects, leading her alma mater in becoming the eleventh college to reach carbon neutrality. This experience propelled her into her role with Stony Brook, where she supports the university in meeting its sustainability goals.
“Part of my experience when I was working with carbon offsets was finding creative ways to benefit the environment and also represent the university’s values - that’s a lot of what I’m doing here. It’s creative problem solving and asking how can we embed sustainability into Stony Brook. There’s a lot of amazing things that we’re doing, it’s just building upon and improving new technologies and new opportunities within sustainability and within Stony Brook as a whole.”
Erin works as one part of a larger team, collaborating with different departments to complete efforts that go into achieving university-wide sustainability efforts. In Erin’s words, sustainability is quite interdisciplinary. In her role, she brings together those different departments for collective climate action. She also engages with students, who help her collect data, conduct outreach on behalf of the department, and other initiatives.
On her interaction within the SUNY system, Erin says she gets a lot of support from her contemporaries. “I have found a sense of community within SUNY sustainability workers. If I need different ideas, I can reach out to sustainability folks and share what they’re doing, or share what we’re doing. It overall helps the entire SUNY system and our planet.”
This central theme – protecting our environment and our planet – is core to Erin’s professional, and on many levels, personal, mission. In high school, Erin took an environmental science class, which she says, changed her view of the natural world. Since then, her interests have been refined to consider not only the perils of climate change, but the promise of creative problem solving in the field.
“I got my degrees in environmental studies and philosophy, so I was able to intersect that with environmental ethics, which expands how I approach climate solutions,” she says.
Erin’s sense of optimism matches her passion for her job, and is truly inspirational to anyone who might meet her. She believes that the only way to solve a climate crisis is through intentionality, collaboration, and through hearing other perspectives throughout the community. She also believes that small collective actions can really make an impact. Erin says being mindful of energy consumption, using a reusable water bottle, or cutting out red meat can have a larger effect that is beneficial to the planet.
While the world of sustainability may seem daunting or complex for individuals not ingrained in the field, Erin shares that sustainability is not just for STEM majors. In her closing words, Erin shares, “There are so many different innovative solutions that can come from sustainability, so whatever passion you have, there is a way to incorporate environmental work.”
To learn more about the Stony Brook’s sustainability efforts, visit https://www.stonybrook.edu/sustainability/