This Earth Day, Rush University students worked together to create a more sustainable and equitable future for healthcare. On Wednesday, April 22, an interprofessional student team that included representatives from across the three colleges, met with university leadership to present their Planetary Health Report Card assessments.
The Planetary Health Report Card is a global initiative involving students from health professions programs, who evaluate their schools on key metrics such as campus sustainability, support for student-led initiatives and community outreach and advocacy. During this annual student-led program, students work with support from faculty and university leadership to create a detailed report on university performance. The students’ findings include successes, areas for improvement and progress from previous years.
Students highlighted areas where Rush is driving positive change. In 2025, through subscriptions to community solar projects, Rush acquired enough renewable energy to power 31% of the Armour Academic Center, with the goal to reach 100% in the next few years. The Rush Office of Environmental Sustainability has diverted over 30,000 pounds of food waste from the landfill through composting programs on campus and delivered over 37,000 pounds of usable food to surrounding communities through its food recovery partnerships.
Planetary health is also embedded into Rush University’s core curriculum through its interprofessional education course, which ties planetary health into the social determinants of health.
The meeting provided students with the opportunity to advocate directly to Rush University leadership. University leaders were committed to listening to students’ concerns and working with them to implement new sustainable solutions. Lillian Sawyer, a first-year clinical nutrition MS/DI student, shared what the event meant to her.
“I was very impressed with the care during our meeting,” says Sawyer, “My program is a preventative discipline with a community focus, and planetary health is so clearly a part of what we do and what matters most. Previous students laid the groundwork, and we have the opportunity to continue raising awareness through leadership.”
Creating a healthier planet is one way that students at Rush University are improving the health of patients and the community. To learn more about PHRC and see Rush’s 2026 results, visit phreportcard.org.
