| 1970 | The nation's first student-led environmental center is established on Earth Day. |
| 1976 | The nation's first collegiate student-led recycling program begins. Student volunteers begin newspaper and aluminum can recycling. |
| 1991 | Student-administrative partnership between the University of Colorado Student Union and Facilities Management is created. |
| 1992 | A recycling processing facility is built on campus. |
| 1997 | CU-Boulder's "Green Teams" begin targeting the Hill and other student-populated areas in Boulder to increase proper recycling. |
| 1998 | CU-Boulder incorporates recycling provisions into the Campus Master Plan. |
| 2000 | Students vote to purchase renewable wind-energy credits to match power used in all major campus construction after 2000 making CU-Boulder the first university in the country to purchase wind energy. |
| 2001 | Solid Waste Management Stations installed on campus. Residence hall automated cardboard recycling begins. |
| 2006 | Zero-waste vision is incorporated into CU-Boulder's Blueprint for a Green Campus. |
| 2006 | The ATLAS building is completed. ATLAS is the first of four CU-Boulder campus buildings built or renovated to meet stringent Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, green standards for sustainable architecture. The other buildings are Wolf Law, Koelbel Building-Leeds School of Business and the University Memorial Center -- the most of any public entity in Colorado. Three more buildings, either under construction or in the planning stages, will incorporate LEED green standards into their design and construction. |
| 2007 | Chancellor G.P. "Bud" Peterson signs the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. |
| 2007 | Chancellor G.P. "Bud" Peterson forms Chancellor's Committee on Energy, Environment and Sustainability to serve as the steering committee for implementing campuswide environmental strategies and programs. |
| 2007 | CU-Boulder's recycling collection exceeds 2,000 tons (4 million pounds). Funding provided to begin feasibility study of relocating or expanding CU-Boulder's recycling facility. |
| 2008 | UCSU requires all student-funded food/dining events to be zero-waste. |
| 2008 | CU Dining Services eliminates plastic bags from grab-and-go meals and distributes free reusable bags to all incoming residence hall students. |
| 2008 | Revenues from the sale of recyclables top $100,000. |
| 2008 | CU Athletic Department commits to zero-waste from football games. |