Pomfret School has added two electric vehicles to its campus fleet: a 2025 Chevy Blazer EV LT, used for student transportation, and a 2025 Toyota bZ4X XLE, which now serves as the School’s security vehicle. Together, they mark the first time electric transportation has been integrated into daily campus operations on the Hilltop.

The vehicles are practical additions that reduce exposure to fluctuating fuel prices, but they also reflect something larger: another step in a sustainability effort that has been building across campus for years.

One of Pomfret’s most significant investments has been in how the School powers itself. Its on-campus energy plant currently acts as a cogeneration system designed for future trigeneration, producing electricity while capturing usable heat that would otherwise be lost. The facility provides electricity, heating, and cooling within a single integrated system, covering roughly 50 percent of the electricity needs and 100 percent of heating and cooling for the buildings it serves. The plant improves efficiency compared to conventional energy production and reduces reliance on outside energy sources.

The next major step is a 200-kilowatt solar project slated for installation atop the Jahn Rink roof. Once complete, the project is expected to generate approximately 330,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually — enough to supply nearly a quarter of the electricity used by the School’s main meter—while saving an estimated $70,000 each year in energy costs.

VISTA, Pomfret’s science center, opened in September 2024, reflects many of the same sustainability priorities. The building uses high-efficiency lighting, advanced climate controls, and low-flow plumbing fixtures to reduce its environmental impact, and its native landscaping supports pollinators while limiting irrigation needs. Inside, flexible lab and classroom spaces expand opportunities for environmental science, research, and hands-on learning.

Taken together, the cogeneration plant, planned solar array, and VISTA reflect an approach to sustainability rooted in long-term planning — investments that benefit both the environment and the School’s operations.

That same approach to long-term planning extends into daily life in the Dining Hall. In partnership with Blue Earth Compost, Pomfret has built a composting program that began in the dining hall kitchen and was later expanded into the dining room, where post-meal waste is now collected alongside kitchen scraps. With both areas participating, the School now diverts 100 percent of dining hall food waste from landfills.

Scraps are collected in composting receptacles that replaced traditional trash bins near the dishwashing area. Guided by the “if it grows, it goes” approach, most food-related waste is now composted, with only a small number of items excluded from the system.

The material is transported to Quantum Biopower, where it is converted into renewable energy through anaerobic digestion. Since the initiative began, Pomfret has composted more than 36,000 pounds of food waste, significantly reducing landfill contributions and shrinking the School’s carbon footprint.

Students have helped drive much of this momentum. Groups like the Green Griffins have championed composting, conservation, and other campus initiatives, reinforcing that sustainability at Pomfret is as much about culture as it is infrastructure.

All of it aligns with the School’s strategic plan, Change Makers and Problem Solvers, which calls on Pomfret to reduce the environmental impact of campus operations while preparing students to lead in a changing world.

The two new EVs may be the most visible recent addition. But they are helping to drive change that was already well underway.

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