Inaugural national virtual summit · November 2026
Campus Council Virtual Summit
Connect the people learning it, teaching it, operating it and hiring for it. The Summit brings higher education and the sustainable materials management industry together for practical learning, real connections and a stronger path from campus to career.
Education · operations · careers · circularity
Higher education + sustainable materials management
Building the workforce, and the systems, of the future.
Thousands of students study sustainability, environmental science and resource management. Recycling organizations, communities, businesses and agencies need people ready to turn sustainability goals into working systems. The Summit is a national meeting place for both.
For students
See where sustainability can take you
Discover how classroom learning connects to real careers and real materials-management challenges.
- Meet professionals working in recycling and SMM
- Learn about career paths and emerging opportunities
- Build professional relationships beyond your campus
- Hear what employers and organizations need
- Understand how sustainability works in practice
For higher education
Turn sustainability goals into action
Connect curriculum, research and campus operations with practical strategies and outside expertise.
- Discover models that can be adapted on campus
- Connect with recycling and SMM practitioners
- Explore research and applied-learning partnerships
- Strengthen student career pathways
- Move from sustainability intention to implementation
For SROs + industry
Meet the next generation
Connect your organization with campuses, educators and emerging sustainability professionals.
- Meet students entering the field
- Build relationships with academic programs
- Find research and project partners
- Share workforce needs with educators
- Expand your future talent pipeline
Why this Summit?
Not another broad sustainability conference.
Many higher-education conferences focus broadly on institutional sustainability. This Summit sits in a sharper space: where higher education, recycling, circularity and sustainable materials management meet.
Industry connection
Direct interaction between campuses and practicing SMM professionals.
Career connection
Introducing students to the people, organizations and careers shaping the field.
Practical focus
Connecting research and sustainability goals with real operational challenges.
Accessible
Virtual participation and intentionally affordable registration.
From values to action
Closing the gap between what campuses value and what they can implement.
Colleges and universities often have ambitious goals, engaged students and deep expertise. Implementation can still be held back by budgets, infrastructure, procurement, markets, institutional structure and access to specialized knowledge.
The Summit helps connect:
Program development
The conversations we need to have.
Final sessions and speakers are being developed. Programming will focus on where collaboration between campuses and the SMM community can create real progress.
The Circular Campus
Recycling, reuse, organics, waste reduction, procurement and campus materials-management systems.
Education for Sustainability
Connecting sustainability curriculum with research, professional preparation and campus operations.
Careers + Workforce
Career pathways, internships, mentorship, professional skills and the future SMM workforce.
Research into Practice
Connecting academic research and innovation with real materials-management problems.
Partnerships
Stronger relationships among campuses, SROs, communities, government and private-sector organizations.
Truth + Transformation
Examining complex materials issues honestly and exploring what meaningful progress looks like in practice.
More than presentations. A place where relationships, career awareness and partnerships begin.
Designed for access
National programming without the national-conference price.
Keeping participation affordable is central to the Campus Council mission. Virtual delivery removes travel and lodging costs, and student pricing helps emerging professionals take part.
Help a student join the conversation.
NRC is developing registration bundles so agencies, businesses, SROs and other organizations can buy multiple registrations or help cover Summit participation for students.
Summit registration
Group registration and student-support packages are also being developed for organizations that want to register multiple attendees or sponsor student participation.
Help shape the Summit
What should this national conversation include?
NRC is gathering input from higher education and the sustainable materials management community on campus challenges, successful programs, workforce opportunities, potential speakers and priority topics.
NRC Campus Council
Connecting education with the profession.
The Campus Council builds stronger links among higher education, students and the sustainable materials management profession: campus operations, academics, research, professional development, technology transfer and workforce connections.