The ECAC was created to reduce energy use and increase environmental awareness on campus.  The council was responsible for developing the 2007 Energy Conservation and Management Strategic Plan.

The Energy and Conservation Management Strategic plan prioritized three major goals: reliability, conservation, and sustainability.  It laid the groundwork for the creation of the Office of Sustainability.

In their March 25th meeting, the Faculty Senate unanimously approved a resolution urging university leadership to explore ways to make UI more sustainable, create a UI sustainability committee, and incorporate sustainability into the mission of the university.

Former University of Iowa President Sally Mason's visionary speech on sustainability was delivered on Earth Day, 2008.  She called for a new-found commitment on the part of the university to achieve sustainability locally, in its own daily activities, and globally, in its work to serve Iowa and the world through education, research, and service.  She summoned university faculty, staff, and students to be active participants in the cause and announced the creation of a sustainability office.

I am also pleased to announce that we will be creating an Office of Sustainability. 

This office will have the responsibility of facilitating and promoting sustainability efforts on campus, including those focused on new or emerging sustainability issues.

     -Former President Sally Mason, Earth Day 2008

The Office of Sustainability is formally established, and President Sally Mason announces Liz Christiansen as its first director.  The Office took over the responsibilities of the ECAC and expanded the scope of goals outlined in the Energy Conservation and Management Plan.

The university announced its first set of comprehensive, campus-wide sustainability goals, titled 2020 Vision:  The University of Iowa's Sustainability Targets.  The deadline to complete the goals was set for December 31, 2020.

After eight years leading the Office of Sustainability, director, Liz Christiansen retired, leaving behind a legacy of sustainability accomplishments.  Upon her retirement, a decision was made to move the Office of Sustainability into an academic area of campus to further integrate sustainability into education and research.  A proposal was submitted to the Provost, with support from the College of Liberal Arts and Science (CLAS), Tippie College of Business, College of Engineering, College of Public Health, and the School of Urban & Regional Planning, to house the Office of Sustainability within CLAS.

We believe that CLAS is a natural home for an office focused on a topic that spans the natural and social sciences, and requires the kinds of cultural and historical understandings gained through the arts and humanities.  However, important sustainability education and research are occurring across campus.  We envision, therefore, the Office of Sustainability and the Environment as a campus-wide hub that helps promote and coordinate formal and informal learning, student activities, faculty and student research, and community outreach related to sustainability.

Stratis Giannakouros is hired as the new director of the OSE.

In 2019, as the university's 2020 sustainability goals were coming to a close, a task force was established to begin drafting the next set of goals.  The new goals were announced in 2021 and aligned with the UI 2022-27 Strategic Plan.