Officials named Josh Lasky the new director of the Office of Sustainability in a release Tuesday.

Lasky, an alumnus and former Student Association executive vice president, said he hopes to grow the University’s sustainability initiatives like eliminating fossil fuel investments, phasing out single-use plastics and achieving carbon neutrality by 2030, according to the release. Lasky said he wants to improve the University’s initiatives to support communities that are disproportionately affected by climate change and would benefit from improved sustainability policies.

“GW’s sustainability initiatives have much to gain by including underrepresented voices in both strategy and implementation,” Lasky said in the release. “Given the scale and disproportionality of the effects of climate change, GW has a responsibility to consider its reach and its impact both here on campus and communities well beyond.”

Lasky graduated from GW with a bachelor’s degree in 2007 and received a Presidential Fellowship for his master’s in 2009. The release states he previously worked at a social impact consulting firm and the U.S. Green Building Council before returning to GW.

The former sustainability director, Meghan Chapple, stepped down from the post last summer after nearly 12 years working for the University.

As a graduate student at GW, Lasky was one of two students on a sustainability task force that eventually led to the creation of the Office of Sustainability in 2009. The task force and the Office of Sustainability both focus on “supporting efforts in academics, action and research that promote healthy and thriving resource systems for all,” the release states.

Lasky said that coming back to GW is “full-circle moment” and is excited to continue working on the University’s comprehensive sustainability commitments.