ACUPCC Implementer

By Fuzz Hogan, Executive Producer, Planet Forward

(This article appears in the June, 2011 issue of The ACUPCC Implementer)

What if you could start an ongoing dialogue from your office, connecting top scientists, industry leaders and policy makers with your students, administrators and faculty? A 24/7 sustainability seminar, where you could hear what’s on the cutting edge of research, help spur implementation of the best ideas and motivate critical stake-holders to take action.

That’s what we’re creating here at Planet Forward, a project of the Center for Innovative Media at the George Washington University. Created by Frank Sesno, who will keynote the ACUPCC summit in June, Planet Forward is a dynamic public square that allows citizens from diverse backgrounds to engage directly with experts, decision-makers, business leaders and each other. We’re leveraging the power of new media platforms and user-generated content, challenging the conventional top-down format of traditional media and rewarding contributors by giving their ideas increasing levels of public exposure, including broadcast television.

What does that mean? It means we’re creating that dialogue — to help bring solutions from the innovators to the decision-makers, to connect the enthusiasm of our youth with the expertise of top industry leaders.

How does it work? Let me give you two examples.

By Debera Johnson, Academic Director of Sustainability, Pratt Institute

(This article appears in the June, 2011 issue of The ACUPCC Implementer)

In 2008 Pratt received a four-year, federal grant to “green” their academic programs and make the link between academics and operations. This institutionalized my role as the Academic Director of Sustainability (ADoS) at Pratt and helped fund program development throughout the institute. The role of the ADoS was established by Dr. Thomas Schutte, President of Pratt Institute and one of the first 50 signatories of the ACUPCC. Dr. Schutte recognized the importance of a holistic approach that linked facilities with academics. This seemed especially relevant at a school of art, design and architecture where students have opportunities to practice the sustainable best practices of their profession and have a direct impact on changing the campus environment. The outcome has been to naturalize sustainability as a critical layer of thinking within each of our programs and throughout operations.

Over a series of campus visits nation-wide to share our work and learn from our peers, I realized that independent art and design schools have a unique set of issues and limited resources– it became clear that it was going to take forever for each of us to make change one by one. It occurred to me that if we could find a way to work together, we had the opportunity to shift from incremental to transformative change.

By Matthew Inman, Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow, U.S. Department of Energy 
(This article appears in the May, 2011 issue of The ACUPCC Implementer)

To better educate Americans, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is leading a collaborative effort, the Energy Literacy Initiative (ELI), to define and promote energy literacy. If more people had a basic understanding of energy, resources, generation and efficiency, families and businesses could make more informed decisions on ways to save money by saving energy. More broadly, people would better understand the energy landscape, allowing them to better understand local, national and international energy policy. Current national and global issues such as safeguarding the environment and our nation’s energy security highlight the need for energy education. The U.S. is behind in the global movement toward clean energy. We must become a leader in this movement to lead the 21st century global economy. The need for energy education has never been more pertinent.

By Meriel Brooks, Associate Professor of Biology and Director of the Environmental Liberal Arts Program, Green Mountain College

(This article appears in the May, 2011 issue of The ACUPCC Implementer)

Over the last 3 years, supported by a grant from the Davis Educational Foundation, the faculty at Green Mountain College (GMC) has restructured an innovative environmentally-focused general education curriculum (the Environmental Liberal Arts program or ELA), revised or created 53 sustainability related or focused courses, and created a system for assessment-driven program revision. With the project nearing completion, what have we accomplished, what have we learned, and what is next?

What should our graduates know and be able to do in order to contribute to a more sustainable world? For 2 days in May of 2008, 45 GMC faculty members brainstormed and debated this question before arriving at an answer in the form of 5 broad goals:

By Arah Schuur, Director of the Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program, Clinton Climate Initiative
(This article appears in the April, 2011 issue of The ACUPCC Implementer)

“How do we pay for this?” More and more, that is one of the first questions that public and private sector building partners ask before undertaking energy efficiency improvements to their buildings. Through the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program, we provide pro bono advisory support to building owners around the world to help address this very issue, helping to plan, develop and implement large-scale energy efficiency projects. For almost every building owner, regardless of real estate sector and geography, finding or justifying the up-front capital for large energy efficiency projects is increasingly challenging as internal finances get tighter and the quick-payback projects are exhausted.

To address capital availability barriers, CCI works with financial institutions and other providers of capital to adapt existing and create new financial products that are specifically tailored to building energy efficiency projects. CCI typically assists in convening stakeholders; assessing market demand from building owners and financial institutions; identifying legal and accounting related issues; and developing and executing work plans. At a project level, we help building owners with financial modeling and to assess financing options in the local market; solicit interest from capital providers; review proposals and term sheets; and assist, where appropriate, in the negotiation process.

By Mark Orlowski, Founder & Executive Director, Sustainable Endowments Institute

(This article appears in the April, 2011 issue of The ACUPCC Implementer)

Facing rising energy costs and steep budget cuts, many colleges are grappling with how to finance urgently needed carbon emissions reductions. In response, more schools are tapping a new option for financing energy efficiency improvements, while earning a high return on investment. Their successful methods are revealed in Greening the Bottom Line: The Trend toward Green Revolving Funds on Campus.

The Cambridge-based Sustainable Endowments Institute (a special project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors) published the report in collaboration with 11 partner organizations including the ACUPCC, AASHE, Second Nature, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership.

Based on the first survey ever conducted about green revolving funds (GRFs) in higher education,Greening the Bottom Line details how GRFs help cut operating expenses and greenhouse gas emissions at 52 schools. The number of green revolving funds has more than quadrupled since 2008. A major incentive is the financial benefit–a median annual return on investment of 32 percent. The breakthrough in this approach is using the substantial cost savings to replenish the fund for investment in the next round of green upgrades.

By Wim Wiewel, President, Portland State University

(This article appears in the March, 2011 issue of The ACUPCC Implementer)

RIGHT - PSU President Wim Wiewel (r) and Portland Mayor Sam Adams (l) bike to work

On my first day at Portland State University back in August 2008, I rode my bike to work alongside Portland Mayor-elect Sam Adams. The ride symbolized Portland State University’s partnership with the city, and both Portland and PSU’s commitment to sustainability. I haven’t stopped pedaling since.

How we think about and implement sustainability at Portland State University reflects that ride. Our region provides more than just background and scenery—it gives us a context for the work that we do, as well as a broad array of public, private, and nonprofit partners willing to tackle our common challenges.

By Georges Dyer, Vice President of Programs, Second Nature

(This article appears in the March, 2011 issue of The ACUPCC Implementer)

After the initial excitement and enthusiasm of a commitment to sustainability starts to fade, organizations often find themselves facing a long, steady climb to integrate sustainability into all of their activities, so it is simply second nature.

Doing so requires engaging employees and other stakeholders so everyone is on the same page about what sustainability means, understands how everyday decisions contribute to achieving the end goals, and is empowered to work across departments and traditional boundaries to overcome barriers.

To really embed sustainability in the walls of an organization, leaders at all levels must work tirelessly to create and hold a clear vision; establish tangible goals; communicate objectives and progress; build capacity throughout the organization; establish metrics; and celebrate successes.In 2009, a group of ACUPCC presidents developed a resource calledLeading Profound Change, which explores the president’s role in ensuring the institution maximizes its contribution to creating a sustainable society.  They laid out three tenets to accelerate progress:

By Toni Nelson, ACUPCC Program Director, Second Nature
(This article appears in the February, 2011 issue of The ACUPCC Implementer)

The support team at Second Nature has developed a plan for 2011 that will provide information and resources on key topics related to the implementation of climate action planning and sustainability education, as well as opportunities for signatories to gather in person to discuss challenges, opportunities, and ways to overcome barriers to these goals.  Second Nature is introducing a briefing paper series, “Viewpoints on Sustainability,” to provide information and resources on specific topics in a concise format that will highlight important concepts and related resources. A website redesign is also in the works, with a re-organized resources section that will group information by topic and thus make it easier to find information on specific topics of interest to the signatories.

Key Topics for 2011

Topics to be addressed through briefing papers, the ACUPCC Implementer, and webinars and other in-person events such as training workshops will include how to institutionalize sustainability at your institution, financing resources and opportunities, outreach to and engagement of the campus and local community, higher education’s role in adapting to climate change, and education for sustainability.

Financing