ACUPCC

Human society is facing an unprecedented rate of change due to a very rapidly shifting climate.  This is resulting in already-documented vulnerabilities to human communities,” said Dr. David A. Caruso, President of Antioch University New England.  ”As this report makes clear, higher education institutions are well-positioned and ready to leverage the best of our faculty and students to empower people to rapidly respond, in effective, just and transparent ways, to a changing world.

Read the news release about the report, learn about the committee responsible for authoring it, or download the PDF.

Second Nature, the lead supporting organization of the ACUPCC, and Clean Air – Cool Planet administered the committee and supported the development of the report.

By Witold Bujak, Sustainability Manager and Enid Cardinal, Senior Sustainability Advisor to the President, RIT

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

Preparing the first Climate Action Plan (CAP) can be a difficult task.  With this in mind, Witold Bujak, Sustainability Manager at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) offered to approach it in a systematic way by dividing the assignment into separate, easy-to-manage tasks.

Task One – Understand the Assignment.  This was relatively easy, thanks to the vast resources available on the web. The American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) website reveals the Commitment’s protocol and reporting instructions. But the real treasure is in the online reporting system, a quick reading of just a few reports from other universities shows a variety of campus responses to the same challenge of reporting, planning and creating a long term approach that would achieve neutrality and sustain financial resources. 

By Sally DeLeon, Sustainability Measurement Coordinator, UMD College Park

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

To lead in the transformation to a sustainable society, institutions of higher education need to clearly articulate their own sustainability objectives and show progress toward meeting their goals. A set of regularly updated sustainability metrics is one important tool that can help keep stakeholders engaged and encouraged to focus on continual improvement. Internal performance metrics and external public reporting are growing areas of importance for sustainability in higher education. Some campuses are reorganizing or expanding their sustainability teams to include positions that focus specifically on measuring and reporting progress.

Check out the following update from Bowdoin College regarding progress toward their target of climate neutrality by 2020.

The letter from President Mills is an excellent example of ongoing active involvement and communication from the president; a critically important aspect of climate action planning, to ensure the community understands it is an important, strategic goal of the institution.

The animated video from Bowdoin student Maggie Williams is not only impressive, but another great example of a successful climate action process: involving students, and engaging other disciplines (like art and communications) as part of the education for sustainability experience.

“Announcing word of a 16% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since the College’s carbon reduction plan was adopted, President Barry Mills, in a letter to the Bowdoin community, urges everyone to learn how simple changes can have a significant impact in this ongoing effort.

“Bowdoin is an institution and a community dedicated from its founding to serving the Common Good, and there is no doubt that preservation of our environment falls within this historic charge,” writes Mills.

By Todd Cohen, Director, SEED Initiative, American Association of Community Colleges

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

Engaging with the community to build sustainable and thriving regional economies is an important pursuit for higher education. For community colleges, in particular, this quest is also a fundamental part of what they are and who they serve.

Community colleges were founded on the principle of service to the community. Most community college students are local residents who stay in the region. Sustainability practices learned at the college, therefore, are likely to be applied locally as those students become part of the fabric of that community. Colleges also serve thousands of local residents and businesses through continuing education, small business support services, and workforce programs. These are critical vehicles that colleges are using to inform the public (i.e. local consumers) about the importance of environmental stewardship and how to take advantage of green technologies like solar panels or sustainable building products. In addition, outside the campus, colleges are key stakeholders in a growing number of regional climate and energy partnership initiatives to reduce community energy consumption or advocate for revised local environmental policies.

By Peter Bardaglio, Senior Fellow, Second Nature

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

TCCPI, a project of Second Nature, is generously supported by the Park Foundation

Embedded in the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) is the notion of leadership by example. By committing their institutions to the goal of carbon neutrality, the presidents who are signatories to the ACUPCC underscore the critical role of higher education in meeting the challenge of climate change and building a more sustainable future.

Universities and colleges in the United States have historically been crucibles of social change and laboratories for new ideas and creative solutions to some of society’s toughest problems. In this sense, the ACUPCC is part of a long tradition in our country. What is new, however, is the scale of the problem and the threat it poses to human civilization. Simply providing a model of sustainability will not suffice this time around. Campuses can only truly become sustainable if the communities around them are sustainable. In this sense, implicit in the ACUPCC is the commitment to not only dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of the university or college, but also collaborate with the larger community in doing so.

For a small college of 500 students located in a rural community of Maine, Unity College has been nothing short of a bright star for its proactive leadership in addressing sustainability and climate actions in the higher education sector. As a result, the institution recently received an anonymous and very generous gift of $10 million to support its mission of education for sustainability.

The college President, Stephen Mulkey, delivered this great news in his first “State of the College” address, which was received with erupted cheers and applause from the staff, students, and community members. President Mulkey acknowledged that the donation would allow Unity an opportunity to enrich its curriculum and educate students for careers in sustainability that reflect the needs and development of 21st century. According to Robert Constantine, Vice President for College Advancement, the gift has tripled the institution’s existing endowment and created $500,000 in additional operating revenue. While the college community has been ecstatic about the great news, the gift is undoubtedly a tribute to the college’s hard work as well as its ongoing efforts towards campus sustainability and climate neutrality1.

Colleges and universities that sign the ACUPCC become part of a vast network of schools leading society towards climate neutrality by implementing climate action plans that address education, research initiatives, community engagement, and campus operations.

On-campus emissions-reducing efforts benefit the environment, the students who gain hands on experience in the field of sustainability, and the institution’s budget. Below are a few examples from ACUPCC campuses:

Engaging students in the process of fulfilling the ACUPCC is a great way to get things done - completing greenhouse gas inventories, creating a climate action plan, implementing specific projects, and reporting on progress.  But more importantly, it provides a variety of excellent experiential education opportunities, exposing students processes and systems that will be in growing demand in workplace.

Students can gain marketable technical skills related to carbon accounting, reporting, renewable energy systems, green building, and more. There are also a whole host of relevant disciplines where students can earn valuable experience, such as economics and financing, law and policy, and strategic planning and management.  Maybe most important, it's a chance to experience firsthand how organizations work, and the exciting challenges of managing complex change.

The Campus Climate Neutral project from the National Association of Environmental Law Societies (NAELS) has helped many schools engage students in climate action planning process, including UC Santa Barbara, Tulane, Bard, and the University of Arizona.  The Climate Corps Public Sector program from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is also training students and placing them in internships on campuses to conduct energy audits and make cost-saving recommendations for energy reductions.

There are hundreds of examples of ACUPCC institutions that have engaged students in this exciting process in one way or another.  Here are just a few: