Conferences & Events

Minimizing Risk, Maximizing Leadership: Colleges and Universities at the Forefront of Climate Action

October 24, 2014

by Kate Gordon, Executive Director, Risky Business Project


I grew up in and around universities. As the child of a law professor, I spent time in Buffalo, NY, Madison, WI, and Palo Alto, CA, often doing my homework at the back of lecture halls and empty classrooms. Ultimately I ended up at Wesleyan for my B.A., and then at UC Berkeley for joint degrees in law and city planning, paving the way for my current work on energy and climate policy.


Even with all this exposure to academia, I only fully grasped the role that universities can play in fighting climate change a few weeks ago, when I was lucky enough to spend a day at the annual conference of the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment. I was there to talk about the Risky Business Project, an initiative co-chaired by former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg, former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, and long-time investor and climate activist Tom Steyer. The project takes a classic business risk assessment approach to climate change and identifies specific risks facing each region of the U.S. in three major sectors: energy demand, coastal infrastructure, and commodity agriculture. Our research also identified significant impacts on mortality rates and labor productivity from global temperature increases.

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Reflections on the 2014 Presidential Summit on Climate Leadership

October 23, 2014

by Timothy Carter, President, Second Nature

One month ago I began a new chapter in my career, accepting the challenging and thrilling opportunity to join Second Nature as its third president. As someone working on environmental issues in higher education for the past 13 years, I have been aware of the rich legacy and commitment of the organization to lead and accelerate bold commitments to sustainability in higher education that transform society.

The network generated by the ACUPCC is arguably the strongest collection of presidential leadership in higher education relating to sustainability anywhere in the world. Since 2007, these leaders gather regularly at the Presidential Summit on Climate Leadership to hear from expert speakers, share experiences with each other, and discuss the sustainability issues that are most pressing on their campuses. This conference has ranged in scope, size, and focus throughout the years but every Summit has had at its core a commitment to serve the members of the network in the best ways possible. On October 1-3, 2014 we held the seventh of these summits in Boston, and we are incredibly grateful for the time the more than 300 participants took to meaningfully engage with content and each other.

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Intentionally Designed Endowment – Resources & Events

April 30, 2014

By Georges Dyer

Since the Intentionally Designed Endowment meeting, April 3-4 in Cambridge, MA, participants have been sharing additional resources with the organizers, which we have compiled below to share with the rest of the ACUPCC network.

Please continue to send resources to Michele Madia (mmadia@secondnature.org) you think will be of value to your colleagues, and we will disseminate them periodically while we develop more robust online resources and communication channels.

 

NatureVest
The Nature Conservancy and JP MorganChase, April 2014
http://www.nature.org/naturevest

NRDC, BlackRock and FTSE Jumpstart Mainstream Climate-Conscious Investing
Press Release, April 2014
http://www.nrdc.org/media/2014/140429.asp

Building A Carbon Free Equity Portfolio
Aperio Group, April 2014
https://www.aperiogroup.com/system/files/documents/aperio_group_-_building_a_carbon-free_equity_portfolio.pdf

Solar installations in New Jersey
WallStreetJournal.com Interview with TerraVerde Capital, April 17, 2014
http://on.wsj.com/1j7j2uI

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Showtime Series on Climate Change Airs Sunday April 13th

April 11, 2014

By Anne Waple, Second Nature

A new documentary series on the human impacts of climate change combines the appeal of a big Hollywood movie production, with real human stories, grounded science, and experienced reporting.

Celebrities from Matt Damon to Don Cheadle to Harrison Ford work with veteran Emmy Award-winning reporters such as Lesley Stahl to show the human face of climate change impacts from across the globe. 

The series ranges across the globe covering the impacts of drought in Texas and the Middle East, to major storms on the U.S. East Coast, to deforestation in Indonesia and a new breed of wildfire in California. Through the eyes of non climate-expert celebrities, we get a view of climate impacts that reflects their own journey of understanding. While they interview and rely on climate scientists to provide the scientific foundation behind the stories, the series focuses on real impacts for real people trying to figure out ways to cope. The series is being billed as 'ground-breaking', and from what we have seen so far, the combination of its production value, scientific insight, and human focus may well prove to be just that. The series comes at a time to reinforce recent reports from the scientific community that highlight the robust state of climate science knowledge as well as the seriousness of impacts.

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The Intentionally-Designed Endowment - A Primer

April 7, 2014

By Georges Dyer

What is an “intentionally designed endowment”?  Last week Second Nature and Hampshire College – with support from a high caliber Steering Committee –convened a group of representatives from endowed institutions and the finance industry to explore this question.

We developed a primer for participants to establish a baseline understanding of key issues related to aligning investment practices with institutional values.  It provides a high-level overview of sustainability investing, including a brief history, and a select list of key resources and relevant organizations.

Any non-profit administrator or trustee with fiduciary responsibility or involved with investment policies should be familiar with this rapidly evolving field: Intentionally Designed Endowment Primer

While we are all aware of the fossil fuel divestment movement – which has been instrumental in bringing increased attention to endowment investment practices – this was not a meeting about divestment.

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Reflections from the 2014 Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference

March 21, 2014

By Gabriela Boscio, ACUPCC Program Associate

 

A large part of our work towards achieving a sustainable society is based on the connections we make and the information we share using cross-institutional platforms and events. One such event was the 9th Annual Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference, which several representatives from Second Nature recently had the pleasure of attending. The conference, which ran from March 3-4, 2014 and was held in Baltimore’s beautiful Inner Harbor featured presentations focused on Adaptation and Resilience, Change Management and Implementation, Social Sustainability, the Built Environment and the Campus as a Learning Laboratory.

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Plains, Trains, and Sustainability

December 17, 2013

Plains, Trains, and Sustainability: Regional Collaborations with UMACS and NWF Campus Ecology

 

By Axum Teferra, Kresge Membership and Engagement Fellow

 

 

 

This year, Second Nature partnered with the Upper Midwest Association for Campus Sustainability (UMACS) and National Wildlife Federation- Campus Ecology (NWF) for Second Nature’s first Midwest Regional Collaborative Symposium.The event took place from November 7th-9th, 2013 at Luther Collegein Decorah, Iowa, and integrated an ACUPCC (American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment) Pre-Conference for both signatory and non-signatory institutions.

Second Nature staff members chose to ride the rails from Massachusetts to Iowa in order to minimize the group’s carbon footprint. This 32-hour train ride took the team through many states and landscapes, ending at Luther College in Decorah, the Iowa town nestled in a 470 million year-old crater.  

View of wind turbine adjacent to the Luther College campus in Decorah, Iowa

Second Nature Staff

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Join Second Nature at 2014 NCSE Conference in Washington D.C., January 28th-30th

November 4, 2013

By Sarah Brylinsky, Director of Climate Resilience & Educational Programs

Join Second Nature at the 14th National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) Conference "Building Climate Solutions", in Washington D.C., January 28th-30th.

Visit the conference website to register or find out more about this unique and action-oriented event, and be sure to join us for a symposium and breakout workshop to develop an action-plan for supporting resilience efforts in higher education.

Preparing Campuses and Communities for a Changing Climate
2014 NCSE Workshop, Second Nature

Higher education has already taken a successful leadership role in climate mitigation through the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), with nearly 700 campus committed to achieving climate neutrality (not net carbon emissions).

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Join Second Nature at the Ecodistricts Summit in Boston on November 12th

November 4, 2013

By Sarah Brylinsky, Director of Climate Resilience & Educational Programs

Second Nature will be presenting at the Boston Ecodistricts Summit.  Our panel will discuss the role of higher education in creating resilient communities through living laboratory development.  Hope to see you there!

Universities as Living Laboratories for District Transformation
Tuesday November 12, 2013 | 1:30 to 3:00 PM EST

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Join Second Nature and the ACUPCC at AASHE 2013!

October 1, 2013


Sarah Brylinsky


By Sarah Brylinsky, Director of Climate Resilience & Educational Programs

Join us at the following sessions during AASHE 2013 in Nashville TN, October 6th-9th!  Second Nature will be presenting on topics important to you, including ACUPCC implementation, student leadership, climate resilience, and power-purchasing agreements on campus.  The Second Nature staff would love to meet you if you are attending - be sure to say hello at our sessions and networking events!

Click here to see the AASHE schedule

 

Climate Resilience Sessions

Roadmap to Resilience: Assessing Tools and Strategies for Climate Preparedness on Campus
Panel Discussion Room #101C, Tuesday, October 8th, 1:30pm ­ 2:30pm
Sarah Brylinsky, Director of Climate Resilience & Educational Programs, Anne Waple, Program Manager, Second Nature

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Join Second Nature at the 2013 New England Campus Sustainability Forum

September 13, 2013

On Friday, September 20th, 2013, Second Nature will once again co-sponsor and participate in The New England Campus Sustainability Forum. This year’s theme is “Climate Change & New England Campuses: Impacts and Solutions” and it will take place at Colleges of the Fenway in Boston, MA.

We invite you to join Second Nature and our partners for the following educational opportunities:

Assessing Campus Vulnerabilities to Climate Impacts (Workshop)

This workshop will provide an overview of climate impact assessment resources using the 2013 National Climate Assessment, and discuss components of preparing a campus and community vulnerability assessment.

Panelists include:
• Sarah Brylinsky, Director, Climate Resilience & Education Programs, Second Nature
• Anne Waple, Program Manager for Climate Adaptation, Second Nature
• Jenn Andrews, Acting Executive Director, Clean Air-Cool Planet

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Second Nature Partners for Free Webinar Series on National Climate Assessment

March 1, 2013

By: Sarah Brylinsky, Director of Climate Resilience & Educational Programs, Second Nature
SSF LogoSecond Nature and the Security & Sustainability Forum are convening a free webinar series on the Third National Climate Assessment (NCA), released in draft form in January 2013. Written by hundreds of leading scientists and experts from academia, government, and private and non-profit sector authors, the NCA is a powerful tool for understanding, teaching, planning for, and adapting to climate change.  

This webinar series will address findings, recommendations, and implications of the NCA, with an emphasis on multi-sector responsibility and collaboration potential. To learn more about this series, visit our webinar series page.

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Highlights from the 2012 ACUPCC Southeast Regional Collaborative Symposium

November 21, 2012

By Adrien Tofighi, Program Assistant, Second Nature

(Review the symposium agenda, or download a PDF Summary of this post).

The 2012 ACUPCC Southeast Regional Symposium took place at Agnes Scott College, November 7-8th, 2012. ACUPCC Regional Symposiums are working sessions to foster dialogue and collaboration among ACUPCC signatories who are facing similar challenges and opportunities in their geographic regions.

The conference garnered participation from 45 colleges and universities, representing states throughout the Southeast, achieving cross-institutional dialogue, knowledge exchange, and the creation of new solutions to Climate Action planning, curriculum reform, and other key issues. This conference marked the third regional symposium hosted by the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment.

David E. Shi, President Emeritus, Furman University

Opening Speakers

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Join Second Nature and the EPA Green Power Partnership for "The State of Renewables in Higher Education"

November 2, 2012

The State of Renewables in Higher Education

This webcast was broadcast on November 29th 2012, 2:00-3:00pm EST

Supporting Documents

Second Nature and the U.S. EPA’s Green Power Partnership are collaborating to identify the barriers to expanding renewable energy use among colleges and universities, identify solutions, provide education and training on green power procurement strategies and explore the possibilities of joint purchasing opportunities.

To kick-off this partnership, Second Nature and EPA invite you to participate in an interactive event to learn more about trends and possibilities in colleges and universities incorporation of green power onto their campuses, and in their climate reduction goals.

The live event will stream on this page.  Please bookmark this link and register to participate in the event.

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Students Gear Up for Campus Sustainability Day 2012

October 17, 2012

Learn more in two new  posts from our friends at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) about how students are getting involved for Campus Sustainability Day next week! Sustainable Students – Planning for Climate Change at a Campus Near You and Preparing for a Changing Climate with a Feast DownEast provide some great opportunities to learn more about Campus Sustainability Day, and generate ideas for your campus events.

The following two posts originally appeared on the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Switchboard Blog.

Sustainable Students – Planning for Climate Change at a Campus Near You

By Tiffany Traynum, Communications and Campaigns Program Assistant

Photo from the NRDC Switchboard

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Preparing Students for a Changing Climate: Keynote Broadcast for Campus Sustainability Day 2012

October 5, 2012

Campus Sustainability Day 2012

Campus Sustainability Day Keynote Broadcast 2012: Preparing Students for a Changing Climate

The Campus Sustainability Day 2012 Keynote Broadcast, Preparing Students for a Changing Climate, aired live on Wednesday October 24th, 2012.  Click on the video above to watch the broadcast.  Read below for more information about the program and events held for Campus Sustainability Day in 2012, and visit the 2012 CSD Second Nature website.

_______

Join us in celebrating the 10th anniversary of Campus Sustainability Day with a live panel discussing the role colleges and universities must play in creating sustainability education for all students which prepares the next generation of leaders to lead a just, healthy, and sustainable society.  How can colleges and universities prepare students for a changing climate, society, and economy through sustainability education?

The live event will stream on this page.  Please bookmark this link and register to participate in the event.

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What Does It Mean to Be “Prepared?” Celebrating Campus Sustainability Day with a National Dialogue

October 3, 2012

By Sarah Brylinsky, Program Associate, Second Nature

(This article appears in the October, 2012 issue of The ACUPCC Implementer)

The celebration of the 10th Anniversary of Campus Sustainability Day (CSD) needed a topic appropriate to a moment in time when campuses have shown that the impossible is possible – changing the way they teach, operate, build, and plan in order to reduce emissions and prepare students to lead a just and sustainable future – while recognizing the challenges and opportunities still present in their journey to integrating deep sustainability education. This year, Second Nature and the CSD supporting organizations, includingAASHE, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), The Society for College & University Planning (SCUP), USGBC, Focus the Nation, Tree Campus USA, the SEED Center, and IDEAS, are calling on campuses to participate in a national day of dialogue around a critical question which invites conversation on both success and continued roadblocks: How is higher education preparing students for a changing climate?

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2012 ACUPCC Climate Leadership Summit - Highlights

July 11, 2012

By Sarah Brylinsky, Program Associate, Second Nature

(This article appears in the July, 2012 issue of The ACUPCC Implementer)

Download the 2012 Climate Leadership Highlights PDF

Signatory Presidents at the 2012 Summit

Signatory presidents of the ACUPCC pose for a photograph during the opening reception

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2012 Climate Leadership Awards

Higher Education & Slow Living

June 8, 2012

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to participate on a panel at the 2nd Annual Slow Living Summit in Brattleboro, VT.

‘Slow Living’ as described by the organizers; “…is shorthand for taking a more reflective approach to living and work; an approach that is mindful of  impacts on the environment, on Earth, and on communities; and that incorporates resilience —  our ability to “bounce back” from the consequences of climate change, resource depletion and other changes and stresses...“Slow” encodes the transformative change from faster and cheaper to slower and better—where quality, community and the future matter.”

The Summit program was broken into multiple tracks, covering a range of topics including community supported agriculture, media & journalism, sustainable investing & finance, community building, renewable energy, and education to name a few. For a detailed description of the program click here.

Our session was titled, EDUCATION: Sustainability in Higher Education: Leadership by Example? It was moderated by Jerelyn Wilson, Outreach Director at Building Green LLC, and included the following panelist:

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Second Nature Team

Higher Education and Energy: Opportunities for National Leadership

June 7, 2012

By Michele Madia, Director, Sustainability Finance & Strategy, Second Nature

(This article appears in the June, 2012 issue of The ACUPCC Implementer)

The National Association of College & University Business Officers (NACUBO), Second Nature and the ACUPCC will release a policy brief report at the ACUPCC Climate Leadership Summit that explores how the federal government can develop and enhance energy efficiency and renewable energy incentives and investments specific to the nonprofit higher education sector.

The higher education sector is well positioned to lead the nation in implementing deep energy efficiency projects and renewable energy technologies. Colleges and universities own and manage thousands of buildings, heat and cool millions of square feet of space, and in many instances, operate their own thermal and electric power generation facilities. According to the latest reports from ACUPCC schools, 104 institutions have secured $195.7 million in outside funding to support their commitment to eliminate their operational greenhouse gas emissions and 158 institutions have implemented energy efficiency and renewable energy projects that have generated savings of $104 million. However, for many colleges and universities financing such projects can be challenging because current government incentives are most often designed for business and industry and not for the tax-exempt sector.

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