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:

By Scott D. Miller, President, Bethany College
(This article appears in the September, 2011 issue of The ACUPCC Implementer)

Financing has been identified as a key barrier to implementing sustainability projects on campus. The ACUPCC Financing Sustainability Committee has been meeting since January 2011 to address the lack of information about available financing resources and to discuss strategies to encourage the federal government, and other funding sources, to increase support to signatories for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

During the ACUPCC Steering Committee Meeting at the June 2011 Washington, D.C., Annual Summit, two central, specific goals around financing were affirmed: 1) To help a specified percentage of the higher education community reduce on-campus energy consumption by 50% and achieve 100% renewable energy use within a decade; and 2) to move colleges and universities away from the notion that efficient and renewable energy projects have to pay for themselves—rather, we urge our fellow institutions to allocate funding for sustainability initiatives as part of their strategic planning process. A third goal is to develop resources on the ACUPCC website to enhance its effectiveness as a clearinghouse for information to identify and secure financing opportunities for sustainability initiatives.

Below is an opportunity that has come to our attention from a respected colleague, Bob Doppelt, who is working with others on the National Climate Ethics Campaign. Please see Bob's note below and consider showing your support for their efforts by signing the statement if you agree with its content. We believe it is very much inline with the goals of the ACUPCC and a powerful way to demonstrate the moral imperative for taking meaningful action on climate.

More details about the National Climate Ethics Campaign can be found below Bob's note.

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Dear Colleagues,

This note is to ask you to consider signing a statement developed by the National Climate Ethics Campaign that individually and collectively our great nation has a moral obligation to address climate change.

The statement and endorsement form can be found here: http://climateethicscampaign.org/statement.

News from the International Energy Agency this summer that CO2 emissions in 2010 were the highest in history and atmospheric CO2 has now risen to levels that are precariously close to pushing surface temperatures beyond 2 degrees C underscores the importance of taking aggressive action to address climate change.

The National Climate Ethics Campaign is therefore seeking signatures on the statement from a broad spectrum of national leaders, including current and former Republican and Democratic officials as well as leaders from the business, finance, faith, youth, academic, and other communities. It will be released to Congress, every state legislature and every governor, the business and non-profit community and general public nationwide in the fall of this year. Please consider endorsing the statement.

Sincerely,

Bob Doppelt