Dianne Dillon-Ridgley to Present 2012 Climate Leadership Summit Keynote

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 26, 2012

Contact: Ulli Klein, 617-722-0036 ext. 206, uklein@secondnature.org

 

 

 

BOSTON, MA - The American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), an agreement between nearly 700 colleges and universities to promote sustainability through teaching and action, has announced that renowned environmental and human rights activist Dianne Dillon-Ridgley will present the keynote address at its Climate Leadership Summit held on June 21 and 22 in Washington, D.C.

 

Dillon-Ridgley is well positioned to address the more than 100 academic leaders who are expected to attend the Summit at American University. She has worked for more than thirty years on environmental, sustainability, gender and CSR issues. Among her other achievements, Dillon-Ridgley was appointed by the White House to the US delegation for the Earth Summit in Rio, UNGASS-'97 and WSSD in South Africa, making her the only person to serve on all three US delegations. Since 1997 she has been a director at Interface, Inc., global manufacturer of modular carpet and a leader in sustainable design. She was a director at Green Mountain Energy and still chairs the company's Environmental Integrity Committee.

 

The 2012 Summit, which marks the ACUPCC's fifth anniversary, will focus on Economic Renewal: Jump-starting a sustainable economy through the ACUPCC. Attendees will address how to position their institutions to better prepare their graduates to integrate sustainable practices into their personal and professional lives; helping signatories generate additional cost savings through implementing sustainable practices; and stamping campuses as cradles of innovation through research, experimentation and role-modeling solutions.

 

"I am delighted and honored to address this year's ACUPCC summit," Dillon-Ridgley said. "It continues to be the critical organization and institution that is at the forefront of critical and far-reaching work that can and must extend past America's colleges and universities to help integrate sustainable practices into every aspect of our lives."

 

"Dianne provides our summit with unique and valuable perspectives on sustainability. As a business leader and environmental activist she understands why sustainability is critical and how best to implement appropriate practices into mainstream businesses," said Dr. Anthony D. Cortese, president of Second Nature, the lead supporting organization of the ACUPCC.

 

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About the ACUPCC:

The ACUPCC is a high-visibility effort to address global warming by garnering institutional commitments from college and universities to accelerate the education, research and community engagement to equip society to re-stabilize the earth's climate, and eliminate net greenhouse gas emissions from their own operations.

Learn more at: www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org.

 

About Second Nature:

Second Nature works to create a healthy, just, and sustainable society by transforming higher education. Second Nature is the lead supporting organization of the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment, a growing network of over 675 signatory higher education institutions in all fifty states that have made a public commitment to transform the educational experience for all students so they are prepared to solve the climate crisis.

Learn more at: www.secondnature.org.