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145 resources

An empirical assessment of administration and planning activity and their impact on the realization of sustainability-related initiatives and programs in higher education

  • Bucknell University (PA)

Administrators in higher-education settings routinely create planning documents that help steer the organization in mission-centric ways. In the area of sustainability planning, strategic plans, sustainability plans and climate action plans …

  • Posted Jan. 12, 2021
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Scaling the Ladder: Engagement Programs as Tools for Sustainability

  • McGill University (QC)
  • AASHE (MA)

There is often tension between the focus on individual behavioral action and systemic change in sustainability circles. How do we encourage the small steps that engage community members on a …

  • Posted Sept. 17, 2020
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Vision 2020 Climate & Sustainability Action Plan (2017-2020)

  • McGill University (QC)

Vision 2020: Climate & Sustainability Action Plan 2017-2020 (hereinafter ‘Vision 2020’ or the ‘Action Plan’)—McGill’s second sustainability strategy and the first to incorporate climate action—institutionalized concrete initiatives to reduce McGill’s …


Easier Said Than Done: Developing a Replicable Framework for Implementing CAP's in Higher Ed

  • California State University, East Bay (CA)
  • California State University, Northridge (CA)

When beginning to execute a Climate Action Plan it becomes apparent that there isn't a 'one-size-fits-all' solution or a readily available replicable framework. Having to create your own tools can …

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
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Co-Creating: More Than Just a Plan

  • Santa Clara University (CA)

Instead of another long Climate Action Plan that no one typically reads (as we experienced with our 2010 and 2015 Climate Action Plans), when the time came to update our …

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
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Award Winner Session: Demystifying Sustainability Behaviors on College and University Campuses

  • Onondaga Community College (NY)

Strategies that focus on influencing student and employee sustainability-related behaviors can play an important role in achieving campus sustainability and climate action goals. Although campus sustainability practitioners recognize the value …

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
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The Value of Student Advocacy in Galvanizing Institutional Change

  • Amherst College (MA)

Representatives of an Amherst College student organization, Students for Climate Action (SCA), will discuss successful strategies for mobilizing students and pressuring college administrations in favor of carbon neutrality initiatives. This …

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
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Not Your Grandma's CAP: An Interactive Climate Action Plan for Storytelling and Spurring Change

  • CannonDesign (NY)

Shouldn't a campus's climate action plan lead to actual 'actions'? One might say, of course! In reality, traditional climate actions plans become static reports that once done are least socialized/researched …

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
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UVM Campus Sustainability Commitments

  • University of Vermont (VT)

Gioia Thompson, Director of the Office of Sustainability, discusses policy and action relating to the University's institutional commitments to climate neutrality, clean energy, energy efficiency, and ending sales of bottled …

  • Posted May 22, 2019
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Demystifying Sustainability Behaviors on College and University Campuses: A Mixed Methods Analysis

  • State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (NY)

In response to the growing threat posed by climate change, colleges and universities are implementing interventions to engage students and employees with achieving sustainability and greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. …


This Way to Climate Action at Chico State

  • California State University, Chico (CA)

Students at CSU, Chico used the Cal-Adapt climate tools to forecast the future climate for the City of Chico, Butte County, and CSU, Chico, and project the climate impacts to …


Lafayette becomes first Lehigh Valley college to pledge 'carbon neutrality'

  • Lafayette College (PA)
  • AASHE (MA)

Lafayette College pledges to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035 — a first among colleges in the Lehigh Valley.

  • Posted April 4, 2019
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Energy and Climate Planning at Rice University

  • Rice University (TX)

Rice University completed the Rice Integrated Climate and Energy Master Plan (RICEMaP) in 2013. Since that time, the world has arguably entered into a period of significant transition with respect …

  • Posted Nov. 8, 2018
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Developing an Energy Strategy for Sustainability to meet Climate Action Planning Goals

  • Lafayette College (PA)
  • Stone House Group (PA)

As ideas related to sustainability continue to grow on college campuses, college administrators and facilities directors look to develop plans that align campus infrastructure and facilities to fulfill sustainability goals. …

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Designing a Realistic, Challenging, and Effective Climate Action Plan: Options and Best Practices

  • Concordia College - Moorhead (MN)

This session will present the results of a research project aimed at understanding how institutions of higher education have developed and structured their Climate Action Plans. The goal of the …

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Projection and Scenario Analysis for Climate and Nitrogen Action Planning

  • University of New Hampshire (NH)
  • University of Virginia (VA)

Campuses are now calculating their carbon and nitrogen footprints together in SIMAP, a web-based platform launched in fall 2017. Once you have calculated your campus' footprints, how might you use …

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Boston University's Climate Action Plan and The Public Process

  • Boston University (MA)

Boston University's Climate Action Plan provides a roadmap to address energy use and sourcing, resiliency and climate preparedness, transportation, supply chain, and waste. Moreover it recommends the creation of an …

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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California State University East Bay Climate Action Plan 2018

  • California State University, East Bay (CA)

Cal State East Bay made a commitment to climate neutrality when President Morishita signed the Carbon Commitment (formerly the American Colleges and Universities Presidents’ Climate Commitment) in January 2015. Once …

  • Posted Aug. 30, 2018
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Grappling with Climate Uncertainties: MIT’s Resiliency Approach

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
  • AASHE (MA)

Heightened awareness from recent extreme weather events and emerging data about current and future climate risks is placing increasing pressure on university campuses to develop processes for enhancing the resilience …

  • Posted May 31, 2018
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Tackling it Together: A Framework for Assessing Climate Vulnerability in the Pioneer Valley

  • Smith College (MA)

In Western Massachusetts, stakeholders are engaging with vulnerability in different ways. While some are planning at the campus and city levels, others have engaged only in areas specific to their …


Making Climate Commitments into Climate Action

  • University of Illinois Chicago (IL)

The Climate Action Implementation Plan (CAIP) is the sustainability action plan for the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). The UIC Climate Commitments, announced in April 2016, form the basis …


First Application of UN-Toolkit to a Collegiate Climate Action Plan

  • San Diego State University (CA)

The United Nations Guiding Principles for Climate Action Planning Toolkit: City-Level Reviews was re-engineered to allow for the applicability and utilization towards university-level climate action plans. Through tailoring the eight …


Climate Change and the Canadian Higher Education System: An Institutional Policy Analysis

  • University of Rochester (NY)
  • University of Saskatchewan (SK)

Climate change is a pressing concern. Higher education can address the challenge, but systematic analyses of climate change in education policy are sparse. This paper addresses this gap in the …


Planning for Campus-Community Resilience to Climate Change in Champaign-Urbana

  • University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (IL)

This literature study involves a two-prong analysis. The first part (Chapter 2) will involve review of literature, reports, websites of organizations who are involved in sustainability and resilience planning. The …

  • Posted April 11, 2018
  • Publications
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Taking Action to Mitigate Climate Change on Campus and Beyond

  • Colby College (ME)
  • University of Minnesota, Morris (MN)
  • Clean Air-Cool Planet (NH)
  • AASHE (MA)
  • Energy Action Coalition

"Scientific instruments showed that the gas had reached an average daily level above 400 parts per million — just an odometer moment in one sense, but also a sobering reminder …

  • Posted April 3, 2018
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A Path Towards Reaching Nitrogen Footprint Reduction Goals at the University of Virginia

  • University of Virginia (VA)

A nitrogen (N) footprint is the amount of reactive nitrogen (Nr; all N compounds except N2) released to the environment as a result of an entities' resource use. At the …

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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How Deferred Maintenance can be Your Climate Action Plan Ally

  • Dickinson College (PA)
  • Stone House Group (PA)

Is your institution reluctant to start a green fund due to competing priorities such as deferred maintenance backlog? Come hear how Dickinson College has carefully identified energy-saving and carbon-reducing deferred …

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
  • Conference Presentations
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Climate Action (re)Boot Camp!

  • University of New Hampshire (NH)
  • Second Nature (MA)

Join us for a climate action boot camp! This workshop will provide a refresher on the basic components of climate action planning, and bring you up to date on reporting …

  • Posted Dec. 1, 2017
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Carbon Markets & Offsets Guidance

  • Second Nature (MA)

This document was developed as a resource for higher education institutions implementing one of the Presidents’ Climate Leadership Commitments. It outlines the concept of carbon offsets, how offsetting can be …


Smith College Study Group on Climate Change

  • Smith College (MA)

Here are several photos that we were utilized in the Report of the Smith College Study Group on Climate Change to illustrate campus work and initiatives in sustainability, including the …


Hot Air: University Climate Action Plans and Disarticulated Federalism

Individual states and academic institutions have taken leadership on climate change policy in the United States. Without unified national policy, a patchwork of state policies fosters geographic variation among climate …

  • Posted June 20, 2017
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Report of the Smith College Study Group on Climate Change

  • Smith College (MA)

In this report, the Study Group on Climate Change (SGCC) presents its recommendations for climate action by Smith College. By implementing these recommendations, the college will coherently integrate climate action …


Mapping a Pathway to Low-Carbon Campuses

  • Rocky Mountain Institute (CO)

Over the last few years, RMI has partnered with universities to develop aggressive carbon-reduction/neutrality plans and to share best practices associated with energy efficiency and renewable energy across organizations. Through …

  • Posted Feb. 13, 2017
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Realization of a Low Emission University Campus Through the Implementation of a Climate Action Plan

The Climate Action Plan (CAP) experience started a few years ago with the aim to manage carbon and energy more efficiently. CAP is a roadmap to get Universities to the …


Climate Action Planning: Making Plans that are Ambitious AND Implementable

  • Amherst College (MA)
  • Virginia Commonwealth University (VA)

Sustainability folk know writing a climate action or sustainability plan is only the beginning. After the initial buzz of publishing wanes, our plans begin to gather dust. What makes a …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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CAP Revisited: Lessons Learned and New Strategies Discovered by Revising Climate Action Plans

  • Emory University (GA)
  • University of Maryland, College Park (MD)

Colleges and universities are updating their climate action plans to reflect the latest GHG reduction strategies and renew stakeholder engagement. The University of Maryland released its first CAP in 2009 …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Developing Campus Resiliency Through a Climate Action Plan

  • Dickinson College (PA)

In 2008, Dickinson College developed a Climate Action Plan to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions and set a goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2020. The Stone House Group was brought …

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Achieving Carbon Neutrality at UCSB by 2025: A Critical Analysis of Technological and Financial Strategies

  • University of California, Santa Barbara (CA)

In 2013, University of California (UC) President Janet Napolitano established the Carbon Neutrality Initiative (CNI), a commitment to eliminate all Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2025. As one …

  • Posted July 28, 2016
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UCSC Climate & Energy Strategy- A Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality by 2025

  • University of California, Santa Cruz (CA)

Over the past 18 months, UCSC has been implementing a process to develop a comprehensive Climate and Energy Strategy (CES) to support its goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2025. …

  • Posted June 11, 2016
  • Case Studies
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Report on the Study Group on Climate Change Participatory Workshop

  • Smith College (MA)

New England’s climate is projected to experience signifiant changes in the near future, including warmer temperatures, varied precipitation and extended periods of drought, with more extreme rainfall and snowfall events. …


Campus Sustainability: The Next 10 Years

  • Emory University (GA)
  • Johnson County Community College (KS)
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
  • Western Michigan University (MI)
  • AASHE (MA)

Enjoy this plenary session that examines institutional sustainability advancements of both where we've been and we we are going.

Speakers include:

Julia Newman, Massacusetts Institute of Technology

Harold Glasser, Executive …

  • Posted March 3, 2016
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A New Model for Collaborative and Effective Campus Sustainability Decisions

  • University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (IL)

An AASHE member and ACUPCC signatory, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2050. In 2014, we developed a new model to engage both …

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Using Retro-Commissioning to Increase Climate Action Plan Resiliency

  • Seattle Pacific University (WA)
  • Paladino and Company (WA)

Seattle Pacific University created a climate action plan in June 2010. The goal of the plan is to reduce natural gas consumption 20% by 2015 and be a carbon neutral …

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Setting Building Energy Use Goals: Tracking Climate Action Plan targets and successes

  • Ball State University (IN)
  • Loyola University Chicago (IL)
  • Stanford University (CA)
  • University of Tennessee at Knoxville (TN)

This panel discussion will share the experience of three campuses in setting energy use goals for campus facilities. As energy and sustainability managers, the presenters will share their approaches to …

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Building Capacity Through Regional Climate Action: A case study of cross-sectorial partnerships

  • Wilfrid Laurier University (ON)

Laurier has a unique relationship with local nonprofit Sustainable Waterloo Region (SWR), a group that works to further environmental and economic resiliency in local organizations. SWR was initiated through a …

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Life after achieving your CAP Goals: What are teaching moments for others and how do you plan for the next big thing?

  • Chatham University (PA)
  • Colby College (ME)
  • Dickinson College (PA)
  • Virginia Commonwealth University (VA)
  • GreenerU (MA)

This session will focus on three key concepts. First, for the institutions that are close to or have obtained climate neutrality, what are learning outcomes that they can provide to …

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Putting the Action in a Climate Action Plan: Sustainability Planning with Community Input as the Foundation

  • Virginia Commonwealth University (VA)

Virginia Commonwealth University has been a leader in sustainability since signing onto the ACUPCC in 2008. VCU drafted its first Climate Action Plan in 2010, and submitted its first STARS …

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Meeting Climate Action Plan goals through the introduction of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) at West Chester University

  • West Chester University of Pennsylvania (PA)

West Chester University's President signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment in October, 2010 and a Climate Action Plan (CAP) was written. One objective of CAP was to …

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainable Spelman: HBCU Climate Action Planning

  • Spelman College (GA)
  • O'Brien & Gere (NY)

The Vision of a Sustainable Spelman requires all of us to adopt an ethic of conservation. In January of 2013, Spelman College completed its Climate Action Plan (CAP) and submitted …

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Campus Carbon Calculator Transformed: A New Era in Campus Climate Action

  • University of New Hampshire (NH)
  • Gordian (SC)
  • Clean Air-Cool Planet (NH)

Over a decade of standardized measurement and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions has played a critical role in advancing the ability of higher education to provide leadership in climate action. …

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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