Air & Climate

Introduction

Global climate change is having myriad negative impacts throughout the world, including increased frequency and potency of extreme weather events, sea level rise, species extinction, water shortages, declining agricultural production, and spread of diseases. The impacts are particularly pronounced for low-income communities and countries. In addition, institutions that inventory and take steps to reduce their air pollutant emissions can positively impact the health of the campus community, as well as the health of their local communities and regions.

1186 resources

How To Accelerate Your Institution’s Scope 3 Emissions Reductions

  • Catawba College (NC)
  • AASHE (PA)
  • GreenPlaces (NC)

With campus leaders facing mounting pressure to reduce carbon emissions, many institutions are struggling to measure and manage scope 3 emissions. Data collection is highly manual, and many institutions simply ...

  • Posted March 6, 2024
  • Videos & Webinars
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UBC Okanagan Climate Action Plan 2030 - The Impact of Collective Action

  • University of British Columbia Okanagan (BC)

In December 2019, UBC declared a climate emergency, which included a commitment to accelerate the reduction of emissions at UBC. A key step is UBC Okanagan’s development of a ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
  • Conference Presentations
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Finished the Climate Action Plan - Now What?

  • University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
  • University of Minnesota System Office (MN)

Climate action plans can be a big endeavor, but really they are only the first step in the process. Now what? Join colleagues to discuss how they advanced priorities (or ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
  • Conference Presentations
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COP28 Dubai Climate Conference - Delegation Organizers or Members

  • University of Massachusetts Lowell (MA)
  • University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)

Meet and learn about the plans and interests of other faculty, academic staff or students who are organizing or participating in University or other delegations to the Climate Conference known ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
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Campus Decarbonization Masterclass Panel - Featuring Leah Bamberger, Dennis Carlberg, & Dano Weisbord

  • Boston University (MA)
  • Dartmouth College (NH)
  • Northeastern University (MA)
  • Tufts University (MA)

Panelists from 3 Boston-area institutions will swap stories and share lessons learned from their institution’s efforts to decarbonize and strengthen community resilience to climate change. This panel will feature ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
  • Conference Presentations
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Ben Jealous Masterclass

  • Boston University (MA)
  • Sierra Club (DC)

With experience leading social change organizations from the NAACP to the Sierra Club, Benjamin Jealous will make the case that we cannot solve the climate crisis without also tackling racial ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
  • Conference Presentations
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Climate Leadership Network Networking Meeting

  • Second Nature (MA)

Attendees representing campuses that have signed the Presidents' Climate Leadership Commitments and those interested in learning about the Climate Leadership Network will hear from Second Nature staff about recent accomplishments ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
  • Conference Presentations
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Collaborative Sustainability: Unlocking the Power of Scope 3 Partnerships

  • Follett Corporation (IL)
  • GreenPlaces (NC)

With time running out on climate commitments, many institutions struggle with addressing Scope 3 emissions. Data collection is highly manual, and many institutions simply don’t know where to start ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
  • Conference Presentations
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What Greenhouse Gas Inventories Tell Us About our Carbon Goals

  • University of Pittsburgh (PA)

Decarbonizing college campuses is an important step in reducing net global emissions. It is also important to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at universities because of the role colleges play ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
  • Conference Presentations
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Not Your Average Emissions: Scope 3 Challenges, Opportunities, and Taking a Holistic Approach

  • Harvard University (MA)

Reducing Scope 3 emissions is an urgent sustainability challenge, but while the opportunity for impact is great, the journey forward is not always clear or easy. For most organizations, including ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
  • Conference Presentations
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Advancing Sustainability Initiatives Beyond Campus to Communities

  • Vanderbilt University (TN)
  • Clearloop (TN)
  • Panola Partnership (MS)

As more higher education institutions seek to reduce their carbon footprints and implement sustainability goals, a new partnership between Clearloop and Vanderbilt University showcases climate and community leadership in action ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
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From Pride to Planet: Queer Communities and Climate Justice

  • Rochester Institute of Technology (NY)
  • University at Buffalo (NY)

Climate change is one of the greatest threats faced by people and nature worldwide, but marginalized communities feel the impacts of this threat more severely than others. Although these communities ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
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Carbon Budget Implementation at University of Gothenburg: Meeting the -50% CO2e Goal

  • University of Gothenburg

The session will describe how the University of Gothenburg decided to meet the challenge of reducing the CO2-emissions by implementing a carbon budget at faculty level. Working together with a ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
  • Conference Presentations
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Integrating Sustainability into Daily Decisions: A Path to Greener Practices for Campus Partners

  • Montana State University (MT)

This presentation showcases the unique benefits of the Green Cats Program at Montana State University, and helps audience members learn how to implement similar programming at their home institutions. The ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
  • Conference Presentations
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Let’s Play Carbon Crunch – A Game for Climate Action Planning

  • Colorado State University (CO)

Trying to reduce your institutions carbon emissions? Play ‘Carbon Crunch’ – a game of strategy, risk, collaboration, chance, and innovation. Tasked with achieving your university's carbon reduction goals, you and ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
  • Conference Presentations
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Hot Topic: Heat Waves & Cool Campuses Planning for Climate-Resilient Communities

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
  • University of Washington, Seattle (WA)
  • Yale University (CT)

Join this session to network with colleagues from around the country and discuss ways we can effectively prepare for heat in this changing climate. As temperatures rise, schools in the ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
  • Conference Presentations
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Climate Action Implementation: Governance Approaches for Climate Implementation

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
  • University of California, Office of the President (CA)

Colleges and universities across the globe have set very ambitious targets for climate action ranging from steep mitigation goals of zero carbon, to ensuring a resilient campus and preparing for ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
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Campus Decarbonization Through Comprehensive Energy Retrofits

  • College of the Atlantic (ME)

Over the last two years, College of the Atlantic has reduced our buildings' fossil fuel consumption and the resulting scope 1 carbon emissions from our buildings by 50%/square foot ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
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How to Achieve 70% Carbon Footprint Reduction for Minimal Cost and Beyond

  • University of Toledo (OH)

The University of Toledo has achieved approximately 70% carbon footprint reduction, saves millions in energy costs, and has one of the lowest energy usages in the region. This technical presentation ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
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Where’s the Easy Button? Rolling Up Your Sleeves & Advancing Climate Action Through Electrification

  • Columbia University (NY)
  • University at Buffalo (NY)
  • Wendel

Renewables, check; food systems, working on it; conservation programs, being advanced; electric vehicles, in route. What? We still have another 40% of our footprint to decrease (even without embodied carbon ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
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Mitigating Air Travel Emissions

  • University of Pennsylvania (PA)
  • University of Toronto (ON)

Air travel is inextricably linked with the research and outreach mission of universities and as a result is a significant contributor to GHG emissions when Scope 3 is accounted for ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
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Climate Action Simulation: How Will You Solve the Climate Crisis

  • University of Massachusetts Lowell (MA)
  • University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)

The highly interactive, team-based Climate Action Simulation will immerse participants for two full hours. The Climate Action Simulation enables people to gain insights into the factors that affect climate change ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
  • Conference Presentations
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UBC Okanagan - Building Resilience to Climate Change

  • University of British Columbia Okanagan (BC)

The impact of climate-related events poses a major threat to higher education institutions and this is expected to amplify as the climate continues to change. The importance of making investments ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
  • Conference Presentations
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Fostering Collaborative Action to Meet Voluntary and Regulatory Climate Goals

  • Harvard University (MA)
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
  • Tufts University (MA)
  • PowerOptions, Inc (MA)

The Cities of Cambridge and Boston have recently passed some of the most advanced building-level climate action targets in the country. This field report-style panel will discuss and explore the ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
  • Conference Presentations
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Scope 3 Data, Reporting, & Mitigation Strategies: An Interactive Session

  • Stanford University (CA)
  • University of New Hampshire (NH)

The University of New Hampshire and Stanford will convey lessons from their scope 3 journeys to give other institutions tools and approaches that simplify scope 3 and enable strategic action ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
  • Conference Presentations
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Strategic Planning for Equitable Climate Mitigation

  • Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
  • Robert Morris University (PA) (PA)
  • University of Pittsburgh (PA)

As a group of colleges and universities dedicated to reducing their individual and collective climate impacts, the Higher Education Climate Consortium of Pittsburgh (HECC) has been convening for 15 years ...

  • Posted Feb. 21, 2024
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Missing Pieces in Higher Education Climate Action Planning: Food, Reuse and Empowerment

  • AASHE (PA)
  • Gaia Education
  • Center for Biological Diversity (AZ)

Climate plans can help colleges and universities address climate concerns specific to the students, faculty and staff of that campus. Staff from the Center for Biological Diversity and GAIA will ...

  • Posted Feb. 15, 2024
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What Is Sustainable Science, and How Can We Green Our Labs?

  • University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
  • AASHE (PA)

The research and teaching conducted in university laboratories often has an outsized impact on a campus’ carbon footprint, due to the energy-intensive nature of lab air quality requirements, as well ...

  • Posted Nov. 9, 2023
  • Videos & Webinars
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Our Carbon Footprint - Digital Education Package

  • Educated Choices Program

This digital video presentation and accompanying materials, developed in partnership with the Environmental Working Group (EWG), explores the environmental impacts associated with the production of modern food products and food ...

  • Posted Oct. 19, 2023
  • Course Materials
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Comparison of carbon management and emissions of universities that did and did not adopt voluntary carbon offsets

  • Imperial College London

ABSTRACT The urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, remove carbon from the atmosphere and stabilize natural carbon sinks has led to the development of many carbon management measures, increasingly ...

  • Posted Oct. 18, 2023
  • Publications
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Environmental Lab Research

  • University of Southern California (CA)

A summer graduate fellow with the USC Dornsife Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies, Lanja Karadaghi, demonstrates the research they are conducting in the lab.


W&L's new off-site solar array

  • Washington and Lee University (VA)

W&L partnered with solar developer SE1 to construct an array that generates electricity equal to 100% of W&L's annual electricity consumption. The solar power will go onto the regional ...


Ola Niuhelewai

  • University of Hawaii Honolulu Community College (HI)

“Ola Niuhelewai!” Niuhelewai Lives! Ola Niuhelewai is a five-year project (10/1/2020 to 9/30/2025) entirely funded by a U.S. DOE Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions ...


Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy, University of Utah

  • University of Utah (UT)

New Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy - University of Utah announced in August 2022 the creation of the interdisciplinary Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy to promote research ...


Programs in sustainable mobility

  • Université de Sherbrooke (QC)

The Université de Sherbrooke is firmly committed to sustainable mobility and has implemented a wide range of programs in this area. For example, its student community enjoy free access to ...


Carbon neutrality for the Université de Sherbrooke

  • Université de Sherbrooke (QC)

Université de Sherbrooke redoubled efforts and achieved carbon neutrality in spring 2022, 8 years ahead of its 2030 target. Emissions reduction efforts include purchasing renewable natural gas, installing heat pumps ...


Implementation of an ambitious energy efficiency program

  • Université de Sherbrooke (QC)

The Université de Sherbrooke has taken advantage of a period of growth from 2002-2003 to 2020-2021 to roll out an ambitious energy efficiency program on its campuses, aiming to reduce ...


Energy efficiency : the Creative Studio

  • Université de Sherbrooke (QC)

In the last 20 years, construction and major renovation projects of the Université de Sherbrooke have included high-performance energy efficiency measures that reduced the energy consumption of the buildings by ...


Honolulu Community College: SCI 2023

  • University of Hawaii Honolulu Community College (HI)

Student success and wellbeing initiative - Funded by a US Department of Education grant through 2025, the Ola Niuhelewai Program at University of Hawaii Honolulu Community College aims to increase Native ...


HKUST the First to Launch New ESG Investment Policy for its Net-Zero Carbon Goal

  • Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (Hong Kong)

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) became the first university in Hong Kong to make a pledge to eliminate investments in fossil fuels, with a concrete environmental ...


Photovoltaic panel

  • Université de Sherbrooke (QC)

With a capacity of 1 MW, the solar park of the Université de Sherbrooke is the largest dedicated to applied research in Canada. Photovoltaic panels are located in various places ...


Solar Park

  • Université de Sherbrooke (QC)

With a capacity of 1 MW, the solar park of the Université de Sherbrooke is the largest dedicated to applied research in Canada. Photovoltaic panels are located in various places ...


Brandeis Year of Climate Action infographic

  • Brandeis University (MA)

Infographic with details about Brandeis' Year of Climate Action


Bennington College Commons Building

  • Bennington College (VT)

This holistic remaking of the historic and beloved center of campus community life combines dining, social, and academic areas within a collection of dynamic spaces. The building is animated by ...


Bennington College Commons

  • Bennington College (VT)

This holistic remaking of the historic and beloved center of campus community life combines dining, social, and academic areas within a collection of dynamic spaces. The building is animated by ...


University of Manitoba campus

  • University of Manitoba (MB)

Top Performer, Water University of Manitoba campus


Forestery living lab

  • Université Laval (QC)

Every year, Université Laval's Faculty of Forestry organizes research and teaching activities in its scientific forest, Forêt Montmorency. This is an opportunity for students to apply their learning and ...


Higher Ed and Climate Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
  • Aspen Institute (NY)
  • Second Nature

With $369 billion in climate and energy provisions, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) signifies the largest climate investment in US history and has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by ...


Funding Opportunities from DOE to Advance Climate Solutions

  • AASHE (PA)
  • United States Department of Energy (DC)
  • Urban Sustainability Directors Network (IL)

A webinar brought to you by AASHE, Second Nature, and the Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP) at the Department of Energy.

The Office of State and Community ...

  • Posted July 26, 2023
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Cli Fi, Sci Fi, and the Culture of Sustainability

  • University of Hawaii Kapiolani Community College (HI)
  • AASHE (PA)

Climate fiction, or cli-fi, is a form of literature that features a changed/changing climate or global warming as part of the character, setting, or plot of a novel or ...

  • Posted June 28, 2023
  • Videos & Webinars
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This tab provides access to data collected through AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS). STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS enables meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of measurements developed with broad participation from the campus sustainability community.

All responses reference content from reports under the latest version of STARS, version 2.2. AASHE membership and log-in is required.

OP 1: Emissions Inventory & Disclosure

OP 2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.

Air & Climate Partners