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.
Featured Resources
Latest News from AASHE Bulletin
New Resources
How To Decarbonize With Renewable Natural Gas
- University of New Hampshire (NH)
- Vanguard Renewables (MA)
- ONE Gas (OK)
Many colleges and universities have set aggressive carbon neutrality targets and are struggling to find practical ways to meet the numbers. As colleges move toward reducing their carbon footprint by …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
- View more
How Swarthmore College and Vanderbilt University are Neutralizing Their Footprint with Climate Vault
- Swarthmore College (PA)
- Climate Vault (IL)
This session will explore how verified carbon offsets play an important role for higher education institutions to reduce and/or neutralize their carbon footprint – and how one non-profit’s approach goes …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
- View more
University Air Travel and GHG Mitigation: An Analysis of Higher Education Climate Policies
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (TN)
This presentation will detail and discuss research that examined the climate policies of 46 public doctoral institutions to understand how they address university air travel greenhouse gas mitigation. This research …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
- View more
COVID or Us? Interpreting GHG Emission Reductions Amid a Pandemic While Improving Energy Efficiency
- Bemidji State University (MN)
Located in Northern Minnesota, Bemidji State University (BSU) operates within a dispersed, rural, and diverse community. With a longstanding commitment to carbon reduction, BSU has strategically partnered with the university's …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Additionality: How to Ensure Your Renewable Electricity Procurement Strategy Has Real Climate Impact
- University of Dayton (OH)
Many higher education institutions are pursuing active decarbonization programs to demonstrate climate leadership. A key element in these programs is eliminating the climate impact of an institution's electricity procurement, which …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Contraception and Consumption in the Age of Extinction
- Center for Biological Diversity (AZ)
Over the past 50 years, as human populations have doubled, wildlife populations have plummeted by half. Humanity's dependence on fossil fuels and industrial agriculture, persecution of wildlife, massive habitat destruction …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
- View more
A Tale of Drivers and Drivers: Addressing Scope 3 Emissions in Our Auto-Centric Culture
- West Chester University of Pennsylvania (PA)
Scope 3 Emissions are so challenging to reduce that many institutions of higher education put them in a separate category from their primary carbon neutrality commitment. Defined as "indirect," these …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Climate Resilience through Community Resilience: Lessons from Appalachian Kentucky
- University of Kentucky (KY)
Flooding in Appalachian Kentucky during the spring of 2021 laid bare the now established threat of climate change to a region often left out of conversations about climate resilience. While …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
- View more
From Pledge to Plan: Two Case Studies of Public University Decarbonization Plans
- University of Massachusetts Amherst (MA)
- University of Oregon (OR)
Join two Sustainability Directors as they tell their stories about how they led decarbonization planning efforts on their campuses. UMass Amherst and the University of Oregon are both large R1 …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Connecting Your Campus Across Intersections of Climate, Race, and Internationalization
- The GREEN Program (PA)
- Climate Action Network for International Educators (CANIE) (Victoria)
Environmental justice is racial justice. Sustainability necessitates addressing racism. Higher education must play its part to proactively strategize and foster interdepartmental collaboration to address environmental justice at our campus and …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
- View more
U.S. & Canadian "Climate Havens" - Networking & Preparedness Around Where It Will Suck Less
- University at Buffalo (NY)
- University of Minnesota, Duluth (MN)
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (WI)
Water is Life. The Great Lakes Region, the U.S. and Canada, are becoming known as future "Climate Havens" of this century. Cities and universities are beginning to take notice of …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The Future is Being Resilient to Climate Emergencies
- Rice University (TX)
- Communities Responding to Extreme Weather (MA)
Resiliency to climate emergencies is necessary to respond to extreme weather events that are occurring more frequently as the climate changes. A climate emergency does not always mean there will …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The Future of Life on Earth: A Case for Academia’s Role in Advancing Conservation and Biodiversity to Address Climate and Human Health
- Harvard University (MA)
- Stanford University (CA)
- University of New Hampshire (NH)
- Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (MA)
In a January 2021 executive order addressing the climate crisis, President Joe Biden committed the U.S. to an ambitious conservation goal: to protect 30 percent of U.S. land and coastal …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Applied Organizational Sustainability: An Interdisciplinary STEM-Based Sustainability Course
- Murray State University (KY)
In order to meet future workforce needs, STEM and sustainability should be integrated throughout university curriculum, including in business disciplines. However, STEM remains underrepresented in business education, including business conceptions …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Student Involvement in Supporting the Carbon Commitment at UNC Asheville
- University of North Carolina, Asheville (NC)
This session will explain steps to take toward climate action on a university campus. In a UNC Asheville course entitled "Communicating Climate Change," a group of students led an initiative …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The Carbon and Nitrogen Footprint of Food
- Stanford University (CA)
- University of New Hampshire (NH)
Food purchasing can be a significant component of campus carbon and nitrogen footprints. SIMAP (unhsimap.org) is a web-based campus footprint tool that calculates the carbon and nitrogen emissions from food …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
- View more
A Campus Framework for Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion-Centered Climate Resilience Planning
- University of California, Office of the President (CA)
- University of California, Los Angeles (CA)
- University of California, Santa Cruz (CA)
- Integral Group (CA)
"Climate resilience planning" has been a growing buzz phrase across the country for years. Although many municipalities are beginning to incorporate current and future climate realities into their planning efforts, …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Climate Solutions 101: Curricula That Inform Conversations & Inspire Action on Climate Solutions
- Villanova University (PA)
- AASHE (MA)
- Project Drawdown (CA)
- Solutions Journalism Network (NY)
Project Drawdown and the Solutions Journalism Network are partnering to offer a webinar for AASHE educators and staff who want to shift the conversation about climate change away from gloom …
- Posted Jan. 13, 2022
- Videos & Webinars
- View more
Launching the Emerging Environmental Leaders (EELs) Program in Minnesota
- University of Minnesota, Morris (MN)
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
University of Minnesota campuses (Twin Cities and Morris) collaborated with the State of Minnesota to launch the Emerging Environmental Leaders (EELs) program in the spring of 2021. The program brought …
- Posted Jan. 3, 2022
- Case Studies
- View more
Introducing a Climate Anxiety Toolkit and Generating Insights from a Co-Evaluation Process
- AASHE (MA)
- University of Technology Sydney
In this webinar, the presenters will introduce a recently developed climate toolkit as well as conduct a co-evaluation process of the resource with participants. The webinar will draw on insights …
- Posted Nov. 18, 2021
- Videos & Webinars
- View more
University of Michigan Carbon Neutral Power and Heat Infrastructure Study: Summary Report
- University of Michigan (MI)
This report was compiled during the academic year of 2019-2020 for the University of Michigan (U-M) President's Commission on Carbon Neutrality by the Integral Group, an external firm selected by …
- Posted Nov. 17, 2021
- Publications
- View more
The University of Michigan Building Efficiency Studies
- University of Michigan (MI)
This report was compiled during the academic year of 2019-2020 and 2020 - 2021 for the University of Michigan (U-M) President's Commission on Carbon Neutrality by SmithGroup Inc., an external …
- Posted Nov. 17, 2021
- Publications
- View more
Building Standards at the University of Michigan: A Report Developed for and Supported by the U-M President's Commission on Carbon Neutrality
- University of Michigan (MI)
This report was compiled during the academic year of 2019-2020 for the University of Michigan President's Commission on Carbon Neutrality by the Building Standards Internal Analysis Team. The Building Standards …
- Posted Nov. 17, 2021
- Publications
- View more
Commuting at the University of Michigan: A Report Developed for and Supported by the U-M President's Commission on Carbon Neutrality
- University of Michigan (MI)
This report was compiled during the academic year of 2019-2020 for the University of Michigan (U-M) President's Commission on Carbon Neutrality by the Commuting Internal Analysis Team. Through its work, …
- Posted Nov. 17, 2021
- Publications
- View more
Energy Consumption Policies at the University of Michigan: A Report Developed for and Supported by the U-M President's Commission on Carbon Neutrality
- University of Michigan (MI)
This report was compiled during the academic year of 2019-2020 for the University of Michigan (U-M) President's Commission on Carbon Neutrality by the Energy Consumption Policies Internal Analysis Team. Through …
- Posted Nov. 17, 2021
- Publications
- View more
Food at the University of Michigan: A Report Developed for and Supported by the U-M President's Commission on Carbon Neutrality
- University of Michigan (MI)
This report was compiled during the academic year of 2019-2020 for the University of Michigan (U-M) President's Commission on Carbon Neutrality by the Food Internal Analysis Team. Through its work, …
- Posted Nov. 17, 2021
- Publications
- View more
University-Sponsored Travel at the University of Michigan: A Report Developed for and Supported by the U-M President's Commission on Carbon Neutrality
- University of Michigan (MI)
This report was compiled during the academic year of 2019-2020 for the University of Michigan (U-M) President's Commission on Carbon Neutrality by the University-Sponsored Travel Internal Analysis Team. The University-Sponsored …
- Posted Nov. 17, 2021
- Publications
- View more
Final Report and Recommendations, U-M President's Commission on Carbon Neutrality
- University of Michigan (MI)
The President's Commission on Carbon Neutrality, charged with recommending scalable, transferable, and financially responsible strategies for U-M to achieve net-zero emissions, recently submitted its final report and recommendations to President …
- Posted Nov. 16, 2021
- Publications
- View more
Healthier building materials and equity: the upstream and downstream impacts of material choices
- Williams College (MA)
- Integrated Eco Strategy
Materials used in current building construction often contain chemicals that at best have not been tested for human health impacts and at worst are actively harmful to human health. While …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Networking to collaborate with UC-CSU NXTerra: California's new Climate Emergency Teaching Tool
- University of California, Santa Barbara (CA)
Presenters Dr. John Foran and Richard Widick will introduce UC-CSU NXTerra and discuss our strategies for scaling up the urgency of climate change education. NXTerra is an interdisciplinary network collaboration …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Accelerating Higher Education's Role in Meeting Global Decarbonization Targets
- Second Nature (MA)
- Environmental Association for Universities & Colleges (EAUC) (Gloucestershire)
- United Nations Environment Programme
The Paris Agreement establishes a framework for keeping global temperature rise below 1.5 - 2 degrees C. While much of the focus has been on the parties to the Agreement …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
How We Became Carbon Neutral Certified: Charles Sturt University and University of Tasmania
- University of Tasmania (TAS)
Climate change remains one of the single greatest environmental and social challenges we face. Tertiary education organizations can take positive action and be part of the global response that is …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Advancing Operational Climate Action During COVID-19: Perspectives from Global Research Universities
- Arizona State University (AZ)
- University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
- University of British Columbia (BC)
- Second Nature (MA)
The coronavirus pandemic has effected us all - changing the way our university campuses currently operate and will operate well into the future. And while universities continue to respond to …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Measuring Campus, Climate Anxiety and Ideas for Coping Beyond the Classroom
- University of Vermont (VT)
We're all surrounded by students from what's been dubbed the 'climate generation' (a group that is particularly attuned to the threat and inequity of climate change) as well as faculty …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Climate Action Workshop, Using Climate Interactive's En-Roads Model
- University of Massachusetts Lowell (MA)
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
Come to the Climate Action Workshop and create a scenario to address global climate change with known technologies and policies. You will be immersed in the challenge and opportunity of …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Using Building Science and Technology to Deliver Equitable Indoor Air Quality
- Duquesne University (PA)
- AUROS Group (PA)
The data is clear. Building occupants directly benefit from high indoor air quality in both 1) improved health and 2) improved performance. This lightening talk will not only empirically support …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Your Values at Work - How YOU Can Drive Corporate Action on Climate Change
- Environmental Defense Fund (DC)
Young people today are increasingly aligning their lifestyles and career choices with their values, especially when it comes to sustainability. With their futures ahead of them, students and young professionals …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Mobilizing to VOTE: Climate 2020
- Our Climate (OR)
Our Climate's workshop will highlight our voter registration and Get Out The Vote campaign. Young people are the largest voting bloc in this country, we can have a tremendous influence …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The Roadmap to Zero: Decarbonizing Swarthmore's Energy Systems
- Swarthmore College (PA)
Climate change poses a grave threat to human health, safety, and well-being. Building on Swarthmore's mission to educate for the common good, the College seeks to model the transformation that …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Beyond Campus Boundaries: Transferring your Skills to Support Climate Action in Local Government
- Hampshire College (MA)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
- University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (MA)
The climate crisis and lack of national-level action has left many of us feeling like we need to do more - both on campus and beyond. As students, staff, and …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Lots of Watts: Four Campuses Join Forces to Build a Giant Solar Farm
- Dickinson College (PA)
- Lafayette College (PA)
- Lehigh University (PA)
- Muhlenberg College (PA)
- Coho Climate Advisors (MD)
Large-scale renewable energy power purchase agreements can eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from purchased electricity, while saving money and mitigating energy price risk over time. However, most campuses are too small, …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The Offset Network: Campus-driven Carbon Offset Projects
- Duke University (NC)
- Hamilton College-Clinton.NY (NY)
- Second Nature (MA)
Most campuses need to use some amount of carbon offsets to meet climate goals. However, few options through traditional carbon markets are affordable and provide the local co-benefits and connection …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Applied Sustainability: Leadership Lessons From the Field
- Ohio University (OH)
- University of Oregon (OR)
- Local Government Commission (CA)
In order to empower leaders and build momentum for the sustainability movement, we need to embrace the full leadership pathway before, during and after the higher education experience. While much …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Using Hand-crafts to Engage a Campus on the Climate Crisis: 50 Years of Tempestries & a Sketch-crawl
- University of California, Davis (CA)
For the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in April 2020, the UC Davis Office of Sustainability coordinated a master list and website (https://earthday.ucdavis.edu/) of more than 60 events over nearly …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
2 Universities, 1 Climate Goal
- College of William & Mary (VA)
- University of Virginia (VA)
William & Mary and the University of Virginia jointly announced a carbon neutrality date of 2030 along with a climate action partnership between the two. Choosing to collaborate, each university …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Implementing the Renewable Energy Rider Program
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)
In 2020, the University of Wisconsin-Madison partnered with its electric utility, Madison Gas and Electric (MGE), to invest in a 10 megawatt (MW) solar development through the Renewable Energy Rider …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
New Ways to Love a Tree
- Hope College (MI)
The tree outside your window is providing ecological, economic, and health benefits that most folks take for granted. As urban development continues to replace natural forests at a rapid pace, …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The Post Carbon Neutrality Story: A Student Perspective on how to Pursue Meaningful Peer Engagement
- Colgate University (NY)
In 2019, Colgate University became the first university in New York, and one of the first in the country, to achieve carbon neutrality. While the road to carbon neutrality was …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Building Campus-Community Relationships and Resilience
- Bemidji State University (MN)
- Precipitate, PLLC (MN)
Located in Northern Minnesota, Bemidji State University (BSU) operates within a dispersed, rural, and diverse community. Bemidji State staff and faculty will be joined by planning consultant Precipitate to share …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
GHG's and EIS: Automating the Greenhouse Gas Inventory Process
- California State University, Northridge (CA)
Universities nationwide have made impressive commitments to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases that drive climate change. This has led to a variety of emission-tracking tools and methodologies, ranging widely …
- Posted Nov. 15, 2021
- Conference Presentations
- View more
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
- Description of the methodology and/or tool used to complete the GHG emissions inventory
- GHG emissions inventory (upload)
- Brief description of the GHG inventory verification process
- Brief description of the methodology for completing an air emissions inventory
OP 2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user, performance year
- Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year
- A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives
- Website URL where information about the institution's GHG emissions is available
Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.