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.

1187 resources

Framework proposal for the environmental impact assessment of universities in the context of Green IT

  • Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG) (GO)

The concept of Green IT refers to sustainable technologies and information systems as well as environmentally friendly IT practices. Universities, which hold responsibility for propagating and applying knowledge, play an ...


Priming the Sustainability Talent Pipeline: Indiana Sustainability Development Program

  • Indiana University Bloomington (IN)
  • Indiana University Kokomo (IN)
  • Indiana University South Bend (IN)
  • Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) (IN)

The Indiana Sustainability Development Program (ISDP) is a privately funded sustainability workforce development initiative led by Sustain IU (the Office of Sustainability at Indiana University), which pairs students with organizations ...


Multi-Campus Collaboration Kickstarts Solar Project to Cut 100% of GHG Emissions from Electricity

  • Dickinson College (PA)
  • Lafayette College (PA)
  • Lehigh University (PA)
  • Muhlenberg College (PA)
  • Coho Climate Advisors (MD)

Four independent colleges and universities in Pennsylvania collaborated to explore renewable energy solutions, develop a strategy, and implement a combination of onsite and large-scale offsite projects that will result in ...


Brown University's Thermal Efficiency Project-1

  • Brown University (RI)
  • Ecosystem Energy Services (MA)

Brown University is a 6.5 million sq. ft. research university campus founded in 1764 in Providence, Rhode Island. Its annual energy bill is $20 million.

The campus undertook the ...


Enhancing Growth in Rooftop Gardens with CO2 from Human Respiration Inside Buildings

  • Boston University (MA)

Cities are essential areas for human society. They face many environmental challenges while providing opportunities for integrating human infrastructure with the surrounding environment. This study proposes a system whereby carbon ...


Reducing Smith College’s Dining GHG emissions: An analysis of beef and milk substitutions

  • Smith College (MA)

The life cycle of food is responsible for over a quarter of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through production, processing, distribution, and waste. The environmental impact of food varies by ...


Converting Miami University’s Goggin Ice Center from Steam to Heating Hot Water & HP Chiller: Reduced Energy Use, Carbon Emissions and Utility Costs

  • Miami University (OH)

We recognize that this innovative large scale project is replicable only at other universities that have ice arenas. Ice arenas tend to be very energy intensive. We show that converting ...


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 ...


One Million Trees

  • Pepperdine University (CA)
  • Santa Monica College (CA)
  • University of California, Los Angeles (CA)
  • University of Southern California (CA)

This project started in 2015 and the goal was to plant one million trees by 2020 in partnership with the National Forest Foundation. Our team came up with the idea ...


Assessment of the car-free day implementation on UTM campus using a shortest path method

  • Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

A Car-Free Day (CFD) initiative was introduced on the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) campus and intended to reduce vehicle emissions, promote healthy lifestyle modes of transportation and improve environmental sustainability ...


The role of climate change education on individual lifetime carbon emissions

  • San Jose State University (CA)

Strategies to mitigate climate change often center on clean technologies, such as electric vehicles and solar panels, while the mitigation potential of a quality educational experience is rarely discussed. In ...


Carbon footprint assessment at Universitas Pertamina from the scope of electricity, transportation, and waste generation: Toward a green campus and promotion of environmental sustainability

  • Universitas Pertamina (Jakarta)

A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions generated directly or indirectly from the daily routine of human activities and is usually expressed by carbon dioxide equivalent ...


Ecological footprint: a tool for environmental management in educational institutions

  • Universidad Icesi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, as few universities have assessed their ecological footprint (EF), a benchmark for Colombian universities is presented. Second, a practical calculation tool ...


Greenhouse Gas Footprints for Physicists

  • University of Hawaii at Hilo (HI)
  • University of New Hampshire (NH)
  • University of Virginia (VA)

Our aim in this paper is to describe an opportunity for physics students and faculty to learn about an environmental issue of much current interest: the quantification, or footprint analysis ...


UI GreenMetric and campus sustainability: a review of the role of African universities

  • Ural Federal University (Sverdlovskaya Oblast')

The desire to combat the negative externalities of climate change and its variability has gained a lot of ground over the last few decades. This has resulted in the development ...


Boston University Online Earth Day 2020

  • Boston University (MA)

April 21, 2020: Boston University's online commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day featured conversations about our progress as an institution, how climate change relates to the novel ...


How the University of Vermont feels about crises

  • University of Vermont (VT)

The University of Vermont Eco-Reps started work on their "Coping with Climate Change" campaign even before the switch to online classes. This video, produced virtually by Photo & Video Manager ...

  • Posted May 8, 2020
  • Videos & Webinars
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University of Vermont Eco-Reps Coping with Crises Case Study 2019-2020

  • University of Vermont (VT)

Originally this campaign was going to focus solely on coping with climate change, however, in being interrupted by COVID-19, we decided to expand the campaign’s scope to address coping ...


Building Climate Resilience at Arizona State University: Second Nature’s Climate Commitment

  • Arizona State University (AZ)

In 2016, Arizona State University’s President, Michael Crow, signed the Second Nature Climate Commitment, which not only reaffirmed ASU’s commitment to climate neutrality but also set a course ...


From Weather Wizard to Cloud Man: Sustainability Education & Outreach with a Fun Approach

  • Cornell University (NY)
  • American Meteorological Society (DC)

The goal of this project is to educate young students about sustainability and create a passion for the environment. Frequently, schools wait until middle school to introduce environmental topics. My ...


Community Engagement in the Transition to Carbon Neutrality

  • University of Victoria (BC)
  • AASHE (PA)

Universities are increasingly interested in transitioning towards carbon neutrality. Through our discussions with peer AASHE members, a significant challenge is meaningfully engaging students, staff, and faculty in the process. During ...

  • Posted April 30, 2020
  • Videos & Webinars
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Solar Energy on Campus (Part II: Solar Purchasing Options and Communicating Renewable Energy Use)

  • Center for Resource Solutions | Green-e (CA)

This report examines the solar purchasing options available to higher education institutions, and the fundamental components of each deal that affect renewable energy certificate (REC) ownership, claims, and the environmental ...

  • Posted April 17, 2020
  • Publications
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Are Electric Buildings a Feasible Carbon Neutrality Strategy?

  • University of California, Office of the President (CA)
  • AASHE (PA)
  • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (CA)

The path to campus carbon neutrality is becoming clearer: electrify everything and procure renewable electricity. Electrifying campus energy infrastructure is a complex undertaking that requires a significant financial investment. While ...

  • Posted March 18, 2020
  • Videos & Webinars
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Is Skidmore Carbo-loading? Establishing a Baseline Carbon Inventory of Skidmore’s Northern Lands

  • Skidmore College (NY)

Approximately half of the world’s terrestrially sequestered carbon is held in forests and wetlands. Landowners and institutions can manage forests to maximize their sequestration potential for the purpose of ...

  • Posted March 6, 2020
  • Publications
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Carbon Footprint Estimation in a University Campus: Evaluation and Insights

  • Oregon State University (OR)
  • Universidad de Talca

Background: The University of Talca (UT), since 2012, has been annually tracking the carbon footprint (CF) based on the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol for all its five campuses. The purpose ...

  • Posted March 6, 2020
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Climate change education for universities: A conceptual framework from an international study

  • University of Malta (Northern Harbor District)
  • Nottingham Trent University
  • Brunel University London (Middlesex)
  • Universidad de la República Uruguay (Montevideo)
  • European School of Sustainability Science and Research

The role of universities in climate change education (CCE) is of great importance if the scientific, social, environmental and political challenges the world faces are to be met. Future leaders ...

  • Posted March 5, 2020
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The Urban Heat Island at a Regional University in Kentucky, USA

  • Eastern Kentucky University (KY)

Constructing buildings, sidewalks, parking lots, and roads inadvertently affects local climate. The best studied example of this, the urban heat island (UHI), manifests as elevated temperatures in developed areas compared ...

  • Posted March 5, 2020
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Geographic versus institutional drivers of nitrogen footprints: A comparison of two urban universities

  • McGill University (QC)
  • Université de Montréal (QC)

Excess reactive nitrogen (N) is linked to a myriad of environmental problems that carry large societal costs. Nitrogen footprint tools can help institutions understand how their direct and indirect activities ...

  • Posted March 5, 2020
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Climate change and the fossil fuel divestment movement in Canadian higher education: The mobilities of actions, actors, and tactics

  • University of Saskatchewan (SK)

Situated within the broader climate justice movement, the fossil fuel divestment movement calls for both public and private divestment of financial holdings from fossil fuel companies. This paper examines the ...

  • Posted March 4, 2020
  • Publications
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Welcome and Unwelcome Surprises on the Path to Carbon-Neutrality

  • University of California, Irvine (CA)
  • AASHE (PA)

For many colleges and universities, the commitment to carbon-neutrality was initially a pledge based upon a leap of faith that was judged too important to delay until a clear path ...

  • Posted Feb. 20, 2020
  • Videos & Webinars
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On 4.7.20, Focus Your Campus on Ambitious Climate Solutions

  • Bard College (NY)
  • AASHE (PA)

Solve Climate By 2030 is mobilizing US educators to engage over 100,000 students in dialog about ambitious stabilizing the climate over the next decade. It culminates on the evening ...

  • Posted Feb. 13, 2020
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A lifecycle cost analysis of transitioning to a fully-electrified, renewably powered, and carbon-neutral campus at the University of Dayton

  • University of Dayton (OH)

This paper analyzes the cost-effectiveness of converting the University of Dayton (UD) to a fully-electrified, renewably powered, carbon-neutral campus by 2025. The greenhouse gas (GHG) impact and 30-year lifecycle costs ...

  • Posted Feb. 10, 2020
  • Publications
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The World Climate Simulation: A Tool to Motivate Science-Informed Climate Action on Your Campus

  • University of Massachusetts Lowell (MA)

Are you looking for a tool to get students engaged, excited, and motivated to take science-informed action on your campus? This workshop will give you hands-on experience with the World ...

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
  • Conference Presentations
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Student Summit Opening Keynote with Varshini Prakash

  • Sunrise Movement (DC)

Varshini Prakash is the executive director and co-founder of Sunrise Movement, a movement of young people working to stop climate change, take back our democracy from Big Oil, and elect ...

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
  • Conference Presentations
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Closing Keynote with Bill McKibben - Author, Environmentalist, Activist

  • 350.org (NY)

In his heartfelt, hopeful talks, McKibben offers realistic approaches to saving our planet, as individuals, certainly, but also as thoughtful members of a mobilized group. When it comes to building ...

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
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Building Personal Resilience in a Wellbeing Economy

  • Strategic Energy Innovations (CA)
  • Verdis Group (NE)

As the climate continues to change, weather events are increasingly affecting people in deeply personal ways. Grief, trauma, depression, hopelessness, fatalism and uneasiness are all symptoms. Recent reports by the ...

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
  • Conference Presentations
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Don't pack your bags. We can create interactive, fun and transformative e-conferences.

  • University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
  • University of Alberta (AB)

Don't stress! Yes, conferences create connections and inspire new ideas; however, traveling to conferences costs time, money and increases our carbon footprint. But no, it's not the only ...

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
  • Conference Presentations
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Revolutionizing Transportation & Mobility Data Surveys with AI and Smart Phones: A pilot study

  • State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (NY)
  • B-Line Analytics (NS)

Data science, artificial intelligence and smart phones carry the potential to revolutionize transportation/mobility planning and scope 3 greenhouse house gas inventories. Traditional transportation surveys are conducted by hundreds of ...

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
  • Conference Presentations
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Getting There from Here: Improving Data Collection and Reporting Related to Commuting Impacts

  • Arizona State University (AZ)
  • University of Illinois Chicago (IL)
  • University of New Hampshire (NH)
  • Second Nature (MA)

For more than a decade, tracking greenhouse gas emissions and other impacts of commuting has been one of the more crazy-making aspects of sustainability reporting and planning. In 2019, University ...

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
  • Conference Presentations
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Can Buying Better Products Help Reverse Global Warming? Toward Circular, Carbon-Storing Procurement

  • Interface, Inc (GA)

What does Procurement have to do with global warming? Research indicates that the embodied carbon (the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere from product supply chains, manufacturing and transport) purchased by ...

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
  • Conference Presentations
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Engaging Community Partners in Resilience Planning: Catalyzing Action Beyond the College/University

  • Concordia College (NY)

A relatively new part of the Climate Commitment (run by the organization Second Nature) is the mandate to engage in resilience planning. Signatories to the commitment pledge to engage with ...

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
  • Conference Presentations
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The Role of Rural Campuses in Building Community Resilience and Responding to Extreme Weather

  • Black Hills State University (SD)
  • California State University, Chico (CA)
  • Central Community College (NE)
  • Second Nature (MA)

Rural colleges/universities are often one of the driving cultural and economic forces in their region. As a result of this position, they can be a great resource in the ...

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
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Exploring Deep Decarbonization on a Research Intensive Campus

  • California Institute of Technology (CA)
  • Affiliated Engineers, Inc. (WI)

Caltech is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, whose mission is to expand human knowledge and benefit society through research integrated with education. For the past decade, Caltech ...

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
  • Conference Presentations
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Partners in Greening the Economy: Clean Energy and Electrification on Campus and in the Community

  • Weber State University (UT)

For sustainability, we collectively need to green our economy to improve environmental and human health and wellbeing. One aspect of this larger process is to shift to clean energy sources ...

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
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Learn to Lead the World Climate Simulation, a Mock UN Climate Negotiation

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

Learn to lead a World Climate Simulation - a mock United Nations (UN) climate negotiation meeting - on your campus or community. As a facilitator for the World Climate Simulation, you will ...

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
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Co-Creating a Sustainable Economy Through Climate Adaptation Strategies

  • University of Dayton (OH)

This session will provide the audience applicable lessons and ideas on how to integrate learning opportunities of a sustainable economy into the curriculum. While informing and inspiring attendees on cutting ...

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
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Climate Resilience and Economic Development: Unlikely Bedfellows in a Small Community

  • Black Hills State University (SD)
  • Verdis Group (NE)

In 2018, Black Hills State University began a climate resiliency planning process for the campus and surrounding community of Spearfish, South Dakota (pop. 12,000). With the help of Verdis ...

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
  • Conference Presentations
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Best Practices for Inter-Institutional Emissions Benchmarking

  • Duke University (NC)
  • Harvard University (MA)
  • Stanford University (CA)
  • University of Pennsylvania (PA)
  • Yale University (CT)

The Ivy+ Sustainability Consortium is a collective of 14 higher education universities that share and develop best practices for sustainability. In an effort to better understand the consortium's collective ...

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
  • Conference Presentations
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Getting to Yes on a Comprehensive Institutional Response to the Climate Crisis: Energy 2028

  • Middlebury College (VT)

Middlebury College trustees recently adopted a resolution committing the college to achieve the following goals: - Divestment from all fossil fuel and related investments in its endowment - 100% renewable energy sources ...

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
  • Conference Presentations
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Convincing Our Colleagues to Fly Less: Engaging Academics on E-Conferencing

  • University of Alberta (AB)

Academic conferences provide invaluable scholarly interaction, yet a reliance on air travel means conferencing has a big carbon footprint. Estimates suggest air travel can make up 15-30 per cent of ...

  • Posted Dec. 4, 2019
  • Conference Presentations
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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