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

Earth Systems Science Minor

  • Clark University (MA)

ESS examines the structure and function of the parts of the Earth's lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere and how these system interact with one another. This integrated science, which ...

  • Posted June 10, 2022
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Climate Science Minor

  • Northland College (WI)

The Climate Science minor helps students become informed citizens as they understand and articulate why climate change is happening. Students will study the interactions between Earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere ...

  • Posted June 10, 2022
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Bachelor of Science in Environmental and Atmospheric Sciences

  • Georgia Institute of Technology (GA)

The mission of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences is to realize the vision through building pillars of excellence in the following three areas: Breakthrough discoveries through research in ...

  • Posted June 10, 2022
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Minor in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences - School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

  • Georgia Institute of Technology (GA)

The School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences offers a minor with seven different tracks. These specific tracks are designed to give non-majors a background in the environmental and global change ...

  • Posted June 10, 2022
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Global Climate Change Minor

  • University of California, Riverside (CA)

The Global Climate Change option immerses students in the first principles of studying and interpreting the record of climate change. Students explore the sciences of climate change and its impact ...

  • Posted June 10, 2022
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MS in Global Climate and Environmental Change

  • University of California, Riverside (CA)

Global climate change is one of the most pressing scientific issues of our time, and has created an acute need for well-trained scientists versed in the complexity of the Earth ...

  • Posted June 10, 2022
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Climate Change Science and Adaptation Minor

  • Portland State University (OR)

Students will need to complete at least 27 credits to complete the Climate Change Science and Adaptation Minor. The minor may be earned simultaneously with a BA or BS degree ...

  • Posted June 10, 2022
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Climate Studies Minor

  • Boise State University (ID)

The Climate Studies Minor aims to help students understand past, current and future changes in climate and the effects of climate change on Earth’s atmospheric, biologic, hydrologic and ecologic ...

  • Posted June 10, 2022
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Graduate Diploma in Climate Risk Management

  • University of Waterloo (ON)

The CRM diploma is for the early-to mid-career professionals who must integrate climate risk management into their regular professional duties. This part-time, entirely online program focuses on applied skills that ...

  • Posted June 10, 2022
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PhD in Environmental Science and Technology

  • National Tsing Hua University

To face the new challenges in the pollution of air, soil, and water brought on by environmental change and global warming, our program is designed to equip students with superb ...

  • Posted June 10, 2022
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Climate Adaptation Certificate

  • North Carolina State University (NC)

As the climate change crisis continues there is an increasing need for professionals versed in climate adaptation. This certificate provides courses that will provide knowledge in the various ways to ...

  • Posted May 23, 2022
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Water–energy–carbon nexus at campus scale: Case of North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power

  • North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power
  • Nanjing University

Clarifying the nexus between water, energy, and carbon has great importance regarding regional sustainable development. A university campus is a multifunctional comprehensive community attribute suitable for exploring campus–scale water ...


BU Wind

  • Boston University (MA)
  • Edison Energy (CA)
  • ENGIE (TX)

BU Wind is a clean energy project in South Dakota that the University enabled, fulfilling a key goal of the University’s Climate Action Plan (CAP). A central element of ...


Engaging with Indigenous Communities for Climate Action: The Bayano-McGill Reforestation Project

  • McGill University (QC)

The Bayano-McGill Reforestation Project is an initiative that is at the leading edge of carbon offsetting projects in higher education. The multi-faceted initiative, financed by the University, provides benefits to ...


CSU Faculty Learning Community in Teaching Climate Change and Resilience

  • California State University, Chico (CA)
  • California State University, San Marcos (CA)
  • California State University, Monterey Bay (CA)
  • Cal Poly Humboldt (CA)
  • California State University, Stanislaus (CA)
  • California Polytechnic State University (CA)
  • Strategic Energy Innovations (CA)

In the Spring of 2022, 62 faculty from six different California State University campuses representing over 30 disciplines participated in the CSU Faculty Learning Community in Teaching Climate Change and ...


Establishing and sustaining Indiana’s first higher education chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby at Purdue University

  • Purdue University (IN)
  • Citizens' Climate Lobby (CA)

In an effort to learn how to meaningfully engage with my community on the issue of climate change, I joined Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization which advances ...


Information Disclosure and Climate-Friendly Consumption: Assessing the Impact of Carbon Labelling at a University Dining Hall

  • University of California, Berkeley (CA)

Global dietary patterns are increasingly reliant on animal products, which are highly carbon intensive and significantly contribute to climate change. While transitioning towards plant-based diets is regarded as an important ...


UM Scope 3 Purchased Goods & Services Emissions Footprinting

  • University of Michigan (MI)

This project was conducted to address recommendations from the University of Michigan’s President’s Commission on Carbon Neutrality by footprinting the institution's Scope 3 purchased goods and services ...


SIMAP and Second Nature Reporting Webinar April 2021

  • University of New Hampshire (NH)
  • Second Nature

SIMAP and Second Nature Reporting Webinar April 2021

  • Posted May 20, 2022
  • Videos & Webinars
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Climate Impact Offset Charge (CLIO) for University of Pennsylvania Air Travel

  • University of Pennsylvania (PA)

As of July, 2021, the University of Pennsylvania enacted a University-wide travel sustainability policy that created the Climate Impact Offset (CLIO) charge to pay for projects that offset the carbon ...


The Planetary Wellbeing Initiative: Pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals in Higher Education

  • Pompeu Fabra University
  • UNESCO
  • University of Essex
  • Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA)
  • École d'économie de Paris
  • University of Washington, Seattle (WA)
  • Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals
  • Barcelona Graduate School of Economics

We live in a time of pressing planetary challenges, many of which threaten catastrophic change to the natural environment and require massive and novel coordinated scientific and societal efforts on ...


Research on low-carbon campus based on ecological footprint evaluation and machine learning: A case study in China

  • Harvard University (MA)
  • University of Perugia
  • Northumbria University (Newcastle Upon Tyne)
  • Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Universities, the important locations for scientific research and education, have the responsibility to lead ecological civilization and low carbon transition. Ecological footprint evaluation (EFE) is usually used to measure sustainability ...


Introducing the Nitrogen Footprint in SIMAP: A Review of Improvements in Nitrogen Footprint Methodology for Institutions

  • University of Virginia (VA)
  • University of California, Davis (CA)
  • University of New Hampshire (NH)
  • Marine Biological Laboratory (MA)
  • Colorado State University (CO)
  • Eastern Mennonite University (VA)
  • Brown University (RI)

Nitrogen (N) footprint assessments have served as tools for sustainability, research, and education at institutions of higher learning by connecting institutional activities and resource consumption with environmental impacts through the ...


Assessment of the Ecological Footprint of Eskisehir Technical University–Iki Eylul Campus

  • Eskişehir Technical University
  • Kastamonu Universitesi

Sustainable development is a concept that has started gaining importance in recent years. It helps reduce the environmental impacts of cities with dense human populations. On a smaller scale, social ...


Towards Carbon Neutrality in Higher Education Institutions: Case of Two Private Universities in Colombia

  • Universidad EAN
  • Hamburg University of Applied Sciences
  • Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana

This paper addresses the path followed by two private higher education institutions (HEI) in Colombia towards achieving carbon neutrality. The methodology followed by these universities to achieve a carbon-neutral certification ...


Quantitative assessment of environmental impacts at the urban scale: the ecological footprint of a university campus

  • Università degli Studi di Torino
  • Politecnico di Torino

This paper explores the consumption-based ecological footprint method and its application aiming at a quantitative assessment of the sustainability of a university campus. The goal is to inform the planning ...


Scalable pathways to net zero carbon in the UK higher education sector: A systematic review of smart energy systems in university campuses

  • Buro Happold (NY)
  • University College London (London)

The following literature review sets out the state-of-the-art research relating to smart building principles and smart energy systems in UK higher education university campuses. The paper begins by discussing the ...


Arranging university semester date to minimize annual CO2 emission: A UK university case study

  • University of Edinburgh
  • Tsinghua University
  • Sichuan University

Existing methods of reducing carbon emissions on campus often require substantial investment, and the potential opportunities for carbon dioxide and energy savings in universities with existing infrastructure have not been ...


Considering Indigenous Environmental Issues in Canadian Curricula: A Critical Discourse Analysis

  • Concordia University (IL)
  • University of Calgary (AB)

This article presents insights from a curricular review of Canada’s ten provinces and three territories with a focus on critical Indigenous environmental issues. This inquiry was conducted amidst nationally ...


Achieving Sustainability and Carbon Neutrality in Higher Education Institutions: A Review

  • Victoria University (Victoria)
  • Charles Darwin University

Universities and higher education institutions play an important role in achieving a sustainable future through their teaching and by undertaking cutting edge research to combat climate change. There have been ...


Carbon Footprint at a United Arab Emirates University: GHG Protocol

  • American University of Sharjah (Ash Shariqah)

University campuses can be leaders of change by tracking carbon footprints and establishing strategies for reductions. The American University of Sharjah (AUS) has led this effort in the United Arab ...


Correlation between electric energy use and CO2 emissions in a university campus in Brazil

  • Universidade Federal Fluminense

The purpose of this article is to examine the correlations between greenhouse gas (GHG) by CO2eq emissions and the use of electricity on the Praia Vermelha campus of the Universidade ...


Energy consumption in university commuting: Barriers, policies and reduction scenarios in León (Spain)

  • Universidad de León

There is a growing interest in university commuting that aims at identifying patterns of behavior, as well as the main barriers limiting the advances in sustainable mobility on campus. This ...


Characterization of travel behavior at a university campus: A case study of Sharjah University City, UAE

  • University of Sharjah

Travelers to university campuses tend to follow particular travel patterns; hence, assessing these patterns offers a unique opportunity to recognize this important population group. This study investigates the differences among ...


Exploring sustainable student travel behaviour in The Netherlands: balancing online and on-campus learning

  • Avans University of Applied Sciences
  • Technische Universiteit Delft
  • Wageningen University

Daily commuting trips of higher education (HE) students account for a large proportion of the carbon footprint of a HE institution. Considerations of students underlying their choice of travel mode ...


Climate Emergency: UK Universities' Declarations and Their Role in Responding to Climate Change

  • Cardiff University

On April 17, 2019, the University of Bristol became the first university in the United Kingdom (UK) to declare a climate emergency. Against a backdrop of high visibility and public ...


Kicking the Habit: Rethinking Academic Hypermobility in the Anthropocene

  • Loyola University Chicago (IL)

Examining the hypermobility of many “elite” academic workers, this article situates mobility within the context of higher education and sustainability, decoloniality, and institutionalized expectations for academic travel. The mobility of ...


University leadership in climate mitigation: reducing emissions from waste through carbon pricing

  • Syracuse University (NY)
  • Seoul National University

Purpose - This paper aims to investigate potential impact of internal carbon pricing in emission reduction in Higher education institutions (HEIs). Over the past century, human activities have increased greenhouse gas ...


Carbon footprint in Higher Education Institutions: a literature review and prospects for future research

  • Universitat Jaume I (Castelló)

Higher Education Institutions (HEI) or universities, as organisations engaged in education, research and community services, play an important role in promoting sustainable development. Therefore, they are increasingly linked to the ...


Carbon footprint assessment tool for universities: CO2UNV

  • Universitat Jaume I (Castelló)

Universities, as organisations engaged in education, research and community services, play an important role in promoting sustainability and should be an example of a sustainable organisation. The Carbon Footprint (CF ...


A cost-minimizing approach to eliminating the primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions at institutions of higher education

  • University of Massachusetts Amherst (MA)
  • University of Massachusetts Boston (MA)

Many institutions of higher education have committed to carbon neutrality. Given this goal, the main economic issue is minimizing cost. As for society as a whole, dominant decarbonization strategies are ...


Strategies for Energy and Climate Management at the British Columbia Institute of Technology

  • British Columbia Institute of Technology (BC)

The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) is Canada's premier polytechnic. In 2008, BCIT partnered with its local electricity utility to hire a full-time energy manager. The following year ...


Sustainable geography in theory or in practice? Reflections from a participant at NGM 2019

  • UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Academic conferences have a large carbon footprint due to long-distance travel by participants and contribute to increased consumption in other ways. With reference to Stephen Sterling’s distinction between education ...


Stanford University Scope 3 Emissions Program

  • Stanford University (CA)

Over the past decade, Stanford University has reduced its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 80% and is on track to eliminate 100%. In June 2020, the Board ...


Pacific Northwest Just Futures Institute for Racial and Climate Justice

  • University of Oregon (OR)

The Pacific Northwest (PNW) Just Futures Institute is a transformational regional platform for racial and climate justice funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. We hold collaborations among the University ...


CLIMATE CRISIS ANTHEM Music Video

  • AASHE (PA)

The CLIMATE CRISIS ANTHEM is a visually and musically engaging 6:20 minute video that portrays the dire situation we all face in the current environmental breakdown.

Musical styles range ...

  • Posted May 4, 2022
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CFR 7/22 Higher Education Webinar: Campus Sustainability and Climate Change Mitigation

  • Mount Holyoke College (MA)

V.S. “Raghu” Raghavan, director of sustainability and associate director of the Miller Worley Center for the Environment at Mount Holyoke College, discusses actions campuses can take toward greater sustainability ...

  • Posted May 2, 2022
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Arbor Day Tree Planting

  • City University of New York, College of Staten Island (NY)

On April 29th, we celebrated the 150th Arbor day by planting 4 trees and 3 bushes on campus near the Baseball filed.


Decarbonising Universities: Case Study of the University of Exeter’s Green Strategy Plans Based on Analysing Its Energy Demand in 2012–2020

  • University of Exeter (Devon)

This study investigates the carbon footprint of the University of Exeter by analysing its energy consumption between 2012 and 2020 to assess its current standing in the process of achieving ...

  • Posted April 29, 2022
  • Publications
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Earth Day Student Sustainability Showcase

  • Sierra Nevada College (NV)

This photo shares a scene from the Sierra Nevada University Earth Day celebration held on 4/20/22 on the Incline Village campus in Lake Tahoe, NV. The day started ...

  • Posted April 28, 2022
  • Photographs
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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