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

Accelerating Campus Climate Initiatives

  • Furman University (SC)
  • Luther College (IA)
  • University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
  • AASHE (PA)

This panel highlights inspiring examples from the book, "Accelerating Campus Climate Initiatives," a collaborative project by RMI and AASHE. Panelists from Furman University, Luther College, and University of Colorado at ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Accelerating Climate Action through Local, State and Regional Networks

  • Georgia Southern University (GA)
  • Macalester College (MN)
  • University of Texas at Austin (TX)
  • National Wildlife Federation (VA)

With more and more colleges and universities beginning to create climate action plans and implement sustainability initiatives, the need for developing networks to accelerate learning through peer-to-peer interaction and best ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Local Carbon Offset Projects: Lessons Learned from Yale, Furman, and Duke Universities

  • Duke University (NC)
  • Furman University (SC)
  • Yale University (CT)

Universities and Colleges across the nation are currently addressing climate change by making significant commitments to reduce campus greenhouse gas emissions. To meet their aggressive reduction targets campuses are identifying ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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ACUPCC: Writing, Implementing and Supporting Climate Action Plans

  • San Francisco State University (CA)
  • University of California, Office of the President (CA)
  • University of California, Berkeley (CA)

Over 600 chancellors and presidents have signed the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment. However, making the commitment and meeting it represent two very different tasks, the challenges which ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Calculating and Communicating the Carbon Benefit of Campus Trees

  • Chatham University (PA)
  • Clean Air-Cool Planet (NH)

This dialogue and discussion session will facilitate creation of a peer-reviewed methodology for calculating and reporting the carbon sequestration of campus trees, to further the design of responsible policies for ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Lessons from COP15 and Moving Forward on Climate Education

  • Dickinson College (PA)
  • Ithaca College (NY)

Our institutions provide hope in a time of discouragement. The UNFCCC 15th Conference of the Parties in December 2009 resulted in the Copenhagen Accord, a document which failed to live ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Creating a Learning Community for Solutions to Climate Change

  • Chatham University (PA)
  • Samford University (AL)

The rapidly evolving and interdisciplinary nature of climate change presents a challenge to colleges and universities as they seek to educate undergraduate students. To address this challenge, the National Council ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Carbon Offsets in a Local Setting: Final Results from the Green House Project

  • Ohio University (OH)

The Green House Project was a split-incentive and education program which targeted both student renters and their landlords (hence the "split") in the Athens OH area in order to improve ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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goCARTS: Driving Learning Through Climate Action Plan Implementation

  • Ithaca College (NY)

Ithaca College has pledged to achieve climate neutrality by the year 2050. Climate neutrality means zero NET emissions. Interim goals include a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2015 ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Measuring Change in Pro-environmental Behavior: SJSU's Ecological Footprint Challenge

  • San Jose State University (CA)

In 2009, the Sustainability Initiative at San Jose State University created two unique programs to engage its 25,000 students, faculty, and staff in understanding and taking action on the ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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AMS Climate Studies: Dynamic Climate Science Exploration for College Students

  • American Meteorological Society (DC)

The American Meteorological Society has a long history of developing introductory college-level courses and has found them to be important avenues for advancing scientific literacy among the public. As a ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Assessing the Sustainability of Carbon Sequestration through Reforestation

  • George Mason University (VA)

Ashley Mott, M.S.

George Mason University, 2010

Project Director:

Dr. Sharon DeMonsabert

George Mason University began to address its greenhouse gas emissions with its Climate Action Plan commitment to ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Partnerships for Change: The Nova Scotia Community Emissions Challenge

  • Acadia University (NS)

As part of the Arthur Irving Academy for the Environment's mandate to foster sustainability both on campus and in the community an emissions reduction outreach program targeted to Nova ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Beyond GHG Reduction. Climate Change adaptation for Dalhousie University.

  • Dalhousie University (NS)

Global and local environmental and sustainability challenges such as energy security, efficiency, and climate change are compounding. Universities across the world have responded by signing commitment statements, conducting GHG inventories ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Innovative Campus Sustainability Initiatives at Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida

  • Eckerd College (FL)

Eckerd College signed the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) in 2007. The College has data on campuswide greenhouse gas emissions since 2002. We will present this data ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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International Collaborative Approaches to Tackling Climate Change Through Higher Eduction

  • Environmental Association for Universities & Colleges (EAUC) (Gloucestershire)

Following the success of the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), Scotland's universities and colleges have publicly declared their intention to address the challenges of climate change ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Why Ohio U Won't Cede or Sell Its Renewable Energy Credits

  • Ohio University (OH)

Increasingly, colleges and universities are being approached by third party developers to install alternative energy systems on campus with little to no upfront capital investment. The catch? As part of ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Setting Ambitious Climate Action Targets

  • University of British Columbia (BC)

UBC adopted a Climate Action Plan in 2010 to advance towards a low-carbon future, committing the university to aggressive greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets. Compared to 2007 levels, GHGs will ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Performance Matters, Tangible Progress on Mitigating Climate Change

  • University of Calgary (AB)

The University of Calgary (U of C) is a signatory to the University and College Presidents' Climate Change Statement of Action for Canada. This session will highlight how the U ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Clarifying Climate Confusion: Lessons from Climate Literacy

  • University of Colorado Boulder (CO)

Described by one observer as "as imperative for survival," climate literacy is a Presidential Priority. Yet tremendous work needs to be done particularly in higher education, to increase the number ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Climate Neutral Research Campuses

  • Alliance for Sustainable Energy (CO)

Climate Neutral: Research Campuses

Center of Excellence Provides Resources to Achieve Climate Neutrality

Abstract

A new climate action resource center illustrates the full range of campus climate action options with ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Corporate Climate Responsibility: Why Competition Will Save the World

  • Climate Counts

Benefiting from worldwide media coverage, the Climate Counts Company Scorecard has rapidly emerged as a credible measure of corporate climate responsibility. The Scorecard is driving stakeholder dialogue and soul-searching in ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Teaching Climate Change Across the Disciplines

  • Dickinson College (PA)

Global climate change has far reaching implications for the environment, social justice, and economic wellbeing, now and in the future. Effective teaching that enables students to think critically about climate ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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A Collaborative Approach to Creating a More Sustainable Campus

  • Eastern Connecticut State University (CT)

As an early signatory of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, (ACUPCC), Eastern Connecticut State University made clear its ongoing commitment to leadership in environmental responsibility. We are ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Assessment of emission reduction as a function of biomass boiler installation

  • Franklin Pierce University (NH)

Life cycle analysis of biomass (wood pellet) production demonstrates significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, when compared to the life cycle analysis of No. 2 heating fuel. Life cycle analysis ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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We're on board with ACUPCC: Now what?

  • Hillsborough Community College (FL)

Almost 700 institutions of higher education are signatories to the ACUPCC and it is encouraging to note that this momentum appears to be building. Community or 4-year colleges, that have ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Interweaving Academic Reading Skill Development with Global Warming and Sustainability Education

  • Montgomery College (MD)

There are still people who do not know much about, or even deny the existence of, global warming. Education may, therefore, play a role in our efforts to reduce the ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Predictive Modeling of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

  • Oregon Institute of Technology (OR)

Climate action plans currently developed by institutions of higher education across the country need to provide various mitigations strategies to achieve carbon neutrality in the "near future". These strategies are ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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State Policy Influence on ACUPCC Climate Action Plans

  • Stetson University (FL)

Climate change policy in the US has been highly variable, with little structure at the federal level and great variability among states. The lack of overarching national climate change policy ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Demonstrating Carbon Sequestration with a Verifiable Land-Use Change

  • Truman State University (MO)

The use of degraded agricultural lands for carbon sequestration has the potential to store significant amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Through verifiable land-use changes, property owners could realize revenue by ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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University of Northern BC Campus Bio-energy System

  • University of Northern British Columbia (BC)

The University of Northern BC (UNBC) is located in Prince George, BC - Canada. The main campus of UNBC was opened in 1994 and currently hosts a student enrollment, faculty and ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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University of Toronto Mississauga's Greenhouse Gas Inventory: A Case Study

  • University of Toronto (ON)

This presentation provides a case study of the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM)'s greenhouse gas inventory, in a Canadian regulatory context. This presentation will cover the rationale for completing ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Facilitating Effective Implementation of the ACUPCC

  • Western Michigan University (MI)

The American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) requires signatories to submit greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories and climate action plans (CAPs) for their respective campuses. Although almost 700 presidents ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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A Deliberative Poll on Climate Change

  • Carnegie Mellon University (PA)

For climate policy decisions to be accepted at any institutional level, it is critically important to gain public support. Unfortunately for issues with important scientific and technical details such as ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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A Carbon Footprint Calculator for On-campus Students: Development and Education

  • Rice University (TX)

Online carbon footprint calculators lack the specificity to allow students living on a university campus to estimate their personal carbon footprint. Because on-campus students do not receive residential energy bills ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Campus Carbon Neutrality as a Pedagogical Tool

  • Calvin University (MI)

We asked our students a simple question, "What would it take to make our campus carbon neutral?" They discovered that on-campus sequestration potential is minimal, despite a 90-acre campus forest ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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GHG External Reporting: Collaborate, Collect, Report

  • Brown University (RI)
  • Keene State College (NH)
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
  • University of New Hampshire (NH)
  • University of Vermont (VT)

Sustainability coordinators have limited time and resources to commit to greenhouse data collection and reporting, and the growing number of climate registries, tools and initiatives can be daunting to navigate ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Role of Higher Education in the Climate Policy Debate

  • The Student PIRGs (OR)

Comprehensive climate policies have already passed in California and New Jersey. A dozen other states are currently debating similar policies. Congress will likely adopt some kind of climate policy in ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Mega University - Two Roads, One Path To Climate Neutrality

  • Arizona State University (AZ)
  • University of Florida (FL)

The University of Florida and Arizona State University both enjoy grassroots support and top level leadership for sustainability. With 55 and 65 thousand students respectively, the development of a campus ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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A Case Study: Engaging Pomona College Students in an ACUPCC Climate Action Plan

  • Pomona College (CA)
  • Sasaki Associates, Inc. (MA)
  • CTG Energetics, Inc. (CA)

As colleges and universities embark on a comprehensive inventory of greenhouse gas emissions for the ACUPCC, they are faced with creating a process that will accurately assess the campus' energy ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free by 2050

  • Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (MD)

Sustainability can only come if we can bring the CO2 content of our atmosphere back within safe limits. This will require large reduction in CO2 emissions from the industrialized nations ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Measuring Institutional Carbon "Foodprints"

  • Johns Hopkins University (MD)
  • Clean Air-Cool Planet (NH)

Amid growing concerns about climate change, colleges and universities across the country are conducting greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories in order to begin taking steps toward reducing their carbon footprint. Many ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Using a Class to Conduct a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory: Lessons from Macalester College

  • Macalester College (MN)

During spring 2008, students in Macalester College's environmental studies senior seminar conducted a greenhouse gas emissions inventory of Macalester College as their class project. This project is the campus ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Boldly Sustainable: Developing a Town-Gown Climate Action Plan in Ithaca, NY

  • Cornell University (NY)
  • Ithaca College (NY)
  • Second Nature (MA)
  • Affiliated Engineers, Inc. (WI)
  • Performance Systems Development (NY)

The success of the ACUPCC depends to a large extent on whether higher education institutions can not only move forward on their own campuses, but also build support for greenhouse ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Planning to Move Beyond Climate-neutral: Supporting Students in Catalyzing Change.

  • University of British Columbia (BC)

The need for comprehensive, integrated climate action is offering new avenues for collaboration and the formation of new partnerships. Nowhere is this more visible than on campuses, where collaboration among ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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A Field Report for the Nelson Insitute for Environmental Studies Carbon Footprint Project

  • University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)
  • Affiliated Engineers, Inc. (WI)

This project examines the carbon footprint of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies (NI) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The goal of the NI Carbon Footprint Project is to provide ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Leverage Your Greenhouse Gas Inventory

  • Fitchburg State University (MA)
  • Gordian (SC)
  • Clean Air-Cool Planet (NH)

Campuses across the country are completing GHG inventories, many for the first time. Though the effort can be daunting and complicated, the inventory is an important strategic tool that institutions ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Overcoming the Challenges of Calculating your Carbon Footprint: An American University Case Study

  • American University (DC)
  • Facility Engineering Associates (VA)

As institutions that mold our future leaders and professionals, colleges and universities have a duty to set an example in promoting sustainability. Today, American colleges and universities are calling for ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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From Creating a Carbon Footprint Baseline to Achieving Climate Neutrality: A Structured Approach to Meeting your ACUPCC Goals

  • Seattle University (WA)
  • University of Central Oklahoma (OK)
  • University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (WI)
  • Johnson Controls, Inc (WI)
  • City of Saint Anthony Village (MN)

Panelists will discuss how their ACUPCC activities have been couched within a broader master planning context, an energy management program context, and a dedicated process focused on meeting the terms ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Developing a Climate Action Plan with the Campus Carbon Calculator

  • Middlebury College (VT)
  • University of New Hampshire (NH)
  • Clean Air-Cool Planet (NH)
  • Brighter Planet (IL)

Hundreds of schools across the US and Canada have relied upon the Clean Air-Cool Planet Campus Carbon Calculator to measure their baseline GHG emissions and to track their progress in ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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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