Feb. 16, 2012 - The American College
& University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), an
agreement between nearly 700 colleges and universities to promote
sustainability through teaching and action, today released new data
on the positive environmental impact of colleges and universities across the
country in reducing their carbon footprints.
Among the findings:
- The 599 colleges that submitted greenhouse gas inventories reported CO2 emissions of 28m metric tons, roughly as much as 2.58m homes or 5.2m passenger vehicles emit annually
- 306 institutions set a target of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 or before; 93 pledged neutrality by 2030
- Collectively, the ACUPCC network has purchased more than 1.28 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy credits (RECs), making it the third-largest buyer in the country
Avoiding catastrophic climate change
will require transforming our economy, our institutions, our daily lives within
a generation. Only higher education has the influence, the critical mass
and the diversity of skills needed to do this.
John Olson, associate professor at
Villanova University, an ACUPCC signatory, explained the value it derives from
the network.
"The fact that Villanova is a
signatory of the ACUPCC has helped focus our efforts in many ways. It has prompted
us to collect data that are crucial to monitoring our progress. It has also
forced us to set milestones for achieving specific and concrete goals and
serves as a touchstone for developing academic programs on campus. Finally, the
pledge we made when signing the Commitment has allowed us to join the broader
coalition of institutions that have similarly committed to climate neutrality
and sustainability; such collaboration is energizing."
The ACUPCC has fundamentally shifted
higher education's attention on sustainability from a series of excellent but
distinct programs to a strategic imperative of presidents, academic officers,
business officers and trustees - becoming a key lens for measuring success. It
represents a cultural shift to focus on all aspects of social, economic and
ecological sustainability.
"This wealth of data speaks to
the enormous commitment and impact our member colleges have made," said
Dr. Anthony D. Cortese, president of Second Nature, the lead supporting
organization of the ACUPCC. "The ACUPCC truly is an example of
courageous leadership by college and university leaders. This is the first
major U.S. Sector to commit to climate neutrality and the first time since WWII
that higher education in the US has collectively stepped forward to take on a
major societal challenge without waiting for some external entity to request it
or fund them."
ACUPCC data shows that signatory
schools have secured on average $2,343,787 from outside sources
to support efforts related to the Climate Action Plan.
The data is publicly available on
the ACUPCC's online reporting system - www.acupcc.org/reportingsystem - a platform
that enables schools to quantify the sustainability activity that is taking
place on their campuses, and hold themselves accountable by sharing their
progress in a transparent way.
The full data set addresses current
emissions levels, target dates for emissions reductions and climate neutrality,
sustainability-related courses, degrees, and research initiatives, sources of
funding, projects recently completed, and a wealth of other newsworthy
information. The data is available in a variety of formats; contact Ulli Klein for
more information.
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About
the ACUPCC
The ACUPCC is a high-visibility
effort to address global warming by garnering institutional commitments from
college and universities to accelerate the education, research and community
engagement to equip society to re-stabilize the earth's climate, and eliminate
net greenhouse gas emissions from their own operations.
Learn more at: www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org.
About
Second Nature
Second Nature works to create a
healthy, just, and sustainable society by transforming higher education. Second
Nature is the lead supporting organization of the American College and
University Presidents' Climate Commitment, a growing network of over 675
signatory higher education institutions in all fifty states that have made a
public commitment to transform the educational experience for all students so
they are prepared to solve the climate crisis.
Learn more at: www.secondnature.org.
Stay going.
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