The ACUPCC Implementer

Dear Implementation Liaisons,

Greetings from Kentucky! I have just moved back to my hometown of Lexington, which also happens to be where the AASHE office is located, and am temporarily living on a thoroughbred farm complete with 8 newborn foals (including the friendly one pictured here!). As usual, there's also been a lot happening with the ACUPCC in the past month, most importantly the addition of the Climate Action Plan submission form in the Reporting System, as described below. We have spoken with more than a hundred Charter Signatories in recent weeks and happily have learned that the vast majority plan to submit their CAPs by the September 15 deadline or within the allowed extension period. The CAP wiki has been a huge success--more than 2,600 users have visited the site in the two months since its launch--and we would like to extend our sincere thanks to Walter Simpson for creating this resource. This issue features Walter's final article as a regular Implementer columnist. And don't forget to register for the ACUPCC Climate Leadership Summit on August 13 & 14 in Chicago where you will have the opportunity to join other presidents and ILs in working together to advance climate planning on your campuses. New research indicates that global warming will be twice as severe as previously thought unless strong policies are put into place now to curb emissions, so your efforts are more important than ever!

With regards,
Toni Nelson

Announcing the Launch of the New Climate Action Plan Submission Form
Farewell for Now, Climateers!
U.S. EPA Partnership Programs: Helping to Support ACUPCC Implementation
Piecing Together the CAP Puzzle

Announcing the Launch of the New Climate Action Plan Submission Form

by Niles Barnes, Projects Coordinator, AASHE

We are pleased to announce that the ACUPCC Reporting System is now accepting Climate Action Plans (CAPs) in preparation for the September 15 reporting deadline for Charter Signatories. Similar to the GHG reporting form, implementation liaisons may now fill in information related to their CAP and upload it to the Reporting System. This new functionality provides users the ability to download and view CAPs from signatories in a standardized format that includes emissions targets, mitigation strategies, narratives describing plans to expand community outreach and research for the achievement of climate neutrality, and other information. In the future, this information will enable us to add additional statistics and data views to the system that we hope will be useful to signatories. We encourage signatories to upload their Climate Action Plans as soon as they are complete and utilize the reporting instructions for assistance. If you have any questions please email reporting@aashe.org.

Farewell for Now, Climateers!

by Walter Simpson, AASHE Senior Fellow and Retired 26-Year University at Buffalo Energy Officer and Director of UB Green

Hello and Goodbye Campus Climateers! I am wrapping up my current contract with AASHE to provide resources to help colleges and universities achieve their climate action goals. It's been a great pleasure and honor to be able to assist you and your schools in this critically important endeavor. As regular readers of this column know, nothing is more important to me than addressing the climate crisis and I greatly respect and appreciate the efforts you and you colleagues are making to do that on your campus... and hopefully in your community as well (see final word below)... Read more.

U.S. EPA Partnership Programs: Helping to Support ACUPCC Implementation

by Nicole Villamizar, Environmental Protection Specialist, U.S. EPA Office of Resource Conservation & Recovery

As colleges and universities across the US are making commitments to become more environmentally friendly, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can serve as a partner to help institutions reach their goals. EPA's partnership programs and initiatives offer free, non-regulatory guidance, technical support, and resources that can help American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) signatories achieve their climate goals. More specifically, as signatories work to achieve their Tangible Actions requirements, partnering with EPA's ENERGY STAR, Green Power Partnership, and WasteWise programs can lead to efficient, cost effective solutions... Read more.

Piecing Together the CAP Puzzle

by Marcus Renner, Environmental Center Coordinator, Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO

Fort Lewis College is a public liberal arts college of just under 4,000 students in Durango, Colorado. Our president, Brad Bartel, was a charter signatory of the ACUPCC, and his signature kicked off a two-year odyssey of climate and sustainability planning on our campus that still has a ways to go. Like many schools we've had to piece our plan together on a shoestring budget, really just enough to buy a lot of elbow grease, and pull together disparate and hard to find pieces of information. It all starts, of course, with a spreadsheet. The blank cells in ours were daunting, especially as the number of potential energy and transportation strategies multiplied. We began, however, to break things down into pieces, and as we reviewed the pioneering work by the students, staff, and faculty at institutions like Middlebury and Duke, the cells started to fill in with costs and carbon offsets, net present values and payback periods. Ultimately, we identified 77 potential strategies to reduce our carbon footprint... Read more.

Join AASHE

Membership in AASHE provides excellent value for signatories of the ACUPCC, offering access to a rich array of online resources and numerous opportunities for networking, information sharing, collaboration, and professional development. Join now!

Resources

Climate Action Planning Wiki

ACUPCC 2008 Annual Report

ACUPCC Reporting System

Extension Policy

Implementation Guide (PDF)

GHG Inventory Brief (PDF)

Climate Action Plans

Academic Guidance Document for ACUPCC Institutions

Energy Financing Toolkit

Events

Green Building at Financially Strained Institutions: Models and Resources
Pre-conference session to NACUBO 2009 Annual Meeting sponsored by Second Nature and Kresge Foundation
June 27, 2009
Boston, MA

ACUPCC Climate Leadership Summit
August 13-14, 2009
Chicago, IL

Greening of the Campus VIII: Embracing Change
September 20-23, 2009
Indianapolis, IN

Webinars

Organizational Leadership and Climate Change
May 5, 2009 (Recording)

The Impact of Fulfilling Your Climate Commitment Vs. The Cost of Doing Nothing
May 19, 2009 (Recording)

Local Carbon Offsets 101 Webcast
June 30, 2009

Opportunities

2009 USGBC Excellence in Green Building Education Awards Program
recognizes outstanding curriculum and teaching methods that incorporate the built environment to teach sustainability. Submissions due by June 25, 2009.

Advancing Green Building in Higher Education
AASHE membership discounts available for the first 100 under-resourced schools that sign up.

Powered by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
The ACUPCC Implementer
Issue 9, June 3, 2009


The ACUPCC Implementer

Dear Implementation Liaisons, Greetings from Kentucky! I have just moved back to my hometown of Lexington, which also happens to be where the AASHE office is located, and am temporarily living on a thoroughbred farm complete with 8 newborn foals (including the friendly one pictured here!). As usual, there's also been a lot happening with the ACUPCC in the past month, most importantly the addition of the Climate Action Plan submission form in the Reporting System, as described below. We have spoken with more than a hundred Charter Signatories in recent weeks and happily have learned that the vast majority plan to submit their CAPs by the September 15 deadline or within the allowed extension period. The CAP wiki has been a huge success--more than 2,600 users have visited the site in the two months since its launch--and we would like to extend our sincere thanks to Walter Simpson for creating this resource. This issue features Walter's final article as a regular Implementer columnist. And don't forget to register for the ACUPCC Climate Leadership Summit on August 13 & 14 in Chicago where you will have the opportunity to join other presidents and ILs in working together to advance climate planning on your campuses. New research indicates that global warming will be twice as severe as previously thought unless strong policies are put into place now to curb emissions, so your efforts are more important than ever! With regards, Toni Nelson Table of Contents Announcing the Launch of the New Climate Action Plan Submission Form Farewell for Now, Climateers! U.S. EPA Partnership Programs: Helping to Support ACUPCC Implementation Piecing Together the CAP Puzzle Announcing the Launch of the New Climate Action Plan Submission Form by Niles Barnes, Projects Coordinator, AASHE We are pleased to announce that the ACUPCC Reporting System is now accepting Climate Action Plans (CAPs) in preparation for the September 15 reporting deadline for Charter Signatories. Similar to the GHG reporting form, implementation liaisons may now fill in information related to their CAP and upload it to the Reporting System. This new functionality provides users the ability to download and view CAPs from signatories in a standardized format that includes emissions targets, mitigation strategies, narratives describing plans to expand community outreach and research for the achievement of climate neutrality, and other information. In the future, this information will enable us to add additional statistics and data views to the system that we hope will be useful to signatories. We encourage signatories to upload their Climate Action Plans as soon as they are complete and utilize the reporting instructions for assistance. If you have any questions please email reporting@aashe.org. Farewell for Now, Climateers! by Walter Simpson, AASHE Senior Fellow and Retired 26-Year University at Buffalo Energy Officer and Director of UB Green Hello and Goodbye Campus Climateers! I am wrapping up my current contract with AASHE to provide resources to help colleges and universities achieve their climate action goals. It's been a great pleasure and honor to be able to assist you and your schools in this critically important endeavor. As regular readers of this column know, nothing is more important to me than addressing the climate crisis and I greatly respect and appreciate the efforts you and you colleagues are making to do that on your campus... and hopefully in your community as well (see final word below)... Read more. U.S. EPA Partnership Programs: Helping to Support ACUPCC Implementation by Nicole Villamizar, Environmental Protection Specialist, U.S. EPA Office of Resource Conservation & Recovery As colleges and universities across the US are making commitments to become more environmentally friendly, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can serve as a partner to help institutions reach their goals. EPA's partnership programs and initiatives offer free, non-regulatory guidance, technical support, and resources that can help American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) signatories achieve their climate goals. More specifically, as signatories work to achieve their Tangible Actions requirements, partnering with EPA's ENERGY STAR, Green Power Partnership, and WasteWise programs can lead to efficient, cost effective solutions... Read more. Piecing Together the CAP Puzzle by Marcus Renner, Environmental Center Coordinator, Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO Fort Lewis College is a public liberal arts college of just under 4,000 students in Durango, Colorado. Our president, Brad Bartel, was a charter signatory of the ACUPCC, and his signature kicked off a two-year odyssey of climate and sustainability planning on our campus that still has a ways to go. Like many schools we've had to piece our plan together on a shoestring budget, really just enough to buy a lot of elbow grease, and pull together disparate and hard to find pieces of information. It all starts, of course, with a spreadsheet. The blank cells in ours were daunting, especially as the number of potential energy and transportation strategies multiplied. We began, however, to break things down into pieces, and as we reviewed the pioneering work by the students, staff, and faculty at institutions like Middlebury and Duke, the cells started to fill in with costs and carbon offsets, net present values and payback periods. Ultimately, we identified 77 potential strategies to reduce our carbon footprint... Read more.	Join AASHE Membership in AASHE provides excellent value for signatories of the ACUPCC, offering access to a rich array of online resources and numerous opportunities for networking, information sharing, collaboration, and professional development. Join now! Resources Climate Action Planning Wiki ACUPCC 2008 Annual Report ACUPCC Reporting System Extension Policy Implementation Guide (PDF) GHG Inventory Brief (PDF) Climate Action Plans Academic Guidance Document for ACUPCC Institutions Energy Financing Toolkit Events Green Building at Financially Strained Institutions: Models and Resources Pre-conference session to NACUBO 2009 Annual Meeting sponsored by Second Nature and Kresge Foundation June 27, 2009 Boston, MA ACUPCC Climate Leadership Summit August 13-14, 2009 Chicago, IL Greening of the Campus VIII: Embracing Change September 20-23, 2009 Indianapolis, IN Webinars Organizational Leadership and Climate Change May 5, 2009 (Recording) The Impact of Fulfilling Your Climate Commitment Vs. The Cost of Doing Nothing May 19, 2009 (Recording) Local Carbon Offsets 101 Webcast June 30, 2009 Opportunities 2009 USGBC Excellence in Green Building Education Awards Program recognizes outstanding curriculum and teaching methods that incorporate the built environment to teach sustainability. Submissions due by June 25, 2009. Advancing Green Building in Higher Education AASHE membership discounts available for the first 100 under-resourced schools that sign up.
Powered by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education The ACUPCC Implementer Issue 9, June 3, 2009

Dear Implementation Liaisons,

Table of Contents

Announcing the Launch of the New Climate Action Plan Submission Form

Farewell for Now, Climateers!

U.S. EPA Partnership Programs: Helping to Support ACUPCC Implementation

Piecing Together the CAP Puzzle