HEASC News Digest

Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium   ®
http://www.heasc.net
Number 50.0 - March 31, 2009

1. HEASC Update

Reminder: The next monthly call will take place on Thursday, April 30 at 1:00 PM Eastern. 

Resources:  

• Resource Center: Please visit the Resource Center to make sure your association's efforts are shared and current. Send any new or missing items to Steve Muzzy at smuzzy@secondnature.org for posting. Your efforts have contributed to many useful resources, please share this page with your members.

2. ACUPCC Update

The ACUPCC stands at 620 institutions representing all 50 states – and over 5 million students, or 28% of all college students in the United States.

Save the Date: ACUPCC Annual Summit August 13-14th, 2009-Chicago, IL

Resources:

• HEASC is featured in the March issue of The ACUPCC Implementer
  

3. SCUP's Virtual Conversation: Can Sustainability Help You With Your Budget Crisis?

On April 3 SCUP will host a virtual conversation with Kelly Cain of the University of Wisconsin, River Falls. Cain, along with his colleague Dale Braun, are faculty for a SCUP-developed sustainability workshop at SCUP–44. Discussants will include former SCUP president Nancy Tierney, senior Chronicle of Higher Education writer Scott Carlson, and Peter Bardaglio, senior fellow with Second Nature. For more information and to register visit http://www.survivetheeconomy.org/

4. Alternative Energy Economics By Michael Philips and Lee White

From NACUBO's February Issue of Business Officer Magazine. While the credit crunch has put the squeeze on many campus projects, a variety of financing approaches are available for funding renewable energy initiatives. 

5. NAEP Updates

NAEP's Winter 2008/2009 Educational Procurement Journal published an article on UC San Diego titled "Renewable Energy Solutions without Breaking the Bank

NAEP Annual Meeting

Ray Anderson Founder and Chair of Interface, Inc., will give the closing keynote at NAEP's Annual Meeting next month in Providence, RI. Interface, Inc., is the world largest modular carpet company and is nearly 50 percent towards the vision of "Mission Zero. Mission Zero is the company's promise to eliminate any negative impact it may have on the environment, by the year 2020, through the redesign of processes and products, the pioneering of new technologies, and efforts to reduce or eliminate waste and harmful emissions while increasing the use of renewable materials and sources of energy.

6. APPA's March/April 2009 Facilities Manager Magazine focuses on Energy Utilities & Sustainability

Features Include

Campus Climate Neutrality -- Yes We Can! It's a Big Challenge, But Here's How to Do it.
by Walter Simpson

Carbon Neutrality and the Use of Offsets
by Richard A. Ney and Judith R. Purman

Carbon Emissions Trading and Combined Heat and Power Strategies: Unintended Consequences
by John C. Tysseling; Mary Vosevich; Benjamin R. Boersma; Jefferey A. Zumwalt

National Trends in Sustainability Performance: Lessons from Facilities Leaders
by Kristy M. Jones and L. Julian Keniry

LEDs: DOE Programs Add Credibility to a Developing Technology
by Susan Conbere

7. CCCU Awards Creation Care Mini-Grants to Six Institutions

The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) has awarded six mini-grants made possible by the Creation Care Fund in amounts ranging up to $5,000 to member institutions for creation care initiatives to be implemented on their respective campuses. The purpose of these grants, which will be preceded by a creation care Webinar, is to encourage and equip campuses that are at the beginning stages of their creation care journey. For the full press release click here

8. Profiting Through Campus Sustainability: Financial Tools & Strategies

A newly released whitepaper from Environmental Health & Engineering (EH&E) that provides an overview of financial tools and resources that can be used in developing capital investment strategies for Climate Action Plans and or campus sustainability projects. 

Profiting Through Campus Sustainability: Financial Tools & Strategies (PDF) 

9. ‘Green Building’ Opportunities for Financially Challenged Colleges and Universities

Second Nature has launched a program, Advancing Green Building in Higher Education to assist Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribal colleges, and Title III and V institutions to “build green” on their campuses. With a grant from the Kresge Foundation, Second Nature will help these institutions learn about and
use the financial and technical resources available to construct and renovate campus buildings in ways that save money, reduce negative health impacts, and serve as community models for environmentally
sustainable construction.  Forty fellowships will be awarded to senior managers from these institutions; the application deadline is April 15, 2009. Additionally, a portion of the grant funds will provide to 100 under-resourced schools membership discounts to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

Many religious, community, technical, minority-serving and state-supported institutions have fewer resources to spend on bricks and mortar projects, less in-house knowledge about green building, and limited opportunity to learn from schools that have excelled in green construction.  Many are unaware that environmentally responsible construction can result in 10-20% annual energy savings over the long-term. 

10. TIAA-CREF Toughens Sudan Stance - Without Divestment Yet

TIAA-CREF announced a tougher position on several companies that have been accused of supporting the authorities who encourage the genocide in Darfur. Some groups have pushed TIAA-CREF to immediately sell such holdings, arguing that genocide is such a terrible wrong that any holdings in such companies are immoral. TIAA-CREF didn't go that far. But in an unprecedented step, it announced that it was giving selected companies nine months to show that they were taking "positive and meaningful" steps to stop the genocide. If they don't do so, or fail to meet with TIAA-CREF officials, their stocks will be sold. TIAA-CREF's statement stressed that it considered the Darfur situation to be unusual, and that the company did not anticipate an activist role as shareholders generally. "We recognize that genocide and crimes against humanity, whether in Darfur or elsewhere, require a higher standard of response," the statement said. "While we believe that attempts to use our standing as shareholders through quiet diplomacy is the most effective way to influence corporate policies and practices, in cases where companies may substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity, we may intensify engagement, raise its visibility or limit its duration if we believe that such action is necessary to cause companies to improve their stance. Even in these cases, we believe that divestment should be considered as a last resort, only after efforts to pressure companies to revisit and change their policies have failed." TIAA-CREF officials also stressed that the companies linked to Darfur represent a minute share of overall holdings.

Via Inside Higher Education- 3/27/09

11. Upcoming Events

Your articles, announcements, news blurbs are always welcome for inclusion in the HEASC News Digest. Please send to smuzzy@secondnature.org. Thank you!

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