HEASC News Digest

Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium   ®
http://www.heasc.net
Number 49.0 - January 22, 2009

Contents:
1. HEASC Update
2. ACUPCC Update
3. AASCU releases Top 10 State Policy Issues for Higher Education in 2009
4. National Council on Workforce Development (NCWE) releases a report on "Green Jobs"
5. APPA releases new report on Reducing the Campus Carbon Footprint
6. AGB/SCUP Joint Webcast: Environmental Sustainability as a Strategic Policy Issue: What Governing Boards Need to Know
7. EDUCAUSE releases white paper on The Role of IT in Campus Sustainability Efforts
8. Jessie B. duPont Fund
9. Upcoming events

1. HEASC Update

Reminder: The next monthly call will take place on Thursday, January 29th at 1:00 PM Eastern. 

Welcome to 2009!  HEASC has entered its fourth year of existence and the opportunity for your continued leadership has never been greater! Sustainability at its essence is about survival and improved quality of life. The global economic contraction has shed light on the many vulnerabilities, flaws, and inter-dependencies associated with the current market economic model and its' regulation. If we are to avoid the perpetuation of our systemic social and environmental ills, a societal shift is needed. This of course includes the transformation of behavior in our daily lives, both personally and professionally. Higher Education has the opportunity and the capacity to not only model, but to impart the knowledge and skills necessary to transform society in order to develop a diverse, resilient, and sustainable market economy. HEASC's commitment to collectively and cooperatively work to support the higher education sector's sustainability efforts is an exemplary model for societal change. There are many challenges ahead for the higher education sector and for the global community at large, but with your continued leadership the sector's capacity to provide solutions is strong! Thank you again for your commitment and we look forward to supporting your continued efforts in the coming year!

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 606 institutions representing all 50 states – and over 4.9 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:

• The ACUPCC Implementer! This monthly newsletter provides ACUPCC Implementation Liaisons with up to date news and information on compliance deadlines and sustainability related events. For questions on or to send items to The ACUPCC Implementer please email AASHE’s Climate Program Manager Toni Nelson- toni@aashe.org To view the 4th edition of The ACUPCC Implementer click here!
  

3. AASCU releases Top 10 State Policy Issues for Higher Education in 2009

Sustainability listed as a Top 10 priority by the American Association of State Colleges & Universities in their January 2009  "A Higher Education Policy Brief". 

4. National Council on Workforce Development (NCWE) releases a report on "Green Jobs"

NCWE working with the Academy for Educational Development (AED) have just released a report titled "Going Green: The Vital Role of Community Colleges in Building a Sustainable Future and a Green Workforce." This report highlights community colleges that are working to train graduates to help move the U.S. towards a clean and green economy. Debra Rowe contributed to this report and made sure to include HEASC as a valuable resource. 

5. APPA releases new report on Reducing the Campus Carbon Footprint

APPA has just released a new report titled "The Educational Professional's Practical Guide to Reducing the Campus Carbon Footprint". This resource for facilities managers provides pragmatic assistance to effectively implement a carbon reduction plan. The guide is broken down into five chapters that expand on the following actions:

1. Form a stakeholder group.
2. Complete a greenhouse gas emissions inventory.
3. Develop a strategic climate action plan.
4. Identify resource investments.
5. Implement a tactical plan.

6. AGB/SCUP Joint Webcast: Environmental Sustainability as a Strategic Policy Issue: What Governing Boards Need to Know

"This program is designed to provide a fundamental understanding of sustainability issues within higher education and how boards can work together with their administrations and executive staffs to be informed leaders about sustainability. Participants will learn how trustees can engage effectively and appropriately on sustainability at a policy level, how sustainability can relate to institutional mission and strategic planning, can how it can become a regular part of a board’s long-term agenda." For more information and to register for the webcast please follow this link. 

7. EDUCAUSE releases white paper "The Role of IT in Campus Sustainability Efforts"

Abstract:

"As the impact of worldwide carbon emissions comes into sharper focus, college and university sustainability efforts are increasingly turning green, focusing on ways to use resources more efficiently, consume less, and reduce campus carbon footprints. Yet, despite the direct impact of IT on institutional carbon levels and the potential for new technologies to reduce inefficiencies, campus IT is not always brought to the meeting table. In November, campus leaders in IT and facilities gathered in Adelphi, Maryland, at the University of Maryland, University College, for a two-day EDUCAUSE Summit on IT Greening and Sustainability to begin building connections between campus IT and wider sustainability efforts. This white paper captures key findings from the two days of brainstorming, discussion, and resource sharing and outlines a higher education agenda for moving forward." Click here to read the white paper.

Also, EDUCAUSE has launched the "Sustainable IT Constituent Group," a new online discussion list for sharing information on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through IT infrastructures at colleges and universities.

8. Jessie B. duPont Fund

The Jessie Ball duPont Fund recently highlighted the higher education sustainability movement in its publication "Notes from the Field". 

"The Jessie Ball duPont Fund is a national foundation that makes grants to a defined universe of organizations whose eligibility is determined exclusively by Mrs. duPont's personal philanthropic decisions. An organization is eligible if it received a gift from Mrs. duPont between January 1, 1960 and December 31, 1964. Today, there are more than 300 eligible organizations." "Through its grantmaking, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund works with more than five dozen institutions of higher education from Toronto, Canada, to Miami, Florida and west to San Antonio, Texas. Two-thirds of these institutions have adopted some type of sustainability program."

9. 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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