Franklin U Switzerland Purchases 100% Hydroelectricity
The university recently announced the purchase of Guarantees of Origin (GoS) to buy hydroelectricity to meet 100 percent demand for 2024 and 2025. The university's 2024 participation in the hydroelectricity program is sponsored, resulting in a partnership with the sustainability office to develop an internship program to communicate the institution's sustainability commitment and efforts.
Johns Hopkins U Launches Campus as Lab Grants
Launched by the university's Sustainability Leadership Council and the Office of Sustainability, the new program enables Johns Hopkins researchers and instructors to test scalable sustainability solutions within the context of university infrastructure, operations, and administration. Researchers can get grants up to $50,000 while instructors are eligible for $12,000 and students $10,000.
Students at Six Universities File Legal Complaints About Fossil Fuel Investments
Student organizers at six universities in the U.S. wrote to the attorneys general of their respective states asking officials to scrutinize their universities’ investments. The students argue that by investing in coal, oil and gas, the schools are violating their obligations as non-profit organizations to prioritize the public interest.
Sulitest Launches The Assessment of Sustainability Knowledge
The new online sustainability knowledge assessment tool, known as The Assessment of Sustainability Knowledge (TASK), aims to provide relevant and comparable metrics for tracking and monitoring sustainability education programs. Participants receive a certificate that allows them to share their sustainability knowledge. Approximately 20 universities and business schools have committed to certifying at least 75 percent of their graduate students with TASK within three years.
Concordia U Releases Event Guide With Social Sustainability
In addition to environmental considerations, the newly released sustainable event guide includes inclusion and accessibility goals, such as having diverse representation among organizers of large events and choosing locations that are accessible for those with mobility, visual or cognitive needs. The guide also reinforces the use of territorial acknowledgments, a practice that aims to include and recognize Indigenous people and perspectives, and fosters awareness and respect from non-Indigenous participants.
Brandeis U Launches Year of Climate Action
Organized by the Brandeis Sustainability Committee, the Year of Climate Action aims to raise awareness for climate change as a social justice issue. Planned activities and initiatives throughout the year focus on institutional priorities, such as introducing new organic land management practices and a decarbonization study, and curricular programming, including sustainability course development funding and curated teaching resources. Other features of the year include a theater, a climate organizer-in-residence, local environmental justice events, an eco-anxiety support group, and club funding for student-designed programs.