Sustainable Purchasing Toolkit
With support from the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, AASHE is pleased to provide a toolkit highlighting AASHE's sustainable purchasing resources.
Second Nature's Alliance for Resilient Campuses
Founded by Second Nature and closely partnered with the U.S. National Climate Assessment, the Alliance for Resilient Campuses (ARC) is an initiative that will evaluate risk and vulnerability of climate change, offer tools for collaborative assessment and implementation, and evaluate progress and fill research and knowledge gaps.
Green Energy Survey Toolkit
This new resource allows students to conduct a one to three hour green energy audit with local organizations and then make recommendations for change, offering students valuable sustainability consulting experience and a valuable skills-based learning opportunity.
Tradepal Now Available in All U.S. Colleges
Founded in 2009, Tradepal, a university and college marketplace to barter, buy and sell items, is now available to all college students nationwide with a simplified signup process to propel collaboration. With each transaction, the marketplace quantifies the environmental impact from reuse through a carbon savings score for both students and networks.
ACUPCC On Air Series Archive
The four archived discussions held in April on behalf of the ACUPCC are An Interview with Dr. Mitchell Thomashow, author of The Nine Elements of a Sustainable Campus; Reflection on the 2014 Intentionally Designed Endowment Conference; New Directions for Clean Air-Cool Planet and University of New Hampshire Sustainability Institute; and Accounting for Campus Forest in Carbon Calculations.
Intentionally Designed Endowment
This newly released document from Hampshire College and Second Nature was a primer to a stakeholder engagement event in April that was organized to begin a conversation among educational institutions about aligning their investments with their missions. The document provides a background and overview of integrating sustainability factors, higher education trends in investment for sustainability, and a sampling of reports, resources and organizations pertaining to sustainability investing.
International Sustainability Literacy Test Pilot
Brought to the higher education community by AASHE, the Disciplinary Associations Network for Sustainability (DANS) and the Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC), the International Sustainability Literacy Test is a free, online multiple choice question assessment, with customized versions for different countries and regions of the world. It attempts to assess a student’s basic level of knowledge about sustainability, including social and environmental responsibility, and can be administered in any college-level course, undergraduate or graduate.
Track and Manage Energy Investments Application
On April 22, the Sustainable Endowments Institute launched the new Green Revolving Investment Tracking System (GRITS) 1.0, an online tool that offers a bridge between management and performance reporting of energy and resource efficiency investments. GRITS is a space for institutions to track, analyze and share data on specific sustainability projects or groups of projects, offering more capabilities than traditional spreadsheet tracking.
Elevating Sustainability Through Academic Leadership by ARAMARK
Released this month, the last of 10 chapter essays by David Hales, president of Second Nature, discusses the role and responsibility of presidential leadership in higher education to promote and integrate sustainability across the curriculum using a variety of measures.
SEI Case Study: Denison University: Green Hill Fund
Published by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, the recently released case study is on Denison University's Green Hill Fund, which was created in the summer of 2011. The $1 million dollar fund posts an average return on investment for projects of 17.7 percent and to date has saved the campus 3,346 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions.
Educational Series: Years of Living Dangerously
National Wildlife Federation is the education partner for the new series, Years of Living Dangerously (YEARS). The NWF YEARS website provides free access to the first episode of the YEARS series, and provides tools and resources to support the episode for campuses to take action on their campus to address climate change.
Incorporating Sustainability into Campus Strategic Planning
The newly archived webinar discusses Spelman College's integration of sustainability in strategic planning and all campus operations, a focus on personal impact and accountability on the environment and the pursuit of a LEED Gold Standard for all new construction and renovation projects.
Princeton Review's Guide to 332 Green Colleges
The Princeton Review, in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council, has released its fifth annual guide to the greenest institutions in North America. The resource profiles 332 higher education institutions that demonstrate notable commitments to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities and career preparation. The free publication includes statistics and facts on each institution's use of renewable energy sources, recycling and conservation programs, availability of environmental studies programs and green jobs career guidance.
NWEI Course Book: Seeing Systems: Peace, Justice & Sustainability
This new Northwest Earth Institute discussion course book addresses the need for a holistic approach to the planet's challenges through global context and the influence of human daily actions. Each course book includes tips and guidelines to help facilitators organize a course.
2014 AASHE Webinar Schedule
The 2014 AASHE Webinar schedule will provide the higher education sustainability community with tools and support in the areas of energy, social equity, purchasing, behavior change, certification and much more. New this year, AASHE webinars are free for AASHE members and $50 for non-AASHE members.
ACUPCC Progress Report Video
As part of its ACUPCC 101 Video Series, the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment recently released a video on creating and submitting your institution's Climate Action Plan progress report, which details the progression of carbon neutrality.
National Action Plan for Educating for Sustainability
Center for Green Schools, together with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, released a National Action Plan for Educating for Sustainability, a call for action to ensure that Education for Sustainability (EfS) is accessible to all students across the United States. The plan outlines a robust goal for all 50 states to adopt a comprehensive green schools policy that includes a graduation requirement around sustainability literacy by 2040. While this resource focuses on K-12, there are chapters that have a relationship with higher education including Collaboration, Economic Drivers, Pre-Service Teacher Preparation and Research.
NRDC Guide to Composting at Sports Venues
The newly released guide by the Natural Resources Defense Council has been produced to assist stadiums and arenas in increasing their diversion of food and yard wastes for beneficial use.
2013 EAUC Green Gown Awards Case Studies
In an effort to promote dissemination of good practice, the Environmental Association of Universities and Colleges Sustainability Exchange now houses a brochure of case studies from all the 2013 Green Gown winners, highly commended entries and finalists.
Education for Sustainability Listserv
The new listserv is available to anyone interested in sustainability in teaching and learning in tertiary education. This new communication forum has been organized by the Action Group for Education for Sustainability, which is part of the Educational Developers Caucus. http://www.stlhe.ca/constituencies/educational-developers-caucus/edc-spe...
Southeastern EcoReps Conference Presentations
After the recent eco-reps conference held by the University of South Carolina, the school has made all the presentations available from the 2014 conference as well as the 2013 and 2012 events. Presentations from 2014 include communicating sustainability, bike sharing, investments, eco-reps training and waste diversion.
USGBC 2013 Report Card
The recently released infographic from the U.S. Green Building Council provides a snapshot of green building involvement from the higher education community. It catalogs the number of students who attend institutions with green building policies and the amount of people-hours dedicated in support of green building.
CURC Zero Waste Campus Toolkit
Recently released by the College and University Recycling Coalition and University of Oregon, the toolkit provides information about business principles, how to start a campus zero waste program, and policy and implementation strategies.
Full 2014 AASHE Workshop Line-Up
We are pleased to offer the full schedule of 2014 AASHE Workshops, allowing you to plan ahead by viewing the full list of workshops for the year. The 2014 Workshops were chosen from those submitted on behalf of the AASHE Professional Development request for proposals. This year's event topics include campus-as-living-lab, behavior change, sustainability curriculum and sustainability on community colleges.
Toolkit for Academic Libraries: Educating for Sustainability
Recently released by Library Juice Press, this edited collection captures the current status and future direction of libraries’ commitment to advance the focus of educating for sustainability. It is designed as a toolkit offering a wide range of best practices, case studies, and activities ready for implementation within academic libraries.
HEASC Paper: Advancing Sustainability in Higher Education
A recently released paper entitled What Are We Advancing from the Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium examines the shifting role of the university and college development office in a national trend toward advancing sustainability in higher education. The paper presents a range of ideas in support of a more whole-system approach to the conservation, alignment and development of resources in support of more sustainable institutions.
Composting Strategies for Colleges and Universities
This recently archived webinar discusses how the campus community can work to reduce and eliminate food waste from traditional campus sources, and by reducing the waste stream save money and reduce its environmental impact.
Energy Efficiency & Clean Energy Funding Resource Guide
The U.S. Department of Energy recently released the Federal Finance Facilities Available for Energy Efficiency Upgrades and Clean Energy Deployment as a resource guide that lists the various federal financing programs for which energy efficiency and clean energy qualify.
New AASHE Guide: Campus Green Funds How-to Guide
AASHE’s newest resources aim to help colleges and universities finance campus sustainability projects. Developed in partnership with the Campus Green Funds Collaborative, the Campus Green Funds How-to Guide outlines best practices and lessons learned in designing, managing, promoting, and evaluating campus green funds and their respective projects. AASHE is debuting the Campus Sustainability Green Funds Database in tandem with the publication, providing information on funds at over 130 higher education institutions.
EAUC Communities of Practice Resource
(U.K.): To encourage more specialized learning and information sharing, the Environmental Association for Universities & Colleges offers a member exchange of ideas, skills and experience within the following groups: Fair Trade, information technology, attitudes and behaviors, carbon intensive research and travel planning professionals. AASHE members can gain access to the member-only content of EAUC by logging into aashe.org and viewing this page. http://www.aashe.org/resources/shared-international-resources
Green and Sustainability Jobs and Career Resources
This resource includes both U.S. job boards and U.S. career pathway resources that can help students explore which careers they are interested in, what competencies are desired for different paths, and what jobs are presently available, made possible by the Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium, the Disciplinary Associations Network for Sustainability and the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development.
Drilling for Natural Gas at Case Western Reserve U Case Study
Researchers at the university analyzed the process by which a college or university would go about making the decision to drill for natural gas on its property, including financial and non-financial factors. The paper was recently published in Planning for Higher Education Journal.
AASHE Member Discount: Sustainability: The Journal of Record
A voice in the sustainability community, the publication documents the implementation of sustainability programs in higher education and business. When AASHE members subscribe today they will save up to 40 percent! Just enter Group Code "AASHE" when subscribing. Discount offer expires January 1, 2014.
Reorienting Teacher Education to Address Sustainability
The United States Teacher Education for Sustainable Development Network and Kappa Delta Pi, International Honor Society in Education, released the white paper on the importance of teaching sustainability in U.S. classrooms.
SEI Publishes Article about Development of Green Revolving Funds
Recently published in the Society for College and University Planning Journal, Sustainable Endowments Institute's Leading the Way in Sustainability Through Hassle-Free Green Revolving Funds highlights the benefits of green revolving fund model for colleges and universities, and details 10 steps to successful green revolving fund development and management.
AASHE Member Discount: Free Solar Consultation
EcoMotion is offering AASHE members eight hours of free solar consultation services from its Solar Advisors. EcoMotion specializes in developing and advancing sustainability programs at colleges and universities. This offer expires January 1, 2014.
AASHE Member Discount: Green Mountain College Sustainable MBA
As a benefit of AASHE membership, eligible professionals can enroll in Green Mountain College's online Sustainable MBA program and receive 10 percent tuition reduction, a one-time $500 scholarship and no application fee. Discount offer expires January 1, 2014.
EAUC Releases Legislative Update on Environmental Issues
The Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges released an updated edition outlining Acts of Parliament legislation that effect the higher education sector. AASHE members can access member-only resources of EAUC.
