New Issue: Sustainability: The Journal of Record
The latest issue includes research on sustainability reporting platforms and the degree to which they capture virtual learning, and achieving renewable energy solutions through community engagement. Also, this issue features a review of a book, "Greenovation: Urban Leadership on Climate Change", and sustainability resources.
I2SL Operational Practices Module
The International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL) added a new module to its Laboratory Benchmarking Tool, the Operational Practices module. This module allows users to compare policies and practices, such as lab ventilation management plans, occupant engagement activities, high-performance fume hoods, and other technologies used in similar lab types.
Active Ownership in the Endowment: Warren Wilson College Case Study
The Intentional Endowment Network's case study, "Warren Wilson College: Active Ownership in the Endowment", describes a path endowments can follow using ownership stake to ensure that companies are adequately addressing environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities.
USGBC Integrative Process Curriculum Toolkit
The toolkit, curated by the U.S. Green Building Council, provides higher education faculty with resources and processes organized to aid in teaching about and engaging students in the concepts of applying the integrative process to green building design, construction, and operations.
NWF Career Services Toolkit
Published by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), this toolkit is designed for career services professionals, guidance counselors, teachers and other educational professionals to provide a framework and process for utilizing the NWF's EcoCareers resources in their classes, on their campuses, and in coordination with other academic and career development programming.
Roadmap for Change: Reimagining US Higher Education as a Public Good
Released by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, the "Roadmap for Change: Reimagining U.S. Higher Education as a Public Good" report lists six ways to fundamentally change the educational system with the goal of providing equal opportunity for all students to achieve an education beyond high school.
Get the Vote Out On Your Campus Resource
The National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) has compiled a state-by-state resource with voting information for the November 2020 elections that colleges and universities can share broadly with their campus communities. Each state-specific one-pager details how, when and where to vote in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
New Issue: International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education
The new issue of the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education includes research about sustainability literacy through sport organizations, students' knowledge and expectations about sustainability food systems, students' perception of environmental concern entering and leaving college, sustainability in engineering curriculum, and city-university partnerships.
College Campus Vote By Mail Playbook
The College Playbook to Drive Voter Turnout is a resource from the Vote By Mail Information Center aimed at helping groups run email campaigns encouraging students to register to vote and to vote by mail. The playbook includes five steps to increase voter turnout in November and keep students safe by using digital tools to register and vote.
Energy Star Portfolio Manager Report
Using data from the Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool, this paper includes data on buildings that report on-site generation of renewable energy, including their type, location and Energy Star scores. It also details current trends in energy metering and the challenges of properly tracking on-site renewable energy use to understand the energy efficiency of buildings.
The Little Book of Green Nudges
The Little Book of Green Nudges, released by the U.N. Environment Program, is a guide to reducing the campus environmental impact through behavioral change. It summarizes the evidence around what nudges work best while seeking to encourage more sustainable practices among students and staff across several behavioral categories. It also provides simple guidance on how to implement and evaluate behavioral interventions in a variety of contexts.
Report on Supporting Vulnerable Campus Populations During the Pandemic
Published by the American College Health Association, this document names African American, Black, Asian American, first generation/low income, international, Latinx, LGBTQ+, Native American, and undocumented students, as well as students with disabilities as groups that have not only experienced the pandemic's disproportionate impact, but the economic fallout, racism and health disparities that have been at the intersection of the public health crisis. It also provides considerations for higher education institutions to support the populations who are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and the ensuing economic downturn.
New Issue: Sustainability: The Journal of Record
The latest issue of Sustainability: The Journal of Record features an open access article about a campus solid waste move-out program at Eckerd College, and a case study about high-impact sustainability practices at Chandler-Gilbert Community College.
Investing in Racial Equity: A Primer for College & University Endowments
Released by Intentional Endowments Institute, this primer is intended to be a catalyst for conversation and action on racial equity for fiduciaries of university endowments. The resource discusses the current state of racial inequity in the U.S. as it relates to the long-term sustainability of the economy; the unique, underappreciated opportunity available to college and university endowments in racial equity investing; and the variety of tools, products, partners and best practices available.
Smart Labs Toolkit
The Smart Labs Toolkit describes a systematic process that helps laboratory owners and operators plan and cost-effectively achieve safe, efficient and sustainable laboratories. The toolkit includes results of best practices and lessons learned from the Better Buildings Smart Labs Accelerator. It helps organizations implement a Smart Labs program by following distinct phases that include specific tasks and resources proven to deliver high performance labs, support efforts of key stakeholders, and maximize benefits for the organization.
Carbon Pricing Approaches for Climate Decisions in U.S. Higher Education
This open access article, "Carbon pricing approaches for climate decisions in U.S. higher education: Proxy carbon prices for deep decarbonization", analyzes a range of internal carbon price tools in use by 11 higher education institutions in the U.S. and discusses tradeoffs. It also discusses how schools can collaborate and experiment with these tools to help drive good climate decision-making and inform climate policy at larger scales.
Advancing University Engagement Report
The University of Melbourne, in collaboration with King’s College London and the University of Chicago, released a new report, "Advancing University Engagement: University engagement and global league tables", that proposes a way to measure and recognize university engagement. The engagement indicators of the proposed framework are university commitment to engagement, community opinion of the university, student access, volunteering, research reach outside academic journals, community engaged learning within curriculum, socially-responsible purchasing, and carbon footprint.
AASHE 2020 Higher Education Staffing Report
Using data provided by AASHE's Higher Education Staffing Survey, the 2020 Salaries & Status of Sustainability Professionals in Higher Education report examines the nature of sustainability positions at colleges and universities in the U.S., Canada and other countries. The report provides insights into salaries, funding, supervision, job satisfaction and challenges, as well as graphical comparisons between this year and previous years.
Survey on HEI Presidents’ Responses to COVID-19 and Racial Justice
“Responding to the Ongoing COVID-19 Crisis and to Calls for Racial Justice”, released by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, summarizes findings from a survey of college and university presidents who weighed in on how their institution is responding to racial justice, anti-Black racism, and the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Report on Underrepresentation of Black and Latino Students at Public Institutions
'Segregation Forever'?: The Continued Underrepresentation of Black and Latino Undergraduates at the Nation's 101 Most Selective Public Colleges and Universities examines how access for Black and Latino students at the nation’s 101 most selective public colleges and universities has changed since 2000, and whether these institutions are serving an undergraduate student body that represents the racial and ethnic diversity of their particular state’s population.
Power Dialog Webinar Discussion Templates
These discussion templates are from Bard College's Solve Climate By 2030 Power Dialog webinars discussion series. Discussion templates are designed for 60-minute classes and cover wide-ranging topics including statistics, Spanish, psychology, physics, music, literature, engineering, art and more.
COVID-19 Planning & Self-Assessment Guide for Higher Education
The COVID-19 Planning Guide and Self-Assessment for Higher Education is designed to be a practical planning tool to help institutions in two ways. First, the guide poses four central questions to determine if your institution is prepared to reopen for each of the major COVID-19 phases. Second, the guide is organized into leadership, cross-functional and functional workgroups to support comprehensive planning efforts across various institutional groups. The guide also contains links to guidelines, resources and media reports to further supplement institutional planning.
Police Free Campus Toolkit
The Campus Divestment From Police College and University Toolkit, curated by UnKoch My Campus, is intended to help students create targeted letter-writing campaigns to call on their respective institutions to cut ties with police, envision a future without police presence on campus, and use public records requests to better understand their school’s relationship with the police.
Post-Landfill Action Network "Reusables and Sanitation Toolkit"
To help campuses navigate the complexities of opening amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN) created the Reusables and Sanitation Toolkit, which contains references to 14 key resources, including guidance from the FDA, the CDC, the National Restaurant Association, ServSafe, EcoLab and a handful of scientific journals. The toolkit provides guidance to dining facilities that are considering switching to disposable (instead of reusable) dishes and take out containers, as well as reuse programs for items like furniture and electronics.
'Sustainable Futures – Communities in Action' Documentary & Educator's Guide
The Community Conservation Research Network released the documentary Sustainable Futures - Communities in Action covering food security, sustainable livelihoods, community-based conservation, fishery/coastal management, Indigenous rights and more, along with an education guide. The guide provides information and resource material to facilitate discussion and action with students and community groups.
'The Wild Hometown Toolkit: A Toolkit for Student Leaders'
The Wild Hometown Toolkit aims to help students start and build a Wild Hometown chapter in their community, build a campus organization, and connect with other youth and local partners involved in land conservation, environmental education and biodiversity. The toolkit was developed through a collaboration between the Wild Hometown Movement and the Academics for Land Protection in New England (ALPINE).
AASHE Report: STARS Aligned: Using STARS to Report on Contributions to the SDGs
“STARS Aligned: Using the Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System to Report on Contributions to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals” documents the alignment between the Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System (STARS) and the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Tips and strategies to assist institutions with reporting on contributions to the SDGs through the STARS framework are included.
New Support Website for Dreamers and DACA Recipients
RemembertheDreamers.org, launched by the American Council on Education (ACE) and a coalition of partners, aims to be a resource for students, families and higher education institutions as Dreamers and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients await the Supreme Court’s decision on whether President Trump illegally ended DACA in 2017. The decision is expected to be made between now and mid-June.
Be-Trayed: How Kickbacks in the Cafeteria Industry Harm Our Communities & What to Do About It
The new report from Real Food Generation examines the practice of cash rebates between major cafeteria contractors operating on campuses, such as Aramark, Sodexo and Compass Group, and large agricultural corporations, like Cargill and Tyson. The report provides resources and guidance to students and school administrators to implement institutional procurement policies that contribute to local food economies that advance racial justice and prioritize ecological balance.
Designing an Innovative Pedagogy for Sustainable Development in Higher Education
This book offers pedagogical support to both students and university/college-level instructors using approaches based on innovative design thinking, arts-based practices, digital transformation, and entrepreneurship for sustainable development. It includes an education toolkit to help instructors support students in the process of creating new knowledge for addressing real-world problems and enhance their societal involvement, foster entrepreneurial spirit, and reach opportunities for a sustainable future.
Wasted Food Solutions Toolbox
The toolbox, created by the Center for EcoTechnology, provides resources that aim to reduce and divert food waste, from source reduction, source separation, and food donation guidelines to understanding organics waste bans and providing hauler contracting guidance.
Environmental Justice Toolkit
The toolkit defines environmental justice, features various university, community and international case studies, and includes specific action items that people can take to advocate for and promote environmental justice. The toolkit was collaboratively developed by University of Connecticut professors and students, local community organizers, and national advocates at the United Nations Association of the USA.
Land Ethics Curriculum Resources
These resources form the Aldo Leopold Foundation explore land ethics generally and specifically through Aldo Leopold’s articulation of a “land ethic” and can be used either as standalone elements such as a film, video or book in your course, or they can build upon each other.
Operational Recommendations for Higher Education During COVID-19 Shutdowns
Released by TVA EnergyRight for Business and Industry, the "COVID-19 Response: Modified Operations Recommendations for Higher Education" resource provides guidelines for turning off or adjusting electronics, appliances, and energy and water systems across campus, as well as sanitation, maintenance and operational practices to undertake while facilities are unoccupied.
Sustainable Development and Higher Education Institutions: Acting With a Purpose
This special issue, published in the open access journal "Sustainability", builds on papers presented at the 2018 International Sustainable Campus Network conference. The articles cover a range of perspectives on sustainability, including organization and management issues, networking and city partnership themes, student involvement, gender issues, and metrics and indicators related to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Second Nature Solutions Center
Second Nature's Solutions Center identifies carbon and energy reducing activities to support campus climate action goals. The objective of the Solutions Center is to help campuses review more quickly the solutions available and to help build a presentation for decision makers to be able to assess and prioritize decisions faster in order to accelerate climate action.
Meal Exchange Canada: Food Support for Students
Meal Exchange, which supports universities and colleges across Canada, has organized a list of supports available for students that includes community support groups, emergency food services, and local food delivery. Additionally, students that are facing food insecurity now can submit a form to Meal Exchange for food relief.
New Issue: Sustainability: The Journal of Record
The last issue of Sustainability: The Journal of Record is a special issue covering the 2019 AASHE Sustainability Award winners, including the second recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, Judy Walton. Additionally, the issue includes research about sustainability competencies among graduates.
New Report: #RealCollege 2020: Five Years of Evidence on Basic Needs Insecurity
The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice released a new report on the basic needs insecurity crisis that some college students face, which is based on a survey that has reached more than 330,000 students and 400 colleges and universities. Some key findings include 39 percent of respondents were food insecure in the prior 30 days, 46 percent of respondents were housing insecure in the previous year, and 17 percent of respondents were homeless in the previous year. While the report also includes programs and policies to support students' basic needs, it strongly recommends focusing on prevention rather than only responding to emergencies.
Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development Report
This report is the result of the analysis of the second Global Survey on Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development conducted by the International Association of Universities. It discusses the role that higher education institutions play in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
AASHE STARS Data Accuracy Video Series
The STARS Data Accuracy Video Series is a compilation of short videos that highlight tips and resources for submitting high-quality and accurate content for credits with high error rates. The series also contains a video describing differences between STARS 2.1 and 2.2, and a video that goes over where to find resources and support for conducting a STARS assessment.
Introduction to Zero Carbon Online Course
Offered by the International Living Future Institute, this course is a one-hour introduction to carbon in the built environment, and what project teams should consider when pursuing their first Zero Carbon building.
Embodied Carbon Guidance Document
The International Living Future Institute has created the Embodied Carbon Guidance Document in order to provide practices and methodologies that help draw a common understanding of embodied carbon. This guidance seeks to help project teams quantify the reductions made within their projects and empower them to create measurable change in order to meet their climate action goals.
