RecycleMania Open Registration
Interested parties can now sign up to participate in Recyclemania, a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities. Over an eight-week period each spring, colleges across the U.S. and Canada report the amount of recycling and trash collected each week and are then ranked in various categories based on most recycling on a per capita basis, best recycling rate as a percentage of total waste, and amount of combined trash and recycling. Full registration in the competition must be completed by Feb. 4.
ISCN 2016 Call for Abstracts
The International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN) has opened its call for abstracts for ISCN 2016 being held at University of Siena in Italy from June 13-15. Abstracts should be relevant to the conference focus, Leadership for Sustainable Development, and relate to one of the themes: innovative infrastructure and user behavior, holistic campus planning and sustainable urban models, and sustainability skills and competencies. All abstracts are due by Feb. 26.
SPLC 2016 Summit Call for Proposals
The Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council’s annual Summit brings together hundreds of visionary purchasing and sustainability professionals, suppliers and NGO experts from diverse sectors and regions in order to share, simplify and spread the best sustainable purchasing practices across the economy. This year's program welcomes your proposals for interactive workshops, roundtable and panel sessions, lightning talks and more. Submission deadline is Feb. 12.
SPLC Leadership & Case Study Awards
The Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council’s annual awards program recognizes organizations for leveraging institutional purchasing power to advance the long-term health and vitality of society, economies and the planet. There are two types of awards, both based on case study submissions: outstanding case study awards and leadership awards. All submissions are due March 18.
Eighth Annual International Sustainable Campus Network Award Application
The International Sustainable Campus Excellence Awards recognize sustainable campus projects that demonstrate leadership, creativity, effectiveness and outstanding performance. The award categories have been modified this year to reflect the evolution of campus sustainability. Campus projects can be submitted for one of the following categories: Buildings and Innovative Infrastructure, Campus Planning and Management Systems, Innovative Collaboration, or Student Leadership.
2016 EPEAT Purchaser Awards Open Application Period
All organizations that purchase EPEAT-registered products (Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool) are eligible to apply for the EPEAT Purchaser Awards. This award program recognizes the efforts of those driving environmental improvements through environmentally preferable electronics purchasing. Applications are being accepted through March 23.
Northeast Regional Sun Grant Center 2016 Competitive Grant Program
The mission of the Sun Grant Program is to focus the abilities of the nation's colleges and universities in partnership with the private sector and federal laboratories to enhance national energy security and independence through the development, distribution and implementation of bio-based energy technologies, the promotion of bio-based diversification and environmental sustainability of the region's agriculture, and the promotion of opportunities for bio-based economic diversification in rural communities. Strategic programmatic areas for 2016 include decentralized and distributed feedstock, bioenergy and bio-product systems, life cycle analysis, air and water quality impacts, and carbon mitigation and sequestration. Pre-proposals required, due by Feb. 8.
Campus Kitchen Project $5K Grant
Sponsored by the AARP Foundation, the Campus Kitchen Project is offering $5,000 startup grants to colleges and universities that are interested in creating food security for the older adult population in their community. The deadline to apply is Feb. 5.
Call for Papers: Symposium on Sustainable Development Research at United Kingdom Universities
The symposium being held at Manchester Metropolitan University, April 5-6, 2016 will provide an opportunity for researchers from natural and social sciences to come together to discuss research methods, empirical research and exchange ideas about on-going and future research initiatives focusing on sustainable development. All accepted papers will be part of the World Sustainability Series, an award-winning publication from Springer.
NREL No-Cost Solar Screenings and Implementation Assistance for Universities
In support of the U.S. Department of Energy's SunShot initiative, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is offering no-cost technical assistance to universities seeking to increase solar energy on campus. Any U.S. higher education institution is eligible to apply. The program is designed to increase the deployment of mid-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) systems at universities, engage stakeholders to develop deployment solutions and empower decision makers. Applications for NREL’s solar screening and implementation assistance are due Jan. 15.
Princeton Review and Sierra 2016 Reporting Deadlines
AASHE continues its collaboration with the Princeton Review and Sierra Magazine in an effort to reduce the data collection and reporting burden for members. As in past years, campuses will be able to submit data required to earn a Princeton Review Green Rating and a Sierra Cool Schools ranking through the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) Reporting Tool instead of having to complete separate surveys. Princeton Review's deadline is Feb. 29. Sierra Magazine's deadline is March 22.
Low Carbon IT Campaign
Offered by Energy Star, the Low Carbon IT Campaign is a nationwide effort to assist and recognize organizations for reducing the energy consumed by their information technology equipment. With six suggested ways to reduce the IT energy costs at your organization, the EPA will recognize institutions that implement two of them, putting computers to sleep and benchmarking data centers. Free phone and email consultations are available to answer questions.
Submit Your Sustainability Projects to Facilities Manager
The March/April 2016 issue of Facilities Manager magazine will focus on the broad topic of sustainability, and we are hoping to include a short description of your latest project or success. In 200 words or less, send your information to editor Steve Glazner at steve[at]appa[dot]org. A high-resolution photo or graphic (at least 300 dpi) can be included as well. The issue will receive extra distribution to the attendees of the 2016 Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, April 4-5. The deadline for submission is Jan. 15.
Geothermal Design Challenge 2016
The U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Office, in partnership with the Center for Advanced Energy Studies and Idaho National Lab, is recruiting student teams to design an infographic that will illustrate how geothermal energy is clean, safe, reliable and sustainable. Winners will share a prize purse of $7,500 and present their infographic at a geothermal energy conference in California. Register now and submit a draft infographic by March 1.
Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference Student Summit
The Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference Student Summit in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 3, formerly the SEED Conference at American University, will bring together higher education students from across the country to participate in a day of curated workshops to gain skills, share best practices and lessons learned, hone personal sustainability, and be inspired by peers and professionals alike. Call for proposals now open for student presenters. Deadline to apply is Feb. 1.
Registration Open: RecycleMania 2016
Registration is now open for the university and college waste reduction competition known as RecycleMania. RecycleMania is a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities. Over an eight-week period each spring, colleges across the U.S. and Canada report the amount of recycling and trash collected each week and are in turn ranked in various categories. Registration ends Jan. 22.
Call for Proposals: Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences 2016
Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS) is now accepting proposals for for AESS 2016, themed Science, Empathy, Collaboration and Sustainability. Proposals can be for individual papers, poster presentations, full panels, workshops, discussion symposia and mealtime roundtables. Held in Washington, D.C., June 8-11, the theme and location of the conference offer a chance to consider multi-scale policy-making at local, city, state, regional, national and international levels. Deadline for submissions is Jan. 29.
The Campus Sustainability Movement: Forming a Library Action Plan for Engagement
This online course focuses on the role of the academic librarian in the sustainability movement. Through a reflective process, readings, exercises and participation in a discussion forum, participants will connect to the community-inspired energy that drives the sustainability movement. Emphasis will be on the curriculum and professional development, with a preliminary exploration of how facilities management and co-curricular activities tie into the teaching and learning of sustainability. The course runs from Jan. 4-29 and offers 1.5 continuing education units (CEUs).
APPA/NACUBO Key Facilities Metrics Survey Due Dec. 14
APPA and the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) are inviting people to participate in a survey to help explain the need for better incentives in energy efficiency for higher education. The survey asks for data on energy (BTU and electrical), water, waste and carbon. Participants do not need to have access to all the data in order to participate. Beta survey results will be released to participants in January 2016, with final results released in February or March. Eligible survey participants, those who complete at least two of the five consumption metrics, will be entered into a randomly selected drawing for a $500 Apple certificate. Two certificates will be given. Deadline to take the survey is Dec. 14.
University and College Car Sharing Survey
The Institute for Sensible Transport, on behalf of Monash University (Australia), is conducting research on campus-based car share services in North America. The short survey is designed for university campus transport, fleet or environmental programs staff to share their experience with car sharing, whether or not they actually have a car share service on campus. The results will be used to help plan car share services for the redevelopment and enlargement of a major Australian university campus.
New to AASHE STARS? Discount Available Through December 31
Through the end of this year, AASHE is offering a $250 discount to help institutions measure and track campus sustainability efforts. Universities and colleges that have never submitted a report can subscribe for a full Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) subscription with a $250 discount by using the promotional code: NEVERSUBMITTED. STARS is a transparent, self-reporting system that allows colleges and universities to measure, track and compare their sustainability performance over time. This discount is available from through Dec. 31.
Call for Proposals: EAUC Annual Conference
The Environmental Association of Universities and Colleges (EAUC) will take place at the University of the West of England from May 25-26, 2016. Conference session proposals are now being accepted.
Seeking Best Practices in Education for Sustainability in Education Development
Three educational developers from Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia and George Brown College are researching best practices of Education for Sustainability (EfS) in educational development to stimulate and support educational developers (EDs) to incorporate EfS into their practices, in particular to embed sustainability themes and outcomes within courses, programs, post-secondary institutions at national and international levels. The researchers hope to share these practices through social media, videos and text-based summaries. All three educational developers are members of the EfS Action Group of the Educational Developers Caucus. The project is funded by a grant from the Educational Developers Caucus (EDC) of the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.
REV Campus Challenge for New York Colleges and Universities
All two- and four-year public and private colleges and universities in New York State are eligible to participate in the REV (Reforming the Energy Vision) Campus Challenge. The REV Campus Challenge recognizes achievements among institutions of higher education and enables exchange of best practices and lessons learned, and seeks to help colleges and universities meet their financial, environmental, academic and community goals through clean energy solutions that also help scale up total clean energy use in New York State. The program will administer Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's $3 million clean energy competition. The three groups that propose the best ideas to invest in clean energy will each win $1 million to help implement their plans.
Campus Climate Adaptation Planning Survey
RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia is conducting a survey aiming to benchmark the current state of play of climate adaptation planning in the tertiary sector globally. Professionals involved in campus or facilities sustainability management or sustainability education are invited to add their response to this online survey that should take approximately 15-30 minutes. Institutions that have not yet worked on climate adaptation are also invited to participate. The final report will be made freely available to all survey participants in late December.
Application Deadline Extended: Sustainability Across the Curriculum Leadership Workshop
Applications are open for the Sustainability Across the Curriculum workshop with Peggy Barlett, Jan. 7-8, at Emory University in Atlanta. For faculty leaders of all disciplines, workshops involve an intensive two days of presentations, exercises, discussions, outdoor place-based activities and planning. Participants reflect on their own roles in the transformation of higher education, receive readings and organizational materials and share challenges and strategies with supportive fellow leaders. The extended deadline to apply is Nov. 13.
Call for Chapters Deadline Extended: Envisioning Futures for Environmental and Sustainability Education
This edited collection invites educational practitioners and theorists to speculate on and craft visions for the future of environmental and sustainability education. Exploring what educational methods and practices might exist on the horizon, the editors seek contributions that leverage speculative inquiry to imagine how nascent scientific, technological, social, and ecological developments might perturb, disrupt, and/or transform the field of environmental education. All abstracts are due no later than Dec. 1.
APPA Sustainable Award Call for Applications
All APPA institutional members are invited to submit for APPA's Sustainability Award in Facilities Management that is designed to recognize and advance sustainability excellence in educational facilities. This award recognizes the facilities management department that has integrated sustainable policies and practices throughout all facets of the organization and embedded them within the educational institution. Submissions are due by Nov. 30.
Invitation to Institutions to Sign COP21 Letter to U.N. Officers
A global alliance of higher education networks and associations developed the open letter that will be delivered to senior officials at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in December in Paris. The alliance invites institutions to sign the letter that urges decision-makers to acknowledge and support the vital role that universities and colleges play in addressing climate change and resiliency.
Sustainability Across the Curriculum Leadership Workshop
Applications are now open for the Sustainability Across the Curriculum workshop with Peggy Barlett, Jan. 7-8, 2016, at Emory University in Atlanta. For faculty leaders of all disciplines, workshops involve an intensive two days of presentations, exercises, discussions, outdoor place-based activities and planning. Participants also reflect on their own roles in the transformation of higher education, receive readings and organizational materials and share challenges and strategies with supportive fellow leaders. Deadline to apply is Nov. 6.
Apply for Clinton Global Initiative University 2016
Applications are now being considered for acceptance to the Clinton Global Initiative University 2016 (CGI U 2016), which will take place at the University of California, Berkeley from April 1-3. CGI U is a forum for students, university representatives and topical experts to come together to discuss and develop innovative solutions to pressing global challenges. All applicants must be above the age of 18 and actively enrolled in an institution of higher education at the time of the meeting. Final application deadline is Dec. 1.
National Day of Action to Stop the Corporatization of Education
This Nov. 5, students and faculty are invited to participate in a day of action to help end the corporatization of education. The Unkoch My Campus campaign offers a day of action toolkit for students and an informational packet for faculty participants.
The Power Dialog
College and university students from across the country are invited to participate in a face-to-face dialog on April 4, 2016 with state-level regulators in all 50 states about implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan. The Power Dialog will organize hundreds of faculty to take their classes on coordinated field trips to their state capitol. The Bard Center for Environmental Policy, in conjunction with research staff from Resources for the Future, is developing a variety of curricular materials to prepare students for the conversation, and will be hosting a series of webinars on topics ranging from the plan’s impact on public health and environmental justice to renewable energy development.
New York State Clean Energy Competition for Colleges and Universities
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo recently announced the clean energy competition for colleges and universities in New York State that challenges student-led coalitions across the state to develop creative ideas to aggressively reduce greenhouse gas emissions on school campuses and beyond. The three groups that propose the best ideas to invest in clean energy will each win $1 million to help implement their plans.
First-Ever Best of GRITS Awards
The Sustainable Endowments Institute's (SEI) Green Revolving Investment Tracking System (GRITS) 1.2 has grown from a few dozen projects to over 1,000 projects and counting. SEI is honoring the great work that is being undertaken at campuses across the country with the first-ever Best of GRITS Awards. From now until Oct. 16, SEI encourages all GRITS schools (and schools that are interested in joining) to log into the GRITS 1.2 online tool, used to track and manage sustainability projects, to add your completed projects and edit existing projects for consideration as one of the best in the GRITS Library.
Call for Applications: Energy Dept Race to Zero Student Design Competition
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Race to Zero Student Design Competition is intended to provide the next generation of architects, engineers, construction managers and entrepreneurs with skills and experience in integrating advanced home designs with building science principles. The competition will culminate April 16-17, 2016, where selected teams will have the opportunity to present to industry leaders at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo. Teams must register by Nov. 12.
Sustainability Across the Curriculum Leadership Workshop
Applications are now open for the Sustainability Across the Curriculum workshop with Peggy Barlett, Jan. 7-8, 2016, at Emory University in Atlanta. For faculty leaders of all disciplines, workshops involve an intensive two days of presentations, exercises, discussions, outdoor place-based activities and planning. Participants also reflect on their own roles in the transformation of higher education, receive readings and organizational materials and share challenges and strategies with supportive fellow leaders. Over 500 campus leaders from across the U.S. and eight foreign countries have praised the workshop. Deadline to apply is Nov. 6.
Call for Applications: New England Farm & Sea to Campus Network Steering Committee
The New England Farm & Sea to Campus Network is seeking applicants for a six to eight member steering committee to provide strategic guidance to the network. The New England Farm & Sea to Campus Network is a community of higher education and food systems stakeholders who connect, share and collaborate to develop transparent regional supply chains and educate campus communities about regional food systems. This effort was organized by Farm to Institution New England (FINE), with input from dozens of other organizations and institutions. Steering committee applications are due by Oct. 9.
Fair Trade Photofest 2015
In honor of Fair Trade Month, Fair Trade is hosting a photo contest to showcase America's love for Fair Trade Products. The photofest takes place the entire month of October with a different theme for the first three weeks. Prizes will be given away each week and the top two best overall winners receive a Fair Trade trip to Mexico.
Energy Education Summit Webinar Series
The Council of Energy Education and Research Leaders (CEREL) of the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) will hold a series of webinars to discuss the conclusions of the first National Energy Education Summit. The webinars will be held the first Monday of the month at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. The first webinar, in the events section below, is titled Energy Majors, Minors, Concentrations and Certificates and is being held on Oct. 5.
Call for Design and Construction Projects Interested in Achieving High Energy Performance
Accelerate Performance is a U.S. Department of Energy-funded initiative that empowers building owners and developers to achieve desired energy performance goals by requiring specific goals at the forefront of the project. The Accelerate Performance team is currently seeking building owners or developers interested in piloting this approach to constructing the next generation of low and zero-energy buildings at a cost comparable to current construction. Projects should be in the pre-planning phase and before the design team is selected.
