Second Nature's Implementer | August 2020 No images? Click here Accelerate Your Climate Awareness. The Implementer | August 2020RAPID RECOGNITIONSWelcome UC President Michael V. Drake!Congratulations to Dr. Michael V. Drake on his appointment in July as University of California's 21st President! We are excited to continue working with the Office of the President and our other Climate Leadership Network and University Climate Change Coalition (UC3) partners across the University of California system to accelerate climate action at UC. Thank You for Helping Us, Help You, Accelerate Your Climate Action.The colleges and universities listed below are Climate Leadership Network signatories and/or University Climate Change Coalition (UC3) members that financially reaffirmed their commitment to climate action this month. Second Nature is thankful for their financial support that allows us to offer the resources, relationships, credibility and knowledge to accelerate climate action in, and leverage the strengths of, colleges and universities. Appalachian State University University of California, Riverside PA Higher Ed Students & Municipalities Taking Climate ActionGreat news from Pennsylvania - the state's Department of Environmental Protection just launched the second year in the Local Climate Action Assistance Program that pairs college/university students with local participating municipalities to work together to develop greenhouse gas inventories among other climate projects. Students in this year's program come from the following Pennsylvania higher education institutions: Allegheny College, Bucknell University, Dickinson College, Drexel University, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, Muhlenberg College, Penn State University, Shippensburg University, Susquehanna University, Temple University, University of Pittsburgh and Wilkes University. More... Top Renewable Energy Colleges & UniversitiesEnvironment America Research & Policy Center recently published their "America's Top Colleges for Renewable Energy 2020" report. NOTABLE NEWSWe Want to Hear From You!We know that you remain committed to accelerating climate action in your community, even though this has been an unusual year to say the least. We continue to try to adapt and learn from you about what your climate action priorities are for your campus. Please take a moment to complete our Climate Leadership Network Needs Survey. This brief (less than 5 minutes) survey will help identify campus priorities and give feedback about the Presidents' Climate Leadership Commitments. Attn: Comms Teams - We Need to Hear From You!Note: this request is specifically for Climate Leadership Network signatory and/or University Climate Change Coalition (UC3) member schools. At Second Nature, we always want to be able to support your institution and the great climate work you are doing in the best possible way. We want to ensure that we have the correct information in our files for your communications person.
Why? Our Ask of You
We appreciate your input in advance, and please do not hesitate to reach-out to Amanda Belles if you have any questions. If you have already completed the questionnaire, please ignore this request! NE4OSW Coalition Has Launched!On Wednesday, August 26th, New England for Offshore Wind - a coalition of entities from many diverse sectors - launched. The coalition will work collaboratively to fight climate change through "responsibly developed offshore wind." Second Nature is excited and proud to be a campaign partner, representing higher education along with our Climate Leadership Network institutions - Tufts University, Bristol Community College and University of Massachusetts Amherst! Graphic Credit: NE4OSW If you are a Climate Leadership Network signatory who has Pledged, Planned, Proceeded and Published... You're Already In!Race to Zero CampaignOn World Environment Day 2020, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Action (UNFCC) launched Race to Zero; a global campaign for a healthy, resilient and Fair, Zero Carbon recovery that prevents future threats, creates decent jobs, and unlocks inclusive, sustainable growth. Those who have already signed onto the campaign include businesses, cities, regions, higher education institutions, investors and 120
countries. RELEVANT RESOURCESPhoto: Carbon Pricing in Higher Education Working Group *NEW* Carbon Pricing in Higher Ed ResourceSmith College and Princeton University published a peer-reviewed paper on the use of internal carbon pricing at colleges and universities, in particular the use of proxy (or shadow) carbon prices. The paper was published in Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. August 2020 Policy UpdateIn case you missed our August 2020 Policy Update, you can access it at the button below. *NEW* Resource: Investing in Racial EquityLast week, the Intentional Endowments Network (IEN) who is a Second Nature partner, published a primer called, "Investing in Racial Equity: A Primer for College & University Endowments." If you're an institution interested in learning about how your campus can INVEST in students of color in addition to educating students of color, we encourage you to check-out this primer. If you are interested in taking your commitment to racial equity even further, IEN is presenting the following opportunities to do so:
Vermont Law School Blog: Environmental JusticeDid you know that Vermont Law School blog has a category completely dedicated to environmental justice? Blog posts for every blog category are written by students, faculty and others. *NEW* Resource for Higher Ed Sustainability StaffThe Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) recently put out a 2020 report, Salaries & Status of Sustainability Professionals in Higher Education. The Report contains the results of AASHE's 2020 Higher Education Sustainability Staffing Survey. OPPORTUNITIESWebinar: Toward Carbon Neutrality in Higher Education: Cost-Effective, Actionable Pathways to a Net-Zero FutureThursday, September 24, 2020 | 3-4:30PM EDT
Panelists: Comments: Opportunity: Want to Electrify Your Fleet?Second Nature has partnered with the Electric Vehicle Purchasing Collaborative as they seek to expand their cohort of colleges and universities making the transition to Electric Vehicle (EV) fleets. Whether you are looking to purchase your first EV or making the switch across your entire fleet, this unprecedented collaborative can help you accelerate the transition to electric vehicle fleets by helping to remove common barriers to purchase. BONUS BULLETINThank You Summer Interns!As many of you know, Second Nature is a small and nimble organization that works to support climate action in higher education. We're thrilled to acknowledge our summer 2020 interns who came on board (virtually) this summer and helped advance our capacity and our efforts. You'll see their work in upcoming resources. Thank You Carmiya, Jill, and Alyssa for your help this summer, and we wish you the utmost success with your Fall semesters!Carmiya GaleJillian CollinsAlyssa AttonitoWe'd also be remiss if we didn't say thank you to another one of our Climate Program Interns, Batrisyia Jamal Affendy, who has been with Second Nature since the beginning of 2020 (pre-COVID-19), has stayed on with us through the summer, and will continue on with us through this Fall! Thank you Batrisyia for all of your amazing and continued work!SECOND NATURE TEAMStarting in this month's Implementer, we're going to be sharing some fun facts and information about the Second Nature team in every Implementer! We see this as a fun way for you to get to know your Second Nature team more! As we're trying this out, let us know what you think; should we keep doing this? Are there questions you have for our team? Let us know! communications@secondnature.org This month, we want to introduce you to some of our pets! Accelerate Your Climate Awareness.Subscribe to our Implementer list to get this e-newsletter automatically every month if you aren't already, and you can also subscribe for some of our other lists as well. |