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The Implementer
October 2023
Accelerate Your Climate Awareness. Knowledge. Action. | Second Nature's Monthly E-Newsletter.
NOTABLE NEWS
Congratulations to the 2023 Catalyst Grant Recipients!
Second Nature is thrilled to share the recipients of $100,000 in Catalyst Grants from the Acceleration Fund! Eleven schools in Second Nature's Networks received up to $10,000 to support decarbonization, resilience, and climate action projects on their campuses and in their communities. Read a description of each school's project on our website.
Our 2023 Catalyst Grant recipients:
- Central Oregon Community College (Bend, OR)
- Earlham College (Richmond, IN)
- Morehouse College (Atlanta, GA)
- Northeastern University (Boston, MA)
- Paradise Valley Community College (Phoenix, AZ)
- SUNY New Paltz (New Paltz, NY)
- Tecnológico de Monterrey (Monterrey, Mexico)
- University at Buffalo (Buffalo, NY)
- University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire (Eau Claire, Wisconsin)
- Warren Wilson College (Swannanoa, NC)
- Western Colorado University (Gunnison, CO)
OTHER NEWS
Supporting Our Partners and the HBCU Community
Our partners at Black Sustainability, Inc. (BSI) held their 8th annual Black Sustainability Summit in October at New Black Wall Street and the Original Collard Greens Festival. During the summit, BSI gave Second Nature a shout out for our partnership and support building their forthcoming State of Black Sustainability report with
grant funds from the Lumina Foundation. As the partnership lead, Second Nature's Climate Programs Southeast Manager, Blythe Coleman-Mumford, was in attendance to connect with BSI's incredible community, and to support our colleagues at UNCF's Institute for Capacity Building.
Members of the Intersectional Climate Action Leaders Working Group held an
in-person gathering at the 9th Annual HBCU Climate Change Conference in October.
Blythe also attended the 9th Annual HBCU Climate Change Conference in New Orleans this month, where she hosted a dinner for members of the Intersectional Climate Action Leaders Working Group, a think tank for the HBCU and Minority Serving Institution climate action community and stakeholders. Throughout the conference, Blythe met with student researchers and doctoral candidates as well as institutional and organizational partners. It was an amazing opportunity to connect with legends in the climate and environmental justice movements, including Dr. Robert Bullard of the Bullard Center for Environmental Justice at Texas Southern University and Dr. Beverly Wright of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice.
RAPID RECOGNITIONS
The University of Michigan's new report shares a wide-ranging overview of its climate action efforts and shows it is on pace to reduce Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 -- progress that exceeds the IPCC guidelines. Creating a culture of sustainability and climate justice is a core commitment for U-M through initiatives like its 8,500-member strong Planet Blue Ambassador program and 98 Green Teams promoting sustainability on campus.
Earlham College became a Climate Commitment signatory in 2019, and since then has worked to create a Climate Action Plan (CAP) to guide its efforts to reach carbon neutrality by 2042. The newly completed CAP also includes pathways to campus and community resiliency in the face of climate change impacts.
Buildings.com, a trade publication for facility managers and building owners, reviewed the history of the higher education sector in the effort to reach Net Zero, noting that institutions are setting and achieving ambitious climate action goals.
RELEVANT RESOURCES
A new paper co-authored by Second Nature's President, Dr. Tim Carter, appears in the open-access journal Environmental Research Letters. The paper explores the disciplinary and institutional diversity of federal funding for academic research on climate solutions in the US. Their research reveals disparities across institution types and proposes strategies to correct these inequities.
OPPORTUNITIES
Registration is open for our Key Issues to Watch at COP28 webinar! Join Second Nature, UC3, and the Research and Independent Non-Governmental Organizations (RINGO) constituency to discuss key issues on the negotiation agenda at this year's COP in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. If you can't attend the live session, a recording will be made available shortly after. Visit our website for past webinars to prepare for this year's COP.
Date: Thursday, November 9
Time: 7 - 8:30 pm ET
Will we see you at COP28?
If you are planning to attend COP28, please let us know so that we can connect with you throughout this global event and share details about sessions, receptions, side events, and more.
Join an upcoming webinar series to get an overview of benchmarking and Building Performance Standards (BPS) policies impacting higher education. Learn how your college or university can plan for compliance and integrate these new standards into your decarbonization efforts. Register for the remaining two sessions in this series presented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Sustainable Endowments Institute:
Engaging with Upcoming BPS Policies
Date: Thursday, November 2
Time: 1 – 2:30pm ET
Planning for Compliance with Current BPS Policies
Date: Thursday, November 16
Time: 1 – 2:30pm ET
Accelerate Your Climate Awareness.
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