Grant to Cultivate Next Gen of Climate Leaders

At the end of August, California State University, Northridge announced that they had received a $500,000 three-year grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for a national initiative to help cultivate the next generation of climate leaders.  Rutgers University; University of Illinois at Chicago; University of California, Santa Barbara; University of California, Riverside and other schools are also part of the initiative.  More...
 

*NEW* Cross-Sector Forum Planning Resource Available

The UNEP is currently seeking campuses who would be interested in signing up for their pilot phase of this new program.  For more information, and to sign-up, please see below.  Note: The deadline to sign-up is October 16th.  
 

*NEW* Online Resource re: Racial Health Inequities 
 

This resource allows you to compare 1930s redlining maps/information to CDC Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) information from today, which allows you to see how much has changed, and how much has not across 200 different cities. 

This was an effort done in collaboration between the University of Richmond's Digital Scholarship Lab and the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.    

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash
 

Happening Today!

Webinar: Toward Carbon Neutrality in Higher Education: Cost-Effective, Actionable Pathways to a Net-Zero Future

Thursday, September 24, 2020 | 3-4:30PM EDT

Many campuses are considering the electrification of heating as a decarbonization pathway. Today’s status quo for heating – energy distributed through high-temperature networks – not only is over-designed and costly to maintain but also is basically incompatible with the low-carbon economy. Electrification is a proven route to enable lower-carbon buildings, led by heat pump strategies. Join us for this webinar to learn more. 

Panelists:
- Ruth Bennett, Director of Strategic Capital Programs, Tufts University
- Bert Bland, Associate Vice President for Energy and Sustainability, Cornell University
- JP Drouin, Project Development Director, Ecosystem Energy Services

Comments:
- Catherine Loubier, Delegate General of Québec in New York
- Marie-Claude Francoeur, Québec Delegate to New England

Webinar: A Climate Change Forum
Monday, September 28, 2020 | 6-7PM EDT

The University of Maine's Climate Change Institute is hosting this webinar that will consist of five Climate Change Institute faculty members who will each briefly speak and then it will be opened up to a Q&A session.  This event is part of Maine Impact Week.  The webinar is free and open to the public, but registration is required.  

Opportunity: Midwest Climate Summit
Summit Kick-Off: Friday, October 2, 2020
 

The Midwest Climate Summit - founded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Ohio State University, and Washington University in St. Louis - kicks off on Friday, October 2nd.  The mission of the Summit is to "expand climate knowledge, accelerate climate action, and catalyze new partnerships that deepen expertise and develop a Midwestern response to the climate crisis."  Second Nature is proud to be a summit partner.  

Virtual Program: TEDxUNEP: Racing to Zero with Higher Education: Acting and Enabling Global Decarbonization
Tuesday, October 13, 2020 |2-3:30PM EDT 
 

Countdown and Race To Zero are global campaigns to rally leadership and support from governments, businesses, and other institutions for a healthy, resilient, zero carbon recovery that prevents future threats, creates decent jobs, and unlocks inclusive, sustainable growth.  Hundreds of colleges and universities from around the world have committed to the Race to Zero's goal of Net-Zero by 2050 at the latest. Many have also signed onto interim goals or have committed to reach carbon neutrality by 2030 or before.  

The objective of the UN Environment Program, Second Nature, The Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education (EAUC), and others are working with campuses worldwide to achieve their reductions and serve as a catalyst for others to take action. This virtual program is part of that work.  This event is free and open to the public.

Presenters:
- Michael Drake, President, University of California System (invited)
- Joyce Msuya, Deputy Director, UN Environment 
- Nigel Topping, UK High Level Champion for Climate Action, COP26 
- Education Minister - TBD
- Tim Carter, President, Second Nature
- Sam Barratt, Chief of Youth, Education and Advocacy, UNEP 

This program is co-hosted by Second Nature and UNEP's Youth, Education & Advocacy Unit. It is part of TEDx Countdown.

Webinar: Sustainable Energy as a Service: Why Campuses Are Choosing to Own the Solution, not the Equipment
Thursday, October 22, 2020 | 2-3:15PM EDT
 

Learn how colleges and universities can reduce carbon, improve building health, and improve their bottom line through energy services agreements (ESAs) that focus on sustainability.

Panelists:
– Bob Hinkle, President and CEO of Metrus Energy
– Greg Simmons, Director of Energy, Sustainability, and Infrastructure at Guidehouse
– Eric Howard, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Second Nature

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.

For more information on the Collaborative and how to join, please see our recent webinar with representatives from UCLA Fleet Procurement, Climate Mayors, and the Electrification Coalition and/or contact Sarah Reed (sreed@electrificationcoalition.org).

New England for Offshore Wind Coalition Launches

On Wednesday, August 26th, the New England for Offshore Wind (NE4OSW) coalition launched.  NE4OSW is an alliance of over 40 institutions from various sectors (labor, business, environmental, justice, higher ed, etc) across the New England states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont), focused on "coordinating advocacy across the six states, leveraging the collective influence of its members to urge governors and legislators to collaborate and take action to increase offshore wind targets."  

Second Nature is a coalition partner, as are Tufts University, Bristol Community College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.  
 

Image: New England Offshore Wind Coalition

Join the Race to Zero Today; Tomorrow is Too Late

Higher education has always taken a lead in science, research, and public health.  And now higher education is taking a lead in responding to climate change.  Now is the time to accelerate that even more; join the global Race to Zero.

What Is Race to Zero?
Race to Zero is a global campaign to mobilize leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions, higher education, and investors 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. The objective of the campaign is to accelerate momentum leading up to COP26.  All members have committed to the same overarching goal to be carbon neutral by 2050.     

What Are the Criteria to Join? 
There are four criteria to be a part of this campaign: 
1.  As a leader at your institution, pledge that your campus will achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 at the latest. 
2.  Prior to COP26, have a detailed plan in place explaining how your school will accomplish your carbon neutrality goal.  
3.  Proceed with your climate action plan (i.e. put your plan into action!).
4.  Submit and publish your progress annually.  Higher education institutions that are part of Race to Zero are tracked in the Second Nature Reporting Platform.
 

Where Do We Sign-Up?
Once you meet the above criteria, you have three ways to sign-up for Race to Zero:
1. You can sign the Global Universities and Colleges Climate Letter. 
2. You can join the Climate Leadership Network by signing the Carbon or Climate Commitment.
3. You can contact Second Nature directly at racetozero@secondnature.org.
 

Melinda first began her career at Second Nature a few years ago as the Operations Intern, and for this past year, was the Cross-Sector Climate Program Coordinator, in which she provided logistical and administrative support for the University Climate Change Coalition (UC3).  

We thank Melinda for all of her hard work and contributions to Second Nature, and wish her well in her next adventure!
 

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.  

In honor of Friday, September 4th being College Colors Day AND to celebrate Climate Week happening as we speak, we wanted to share this fun photo with all of you!  It's us - your Second Nature Team - wearing gear from our alma maters!

Help Us, Continue to Help You, Accelerate Your Climate Action

One easy and immediate way to do so right now?
Click on the button below, and make a small contribution. 

 Combating climate change; it really does take all of us, because we're all in this together. 
Thank you in advance for taking climate action today in a unique way.