(Additonal registration fee required)

Using the Roadmap to a Green Campus, a forthcoming resource from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), explore strategies and opportunities to engage diverse members of your campus community in sustainability projects. Consider the role of curriculum integration in moving forward green building initiatives, tracking project performance, and gathering critical data to assist project teams. Learn how other institutions are implementing sustainability projects and share stories from your own campus. Also, preview opportunities to contribute to USGBC’s Case Study Project.

(Additonal registration fee required)

Learn all about the brand-new Sustainability Tracking, Rating, and Assessment System (STARS) from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). STARS is a voluntary, self-reporting framework for gauging progress toward sustainability for colleges and universities. Find out how you can use this comprehensive, community-developed tool which establishes a common standard of measurement for institutions. Discuss the program details including STARS credits, documentation, data collection, and submission processes. Join AASHE staff for this interactive and informative session.

Franklin & Marshall College is half way through their Northwest Gateway Initiative, led by Keith A. Orris, which is transforming a former Armstrong World Industries plant and an active Norfolk Southern Railyard adjacent to their campus from industrial brownfields into valuable institutional real estate. These 75 acres will be transformed into urban parcels providing 50 years of expansion room for educational, athletic, recreational and mixed used projects for the college and their partner Lancaster General Health.

Orris will describe the strategic planning process for the Gateway Project that began in 2003 along with the physical restructuring of the 75 acres that has been underway since 2006, the sustainability considerations and decisions they made along the way and the relationship (both positive and negative) in working with the community. He will also be discussing the intersection of planning and sustainability and the integrated systems approach they developed for their campus.

Cornell University and Ithaca College have joined forces with municipal leaders, transportation system planners and community activists in Ithaca NY to develop alternative transportation systems that meet not only the needs of each institution but help broaden the available menu of mobility options on a community-wide basis. The most successful example of this “town-gown” collaboration led to the development of Ithaca Carshare, a locally-based independent carshare program. In addition, both institutions have partnered with the local transit provider to develop and market community-wide vanpool services and with other local partners to design a community-wide rideshare system.

Learn how procurement operations can transform a green vision into tangible results that promote long-term sustainability and support fiscal goals. This session will describe how an insittution can leverage its buying power and supplier partnerships to guide campus users to purchase environmentally preferable products and services.

Many institutions do not realize the costs associated with commitments and legislation geared toward significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, even those institutions that are not signatories will face higher BAU costs if/when a cap-and-trade system is implemented federally, and perhaps in their state even if the federal legislation does not survive. This session will explore the impact of these factors on the business as usual (BAU) cost projection and the importance of realistic and complete BAU cost projections in making a case to finance renewable energy projects.

As the college campuses and corporate america continue to improve in every area of sustainability they both must share knowledge and problem solving techniques that demonstrate and enhance environmental/ social awareness. Learn how to accomplish these tasks from the classroom to the boardroom and how to increase institutional understanding of opportunities that demonstrate futuristic respect for the generations that are to precede us.

Sustainability officers face enormous challenges in developing and reporting campus climate action plans. This session will introduce the Climate Neutral: Research Campuses resource and walk though the technical content. Leading examples will be used extensively to illustrate the wide range of successful climate actions that have been implemented on campuses.

Now more than ever, students are turning towards two-year institutions and with the increased population many community colleges are beginning to update their aging campus infrastructures. Explore the energy performance contract utilized by Tallahassee Community College where in one year they've reduced their utility costs by more than 20 percent and used the $2.6M in savings to help fund sustainable campus renovations.

International and domestic initiatives toward restricting the emission of greenhouse gases will have a significant impact on energy generation and use on university and college campuses. The cost to emit one metric ton of carbon dioxide is expected to increase from $15 to over $100 between 2012 and 2050 in the United States, with profound financial consequences for carbon-intensive campuses. This session will explore the carbon-related financial risks facing universities and colleges and the range of options these institutions may consider to address and manage these risks.

Discover how the sixth largest university in enrollment, (Texas A&M University) has reduced its energy consumption per GSF by 33 percent over the past seven years. Learn how TAMU is continuing this trend by installing high efficiency combined heat and power equipment and by the development of a new Energy Stewardship Program - educating, raising awareness and implementing programs to reduce energy consumption.

John M. Berry, West Virginia State University

In the midst of a down turned economy a small historically black university institutionally related foundation board of directors sought to establish philanthropic revenue generating centers for endowment development as part of a longitudinal plan toward sustainability. The real estate foundation ultimate is to create a real estate investment trust. Learn about the challenges surrounding small institutions, creative financing methods and methods to identify philanthropic resources geared toward sustainability.

Residential and commercial buildings account for two-thirds of the electricity used in the U.S., 36 percent of U.S. greenhouse gasses, nine percent of world greenhouse emissions, and 12 percent of U.S. fresh water consumption. Buildings dominate the ecological footprints of institutions of higher education. For example, greater than 90 percent of Oberlin College’s greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to activities that take place in campus buildings. In this talk we will discuss how the Campus Resource Monitoring System and similar projects we are now undertaking at other educational institutions exemplify the use of real-time monitoring and display for education and resource conservation.

Moderated by Toni Nelson, Second Nature, this session will provide an overview of the diversity of approaches to climate action planning as experienced by three ACUPCC signatory institutions with diverse institutional structures, campus cultures, and geographic locations. Specific topics covered will include setting a climate neutral goal, how climate planning can enhance the strategic planning process, leveraging greenhouse gas mitigation efforts to promote sustainability throughout all sectors of campus culture, and developing local offset projects that make a difference in the community.

Motivated by a number of interrelated factors institutions are adopting a “menu” of Transportation Demand Management (TDM) strategies that seeks to alter behavior and thereby reduce carbon emissions. Gain an "insider" perspective from Duke and UVA as they provide key operational/policy/financial mechanisms that have been considered and offer insight on the experience and knowledge gained from TDM strategies.

Many talk about the benefits of sustainability, but what are the issues and challenges facing institutions who are just beginning to change operationally? Hear from a Southeastern instution as they describe one of their first lighting upgrades, the energy savings and the significant improvement in the learning atmosphere for students and educators.

Solar Power Purchase Agreements (SPPAs), are a relatively new financing option for solar power systems on campus. Learn how to use your roof space, your investment-grade credit, and your institutions tax exemption to receive care-free, low-cost electricity and reduce your carbon footprint. A case study describing implementation challenges, expectations, benefits and community reaction will also be discussed.

Barbara Koneval, Second Nature

Participate in a lively discussion to identify pressing challenges and issues, explore potential solutions and share stories. Benefit from your colleagues' expertise and assist others by sharing your own. This session is open to Implementation Liaisons from schools that are signatories of the ACUPCC. 

Ball State University has a twenty year history of institutionalizing sustainability. You'll gain an understanding of the complications of leveraging the many emerging national organizational resources, program plans, and burgeoning scoring/rating systems in the development and expansion of their ongoing work. Included will be a description of: the work of BSU's Council on the Environment; implementaion of ACUPCC; application of STARS; and installation of our Ground-source-geothermal district heating and cooling system -- now under construction -- which will eliminate on-campus coal-fired combustion and cut 85,000 tons of Scope 1 GHG emissions.

Colleges and Universities are at the forefront of the push for sustainability. Whereas they have addressed climate change through a variety of different initiatives they are often times viewed as at odds with the surrounding communities. In many instances these communities are faced with economic and environmental hardships. This panel will address ways your institution can be a positive force for sustainable community development. It will review the role community investing in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) can play as well as provide best practice examples from colleges and universities across the nation. The panel will also provide a more detailed overview of sustainable community development projects that colleges and universities have undertaken creating 'green jobs' and other opportunities for low-income communities that foster environmental sustainability at the same time.

Building Sustainability at Cal, a student led organization has helped fill an information gap by conducting audits and other tedious tasks which otherwise might be too expensive/inconvenient for professionals on campus or consultants to do. Once this initial data gathering is done, students then provide outreach/education to building inhabitants and campus at large. Learn how to utilize this potentially powerful relationship between students, staff and administration on your campus.

Learn how William Paterson University has earned grant funding, implemented alternative financing options, and combined a selelction of "low hanging fruit" projects to improve their emissions and savings.

A high impact session designed to address one of the most difficult issues related to environmental sustainability efforts -- how to institutionalize changes so that the organization does not revert back to it original ways of acting. This session will include frameworks for analyzing organizational change and case studies from various organizations will be used to illustrate the use of the frameworks. Emphasis will be on strategic considerations in change programs related to environmental sustainability efforts.