Tag Archives | Second Nature

APUS is a Finalist for a Climate Leadership Award

By on April 2, 2013 in American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment, APUS Sustainability Efforts, LEED Building, Renewable Energy, Sustainability in Higher Education, Video

Second Nature recently notified American Public University System (APUS) that the school is a finalist for a Climate Leadership Award.  “The annual Second Nature Climate Leadership awards recognize innovative and advanced leadership in education for sustainability, climate mitigation and adaptation and institutionalized sustainability at signatory campuses of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment [ACUPCC].”

Each finalist was asked to create a 1-3 minute video highlighting sustainability efforts at their school.  During the month of April, the public may vote on these videos. … Read the rest

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NWF Campus Ecology Program

By on January 16, 2013 in Sustainability in Higher Education

by Kelly Wenner

Campus sustainability can sometimes feel like an isolated endeavor. However, there are groups that exist such as Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and Second Nature that attempt to bring campuses and their sustainability pursuits together. Another one of these groups I recently found is through the National Wildlife Federation. Their group, named Campus Ecology, was started over twenty years ago and works with colleges and universities to improve their overall green educational programming and onsite sustainability.… Read the rest

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The Importance of Sustainable Building Education

By on December 3, 2012 in Book/Resource Reviews, Green-Building, Sustainability in Higher Education, Sustainability Resources

by Sarah Myers (McNair)

Construction activities have a significant impact on the health of the environment.  Building new structures requires the production of new goods and the transportation of these materials to building sites.  Throughout the supply chain, the harmful emissions add up.  Both the construction and demolition processes create large amounts of pollution and waste that fill up landfills quickly and/or are oftentimes not disposed of in an environmentally sound manner.  These impacts (and many more) are precisely the reason that higher education must prepare its students to improve upon modern building construction practices.  Second Nature and the U.S.… Read the rest

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5 Years of the ACUPCC

By on May 25, 2012 in American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment, APUS Sustainability Efforts, Current Events, Sustainability in Higher Education

by Beth Gray

This year marks the 5th anniversary of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).  The effort originated from discussions at the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) conference in October 2006 at Arizona State University.  College and university presidents and their representatives along with representatives from groups like Second Nature and ecoAmerica identified at that time a unique role for higher education in addressing the persistent issues of climate change and disruption.  Within only two months of those discussions, twelve presidents became founding signatories of the ACUPCC and a groundbreaking initiative was established. 

The twelve institutions who served as founding signatories represent a cross section of institutions in the United States.  From Arizona State University in the desert southwest, a very large public research institution to Cape Cod Community College in the northeast and Ball State University in the Midwest, these institutions have committed to advancing sustainability in higher education both through student curriculum and through their own operations.  Despite their geographic and institutional differences the twelve who originally signed the commitment had a common bond: a strong commitment to take advantage of higher education’s unique role in society to make a measurable difference in the state of our environment. 

… Read the rest

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Transparency and the Future of Sustainability in Higher Education

By on February 14, 2012 in Sustainability General, Sustainability in Higher Education

by Ryan Harding

Last year, Hannah Jones, VP of Sustainable Business at Nike, wrote that businesses must adjust their sights, and begin to see sustainability as a “strategic prism.” The line of thinking Jones adopts seems to be an iteration of a familiar idea: to gain a competitive advantage in today’s progressively green-minded marketplace, sustainability must be allowed to develop into a constitutive strategic element driving and leading the commercial activities of businesses. Sustainability in the 21st century, Jones reflects, has developed into “a core strategic imperative for any company that intends to thrive and grow in the years ahead.”

Beyond labeling sustainability a “core strategic imperative”, or, translated into the rather muddled parlance in which I write, a universal social imperative, Jones underscores the transformative impact of transparency in the promotion of social movements encouraging structural changes to existing cultural paradigms.… Read the rest

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NACUBO’s Financing Sustainability on Campus

By on July 12, 2010 in Sustainability General, Sustainability in Higher Education, Sustainability Resources

by Beth Gray

In 2009 the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) published a resource entitled, Financing Sustainability on Campus.  Ben Barlow, a consultant for Second Nature, and Andrea Putman, Director of Corporate Partnerships at Second Nature, team up to author this resource and do a very good job at exploring a variety of funding options that can be helpful in pushing forward with sustainability initiatives.  At just over 100 pages, this publication is a worthwhile resource for anyone tasked with implementing sustainability initiatives on a college or university campus. 

… Read the rest

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147 Practical Tips for Teaching Sustainability

By on June 24, 2010 in Sustainability General, Sustainability in Higher Education, Sustainability Resources

by Beth Gray

Written by educators for educators, 147 Practical Tips for Teaching Sustainability is an invaluable resource for anyone teaching sustainability.  In his forward to the work, David W. Orr, Director of the Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College, notes that colleges and universities must equip young people “with the analytical skills and wherewithal to become change agents beyond the years of formal education.”  Anthony Cortese, President of Second Nature, also provides a forward in which he notes “We are the first generation capable of determining the habitability of the planet for humans and other species.”  Cortese continues by quoting Albert Einstein who said, “’We can’t solve today’s problems at the same level of thinking at which they were created.’”  For all of these reasons, 147 Practical Tips for Teaching Sustainability is a resource that can help college and university educators to engage their students in gaining a full and thorough understanding of the current state of the environment and what must happen in order to improve the quality of life within it for generations to come.… Read the rest

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A Helpful Sustainability Resource for Leaders in Higher Education: Second Nature

By on March 24, 2010 in Sustainability in Higher Education, Sustainability Resources

Second Nature is an organization based in Boston, Massachusetts dedicated to providing helpful resources to leaders in higher education seeking to create a more sustainable future.  Second Nature’s mission is to “accelerate movement toward a sustainable future by serving and supporting senior college and university leaders in making healthy, just, and sustainable living the foundation of all learning and practice in higher education.”  Second Nature supports the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) as well as other initiatives including Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC).  The organization’s website provides a variety of resources related to financing sustainability in higher education, integrating sustainability into higher education curriculums, and green building practices.  For college and university leaders working towards greater sustainability in their organizations, Second Nature’s website can serve as a helpful and worthwhile resource.… Read the rest

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Boldly Sustainable: Hope and Opportunity for Higher Education in the Age of Climate Change

By on March 8, 2010 in Sustainability Resources

by Beth Gray

Boldly SustainableThe National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) is a great resource for anyone in higher education.  In 2009, NACUBO teamed with Second Nature to publish a book titled, Boldly Sustainable: Hope and Opportunity for Higher Education in the Age of Climate Change.  The book, written by Second Nature leaders Peter Bardaglio and Andrea Putnam, is a must-read for anyone interested in the issue of climate change as it relates to higher education.  Virtually every aspect of the higher education environment is addressed from the perspective of climate change.  From sustainable business models to greening dining halls and dormitories, the authors have managed to create a veritable encyclopedia of sustainability for higher education leaders interested in sustainability.  In September 2009, American Public University System’s (APUS) President, Wallace Boston, Jr.… Read the rest

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