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. Put another way, in detailing how technology-derived and -related social pressures are not only driving corporations and governments to become more transparent, but have, in some way, directed the distribution of corporate and state-owned resources and become “a trigger for movements and political action,” Jones begins to trace the contours of a revolution that will come to define the Information Age.

Transparency is not only a key ingredient to maintaining a free society, but often helps engender and later propagate fledging social movements which, without it, may otherwise be stillborn. In the same way that social media has acted as a channel through which ideas are allowed to spread globally, and in doing so, has been instrumental in allowing once oppressed people the opportunity to realize and define their political destiny, so too the forces of transparency—which social media has come to embody—can be harnessed as a means by which to establish sustainability as a social (not just corporate strategic) imperative.

Transparency is one of two “accelerators,” propelling “change and innovation” in the world of corporate sustainability, says Jones. The other, Jones notes, is “data.” Information is the fuel driving transformative social currents, and simultaneously demands transparency and results from it. As it concerns sustainability, data is a necessary precondition to creating a climate (corporate, social, or both) conducive to innovation and one in which the spread of this “strategic imperative” is made possible.

Understanding this, Second Nature, the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment’s (ACUPCC) administrative arm, has attempted to bring to education each of the “accelerators” which, says Jones, are driving the movement to sustainability in business. If higher education is to become sustainable, institutions must direct themselves toward the goal of ensuring the longevity of the sustainability movement. To do this, Second Nature identifies “public reporting” as a “key driver for long-term success” and describes four the primary “benefits” of public reporting: (i) accountability; (ii) communication; (iii) follow-through; (iv) deadlines. More precisely, each of the aforementioned benefits collectively forms the heart of the ACUPCC, and serves (I think) the ultimate end of creating a self-sustaining sustainability movement in higher education. That is, transparency and data will, in the end, together help cultivate an environment in which transparency and reporting become regular habit rather than a self-imposed obligation.

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. 

Barlow and Putman advise readers on how to identify and evaluate opportunities for sustainability initiatives.  The authors point out that there may be opportunities for sustainability hidden on campuses that would require no funding at all.  For example, proper maintenance of HVAC units and other such systems may save the institution money while at the same time creating a more environmentally friendly campus.  For initiatives that will require funding, however, Financing Sustainability on Campus provides a wealth of information.

The authors explore “revolving loan funds” and highlight the examples found in Harvard’s $12 million Green Campus Loan Fund (GCLF) and Macalester College’s Clean Energy Revolving Fund (CERF), both of which have been very successful in helping fund sustainability initiatives at both schools.  A variety of government grants are available for colleges and universities interested in pursuing sustainability initiatives on campus and the authors provide an entire chapter detailing several of them and how to go about applying for them.  Bonds, leases, and even energy performance contracts provide additional funding streams and Barlow and Putman spend a chapter on each.  The authors also explore the various tax credits that are increasingly available and may help offset the cost of financing sustainability initiatives on college campuses.  Power purchase agreements (PPAs), energy hedges, and renewable energy credits (RECs) are also each given a full chapter in the work.  Finally, the authors explore the opportunities found in purchasing carbon offsets.

Financing Sustainability on Campus is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in how to fund sustainability initiatives on college campuses.  The authors are incredibly knowledgeable about the topic and provide a wealth of information and additional resources throughout the publication.  From case studies and examinations of best practices to an appendix packed with information sources and a directory of providers, Barlow and Putman have put together a highly valuable resource in this work.  I highly recommend this resource to any college or university business officer, president, sustainability director, or other staff member tasked with implementing sustainability initiatives on campus.

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.

Encouraging colleges and universities to “break down the silos” that often do plague the university system, this resource provides helpful tips for all professors, not just those who focus on or specialize in environmental studies, to integrate concepts of sustainability into their curriculums.  In general, the book encourages a whole systems approach to teaching sustainability so that the concept reaches every single college and university student, regardless of program of study.  Throughout the work, the authors cite various additional texts that may also prove helpful to any educator wishing to integrate sustainability into the classroom. 

Several of the specific tips provided in the book are worth sharing here but I encourage any educator interested in integrating topics of sustainability into any curriculum to review this resource in depth. 

• “Introduce the Notion that We Are Nature” – The authors note that students may gain a more thorough and appreciative understanding of the fragility of the environment if they can grasp the concept that “’humans are one member of a complex, interconnected system.’”
• “Connect Capitalism and Sustainability” – Making the connection between capitalism, democratic ideals, and sustainable practices can help students gain a more full understanding of the many ways in which these concepts seem to work at cross purposes and how they can begin affecting meaningful change.
•  “Rethink Basic Rights” – The premise of this tip is that few students realize the most fundamental right that is currently being denied to nearly every citizen on earth: a clean and sustainable environment.
• “Conduct an Ecological Footprint Audit” – The authors point out that conducting such an audit within a classroom or encouraging students to conduct a personal audit as part of a class project may lead to a larger institutionalized commitment from the college or university leadership. 
• “Tie Classes and Programs Together” – By providing, for example, a case study that clearly illustrates implications for environmental, economic, and societal health, on which students focus, they may be able to gain a more focused and holistic understanding of the integrative nature of issues related to the environment.

The 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., published a thorough review of Boldly Sustainable on his blog.  I encourage you to read President Boston’s thoughts on the work and take a look at Bardaglio and Putnam’s book for yourself.  I am sure that you will find it worthwhile.