The below article is by Alison Richardson who works in the Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling at the University of Michigan. Last summer, the office worked to compile recycling best practices among top recycling buildings on campus. These best practices were condensed into a guide to help lower performing buildings boost their recycling rates. The full report is available here. The below article is a summary of the key take-aways and findings.

Across the University of Michigan campus, and campuses in general, recycling rates vary widely by building. The U-M Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling sought to document the waste practices of top performing buildings with the goal of assisting facilities with lower recycling rates. The project began with identifying recycling rates, averaged over a three year period, fiscal years 2008-2010, for U-M buildings. Buildings were placed in one of six usage categories; administrative, athletic/recreational, classroom, residence, research and unions, to ensure buildings with similar functions were compared. Current practices were compiled into a best practices report largely applicable to any campus building.

Facility managers in these buildings were interviewed about their perception of recycling in their facility, building culture, custodial involvement and training, special recycling/green groups and any environmental champions within the building. Surveys with similar questions were provided to both building occupants and custodians. These interviews were in conjunction with a facility tour to view bin quantities and placement.
From this research, four “C’s” to recycling success emerged: communication, convenience, culture and custodial habits.

Communication
Establish a communication strategy for distributing recycling information, including making recycling information accessible (via email or postings near bins) and ensuring that staff are aware of any changes. Successful buildings had also identified environmental champions within the building and utilized them to help disseminate recycling information. Communication should also flow both ways, so building occupants should have access a point person(s) to go to with recycling questions.

Convenience
In common areas, place trash bins and recycling bins together in convenient areas (e.g. near entrances/exits, bathrooms, newspaper stands) so that recycling and trash are placed in the proper containers. If containers are located conveniently and close to each other, both types of waste are more likely to end up in the proper container. It is also essential to locate bins at points where people most need recycling.

Culture
While a recycling-friendly culture may seem difficult to cultivate, it is important to the success of recycling within an individual facility. Faculty, staff, and students should feel comfortable discussing recycling with co-workers, exchanging information, and pointing out recycling “mistakes” when an item lands in the wrong bin. The goal is to make placing recyclables in the recycling bin the norm. It is also important to let the building occupants know when their actions are leading to recycling success and motivate them to continue creating a building culture that has a positive recycling impact.

Custodians
For custodians to be fully dedicated to recycling at the facilities they maintain, recycling must be emphasized during training sessions and staff updates as necessary. Custodians should also be encouraged to pass recycling information along to building occupants.

While these key best practices may appear simple, it seems it is the easy practices that are most often overlooked. However, it is encouraging that these best practices are, in theory, uncomplicated. Strategies incorporating recycling communication, convenience, culture and custodial actions can be tailored and utilized at every campus facility and improve recycling rates campus-wide.

Eleven students from Dickinson College (PA) blog live from South Africa in this installment of the AASHE Bulletin Sustainability Student Diary series. The students are participants in the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The observations and interviews below are republished from the Dickinson to Durban blog. AASHE welcomes questions and invites feedback on each Sustainability Student Diary entry. Submit diary entries of your own for consideration to bulletin@aashe.org.

July 27: Welcome to Dickinson College’s Global Climate Change Africa Mosaic Blog! We are eleven students and three faculty members who have been engaged in a semester of intensive study and research about global climate change. On November 25 we travel to Durban, South Africa to participate in COP 17 to conduct research on the negotiations and volunteer with the Makaphutu Children’s Trust. While in South Africa we will blog about our research, observations of the conference, and our service project. We invite your comments...

Elena Capaldi, November 28: Durban, South Africa
It’s 1:30 and I’ve grabbed a few minutes this afternoon to post on my initial reactions to the conference. For one: I am very overwhelmed. We arrived at the center this morning around 9:30 after a stressful check-in/security. We then entered the ICC building and received incredibly long addendum and programs for the days events. Immediately, I wanted to attend every event—my focus however is on energy and emissions of urban areas and sustainable development, so I knew that in general I should attend events in that vein. I went with a small group of Dickinson students to just such event presented by the organization Helio International, a group “focusing on methodology and a series of indicators that can be used to check how well national energy policies are contributing to ecodevelopment under fluctuating climatic conditions.” Despite the intimidating explanation of their work, I managed to get quite a lot out of the lecture and discussion.

The aspect of this organization’s work which impressed me the most was their creation of a formula that analyzed the sustainable and unsustainable practices of a country, taking into account 24 “indicators,” including the most simple and concrete of data (i.e. greenhouse gas emissions) to complex data (i.e. investment assets) of a given country. With my research I found the complexity of looking at various “indicators” - almost impossible for a variety of reasons, and therefore found Helio’s work incredibly fascinating in it’s depth and clarity...(Read more)

Emily Bowie, November 28: Disney or Durban? First Day Reflections
I feel like I’m at Disney. The flora is pretty much the same, it’s hot and sticky, I’m running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get to interesting events on time, there’s people everywhere talking in languages I don’t know, and I’m fenced in an area that is beautifully constructed and impeccably clean. There are a few important differences of course, there are no children, everyone is dressed up and important, and there are screens at every corner playing loud and live footage of the internal conference that we cannot attend...

I listened to presentations by Bill Breed of USAID, Dan Irwim of NASA and Hussein Farah of RCMRD about the Earth observation system SERVIR and how its satellite observations, ground based data, mapping information and forecast models are used to monitor and improve responses to natural disasters as well as provide information for policy makers. Farah explained how this program has helped East African countries by gathering and analyzing data useful for policy making, designing a famine early warning system and mapping floods for post-disaster response systems....(Read more)

Sam Parker, November 29: The 'Yutes'
Vinny Gambini: It is possible that the two yutes…
Judge Chamberlain Haller: …Ah, the two what? Uh… uh, what was that word?
VG: Uh… what word?
JCH: Two what?
VG: What?
JCH: Uh… did you say ‘yutes’?
VG: Yeah, two yutes.
JCH: What is a yute?
VG: [beat] Oh, excuse me, your honor…[exaggerated] Two YOUTHS.

My Cousin Vinny (1992)

Yesterday I was able to solidify my focus for this conference, the “yutes.” Within the COP conferences there are many non-governmental organizations (NGOs), these NGOs are then divided into smaller groups one of which being the YOUNGOs or youth NGOs. These are some of the most interesting people to talk with. They are some of the most driven, opinionated and knowledgeable. They know what they are talking about and what they would like to see happen.

I was able to be a part of a couple of interviews on November 28 with delegates from different YOUNGO organizations from different countries and I was blown away by the people I talked with. They all talked about the influence and power that the YOUNGOs have gained and are gaining in the delegations. During COP16 in Cancun, the YOUNGOs were able to claim the first “victory,” they were able to strongly influence and change Article 6 of the Cancun Accord. This is just the beginning for these groups. These young people know that they are the future and are not ready to sit by and let governments make short sighted decisions for their future.

Maggie Rees, November 29: Welcome to Durban - A World of Uncertainty
Twenty thousand people, 75 degrees, interviews, meetings and more meetings. Durban is certainly overwhelming and exciting. It’s so funny how we are right in the middle of all the action and still have no idea what’s actually going on. Times like these you realize how essential press briefings are. Yesterday I attended a press briefing by Climate Action Network International (CAN). Along with CAN, Oxfam, World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) International and the Union of Concerned Scientists were in attendance. Discussed were the main concerns for this years COP.

Tim Gore, from Oxfam, brought up the fretfulness of food production, particularly in Africa and areas such as Afghanistan. With an increase in extreme weather events, flooding poses a severe problem for food production. Cattle are dying, crops are not sustaining and food cannot be produced. Just two nights ago in Durban, there were fatalities due to excessive flooding.

Along with this, Tasneem Essop from WWF International described her thoughts about what needs to be accomplished in Durban this year. Tasneem is mostly hoping for certainty: certainty in actions, a timeline, finances, etc. With risk of losing the Kyoto Protocol, it is essential to have assurance in a next move for climate negotiations. A legally binding agreement with a strong timeline is what it would take. Something with assured finances, like the Green Climate Fund, is necessary. However, it needs to be known where the money is coming from, how much money there is, and what it will be used for. Loopholes need to be eliminated. Countries should not be able to weasel their way out of agreements or emission reductions. If all else fails, an adaptations committee is essential. Before it is too late, countries need proper adaptation strategies...(Read More)

Sam Pollan, November 30: Who Knew a Win-Win Situation Could Have Losers?
REDD, or Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, has been a major theme for several years in international negotiations. On the surface, REDD appears to be a very straightforward, practical method for climate change mitigation. After the first full day of the conference, it appeared that this was the case. I interviewed Dr. Glenn Bush of the Woods Hole Research Center. Dr. Bush is an environmental economist who is examining economic and equity issues associated with REDD projects. When asked about the possibility of opposition to REDD in negotiations, he said that REDD is essentially a win-win situation and should see significant progress during the coming weeks...

At the end of day one, REDD discussions outside of the plenary appeared very optimistic. Day two, however, marked a notable change in tone. I attended a side event on enforcement and anti-corruption measures for REDD in the Hex River Room. The discussions brought to light the rampant corruption, fraud and organized crime associated with illegal logging. In Indonesia, 20 percent of all deforestation was determined to be done illegally in areas that were either protected or had restricted access. Andrea Johnson, who I will be interviewing in the next few days, noted three areas that need to be addressed for a successful implementation of REDD: law enforcement is essential for equity and success, building enforcement institutions, and including civil society in anti-corruption measures. These issues have a relatively quick fix with long-term social benefits and I found it interesting that none of my earlier interviews addressed this problem...(Read More)

Anna McGinn, November 30: Oh the U.S.
As expected, it seems that countries are already dividing on key issues. U.S. negotiators confirm that the [country] will continue to stay away from Kyoto. Canada has also stated that they will not sign on to a second commitment period. While these countries are trying to leave Kyoto behind, most of the delegates and NGO representative I have talked to from low emitting countries, least developed countries (LDCs), and the most vulnerable countries say that it is absolutely imperative that a second commitment period to Kyoto is agreed upon. A representative from WWF Madagascar stressed the importance of a second commitment period throughout our discussion. It seems unlikely that something binding will be agreed upon at this point, but it is still early in the negotiations...

Last night, I rode the bus with a mayor from Nigeria who touched on how problematic it is that the U.S. is not playing a larger role. He directly said to me that my country is causing the problem and that solutions need to come from within. The people of the U.S. need to solve the problem. Again, it came up that U.S. domestic politics need to transcend their party boundaries and see other countries’ points of view. I welcomed this conversation because it is refreshing to hear other delegations’ opinions of the U.S. in an open manner...(Read more)

Claire Tighe, November 30: AOSIS Hopes for the Best
After a few interviews here at the COP 17, one in particular with a member of AOSIS (Alliance of Small Island States) who hails from Palau in the Pacific Islands, I’ve gathered a bit of information on the outcomes that the AOSIS bloc is looking for here at COP:

• A legally-binding second five-year commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.

• Passing of the Green Climate Fund, which will fund the small islands mitigation and adaptation efforts.

These two issues are amongst the most pertinent for this particular COP. However, other “smaller” topics are also on the negotiating table. These include adaptation concerns, how to make REDD (+) work, and facilitating technology transfer...(Read more)

Editors Note: Keep checking the Dickinson to Durban blog for updated posts. You can also join a conversation with Dickinson College students who will be sharing their observations of the conference on Wednesday, December 7 at noon Eastern. Join via Skype at: DickinsonCOP17. Please RSVP to Lindsey Lyons at lyonsli@dickinson.edu with your Skype name to be included in the conversation.

Institutions of higher education (IHEs) may seem to be doing just fine in these uncertain times: enrollments continue to increase; students are graduating in record numbers; and funding appears to be relatively stable. Unfortunately there is a flip side to this assessment: tuition is increasing well beyond inflation and income growth; preparedness for the workplace continues to slip making the value of the degree drop; and state and federal funding (direct and indirect) are dropping and will likely drop even more in the future. As I look at the future of higher education I see three things institutions must do better to survive (not just succeed but survive). In thinking about this my list began with RELEVANCE and RESPONSIBILITY so I thought if I added another “R” word I could slip a “3R’s” into the framework. I admit I struggled with the third “R” and after rejecting “resilient, rigorous, realistic, and re-envisioned,” I chose RELATIONSHIPS. Below I argue that these elements are essential to the future of higher education – and three elements most likely for failure.

Higher education will only succeed if it is RELEVANT in its programs and in its research to the needs of society and the needs of students. IHE’s must provide their graduates with the skills and knowledge to solve the vexing problems we face as a society. These problems include addressing climate change, not only through mitigation but also through adaptation. These programs will include those that specifically address technological solutions (i.e. green jobs) as well as those that ensure that all students have a citizen’s knowledge and skills to create a sustainable society. IHEs must ensure that their graduates can solve problems through systems thinking, understanding consequences, and multi-generational considerations. Programs must also meet the needs of the individual for a personally fulfilling life that include entrepreneurial opportunities for economic success and personal needs for intellectual fulfillment that fit into a sustainable society. In addition, IHEs should direct the research they support towards the production of knowledge that solves those vexing problems and helps us understand how to live sustainably.

A relevant IHE is in part a RESPONSIBLE IHE but responsibility requires more. IHEs need to be responsible in their practices, their purchases, and their investments. IHEs play a special role in modeling professional behavior to the professionals-in-training (students) that they prepare. From the facilities they provide to the chemicals they use, IHEs provide examples of how to behave (or not behave) to create a sustainable future. Likewise, the purchasing choices of IHEs model decision-making as well as create (or fail to create) opportunities for sustainable supply chains. The choices made by IHEs in how they invest their billions of dollars of endowments can support (or fail to support) technologies and services that will create the sustainable future. As important the practices, purchases, and investments are in demonstrating responsibility, the key responsibility of institutions is to wisely use the funds they collect to educate their students. If IHEs are to meet their social (and fiscal) responsibilities, they must develop strategies that provide affordable, relevant, rigorous education to their students.

Finally, (although I would invite you to add additional “R’s”) it is important that IHEs recognize, cultivate and support RELATIONSHIPS with the outside world. Public relations and alumni relations are typically the relationships most valued by IHEs, but many IHEs have found that community relationships (be it the local community or the international community) are the most difficult (and often the most important) to establish and maintain. The hardest part about community relationships is that (unlike public relations) they require as much listening as they do speaking and IHEs are not typically the best listeners. Nonetheless, without community relationships, IHEs will lose the support and the context they need to succeed over the long run.

In most of the world, higher education is held in high regard and supported in a variety of ways. As both a public good (society benefits) and a private good (individuals benefit), higher education is scrutinized from both perspectives. Failure to provide social and individual benefits (i.e. to be relevant) will lead to institutional failure. Failure to meet social and individual responsibilities will also lead to institutional failure. Failure to develop the necessary relationships that ensure relevance will lead to failure. Attention to sustainability throughout an institution can resolve the failures of relevance, responsibility and relationships. Time is of the essence.

It’s that time of year again -- the time for delegates from all over the world to talk climate change and what we can do about it as a global citizenry. COP-17, the 17th annual meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC)’s Conference of Parties (COP), kicked off yesterday in Durban, South Africa’s third largest city. From November 28 to December 9, 194 parties convene to discuss global solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and adopt resolutions to strategically address climate change.

Over two decades after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was organized in 1988, COP-17 convenes this year to build upon the meetings from previous years, from the first meeting in Berlin in 1993 to last year’s COP-16 in Cancun. At the end of each conference, the parties come up with a set of decisions and resolutions which are archived here.

On the agenda this year is to continue talking about how to implement the much-belabored Kyoto Protocol, which sets binding emissions reduction targets among other goals for industrialized countries. Formally adopted 14 years ago, the Kyoto Protocol remains a touchy topic among developed countries including the US which remains the only signatory that refuses to ratify the treaty.

For those of us who couldn’t make it to the bustling sea port of Durban this year, we can get a taste of the proceedings virtually. The schedule is packed with speeches, workshops, and tours, ranging from a discussion on how social sciences are affected by a changing climate to a veganism gala with prominent (& vegan) political figures from around the globe. And, thanks to students and other individuals that are recording their impressions of the conference online, there are some outlets to look to for in depth coverage, anecdotes, and photos of the proceedings. Students from Dickinson College are reporting on their experiences thus far in their blog, Dickinson to Durban, as are the youth delegates through SustainUS, a highly selective global youth ambassadors program, which has a blog and series entitled “Postcards from Durban”.

While every higher education institution may not be able to have a program as comprehensive as Dickinson’s NASA-supported Global Climate Change Africa Mosaic program, which has sent students to conduct on-site research during COP-17, testament to the growing presence of higher education in the international climate change arena is the representation of over 115 colleges and universities from around the world at COP-17.

Of course, as with any convening on sustainability, whether attracting 20,000 people in a week-long convention or 20 in an hour-long debate on your campus -- how spoken and written words are translated into action is what ultimately demonstrates if and how these varied efforts are moving us closer towards a cooler climate and healthier humanity.

Stay tuned for more COP-17 coverage from AASHE! And, if you're in Durban or know of people from your university or college that are, please do let us know by commenting here or emailing us at resources@aashe.org.

Related resources and links:
* "Q&A: Durban COP17 climate talks"
* "What's going on during COP17
* Photos from SustainUS at COP-17
* COP15 webinar with AASHE and Dickinson College

Are you looking to learn more about AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS)? Do you find yourself seeking resources and educational opportunities related to the program? Look no further! Subscribe to the STARS Update for the most current information about STARS.

AASHE created the STARS Update to keep the higher education community up-to-date on the latest and greatest information about STARS. Not only is the STARS Update a great resource, but it is also a way to stay connected to the higher education community. Learn not only how AASHE is enhancing the STARS Program, but also how institutions are working through each step of the STARS process from registration to submission. Stay engaged with the decisions by the Technical Advisors to ensure the STARS credits stay current and reflect the feedback AASHE receives from the higher education community. The STARS Update isn’t just for STARS Participants, although it is an imperative source of information for STARS Liaisons. Any individual interested in learning more about the details of the STARS Program is welcome to subscribe.

The STARS Update is a free, monthly e-newsletter. Your subscription will keep you up to speed on the latest STARS news, resources, participant highlights, events, and more. Article topics often include:

• Announcements about new versions of the STARS Technical Manual
• Updates to the STARS website and Reporting Tool
• STARS webinars, blog entries, and forum posts
• News from the Steering Committee
• Tips and reminders about STARS
• Events related to STARS
• Calls for STARS Steering Committee Members and Technical Advisors
• Limited-time offers and discounts from AASHE

Don’t miss this opportunity to stay connected to the STARS Program. Subscribe to the STARS Update today! Questions? Contact stars@aashe.org

This November, the STARS team continues its monthly blog post on facts, trends, and best practices in campus sustainability, based on data submitted by over 125 STARS Participants as of September 2011. With a focus this month on curriculum and innovation, we hope to recognize a job well done and to share ideas and inspiration on advancing sustainability in higher education. In particular, this month’s blog will highlight ER Credit 9: Sustainability Learning Outcomes and the Innovation category as it relates to sustainability-related publications.

Sustainability Learning Outcomes
ER Credit 9 recognizes institutions with sustainability learning outcomes that are associated with program degrees or courses of study.

Did you know?
There is tremendous room for improvement to promote sustainability learning outcomes in higher education. Although three out of four STARS-rated institutions have programs or courses that include sustainability in required learning outcomes, only 26 percent of students are exposed to these courses or programs before they graduate.

• Green Mountain College (STARS Gold, July 2011) has a unique Environmental Liberal Arts program that engages all students in the environmental, social, and economic aspects of sustainability. With 23 sustainability learning outcomes, students are challenged to make connections across disciplines to explore sustainability problems from multiple viewpoints.

• As part of its program review process, California State Polytechnic Institute, Pomona (STARS Silver, May 2011) reviewed departmental learning outcomes to identify courses with a sustainability requirement. At Cal Poly Pomona, 55 percent of graduates completed programs with sustainability learning outcomes.

Innovation Credits
Innovation credits recognize institutions that are seeking innovative solutions to sustainability challenges and demonstrating sustainability leadership in ways that are not otherwise captured by STARS. We turn our attention this month to sustainability-related publications that are highlighted in the Innovation category.

Did you know?
Out of all STARS-rated institutions, 76 percent submitted one or more Innovation credits. Establishing an innovative sustainability-related publication is one of many ways that institutions are claiming Innovation credits.

• Dalhousie University (STARS Silver, August 2011) publishes an online Campus Green Guide that provides sustainable lifestyle and green living resources to the Dalhousie Community. The concept has recently been adapted to suit university campuses in Kenya.

• Kankakee Community College (STARS Bronze, January 2011) created The GreenScene, an online quarterly publication in partnership with the Kankakee Daily-Journal. The publication highlights a particular sustainability challenge each quarter, with insights to help identify sustainable solutions.

December’s factoids and best practices will highlight resource conservation practices and campaigns. Please give us your feedback on future STARS data analysis updates by sending your ideas to stars@aashe.org.

The Catholic Coalition on Climate Change has published a much-anticipated toolkit for catholic universities and colleges that are pursuing sustainability initiatives. The toolkit Sustainability and Catholic Higher Education: A Toolkit for Mission Integration is organized around the five main principles of the Catholic Climate Covenant: pray, learn, assess, act, and advocate. AASHE contributed to this publication, alongside several other organizations and individuals. To delve deeper into the ideas and goals behind this project, we interviewed Dan DiLeo, Project Manager at the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change as well as Lindsey Cromwell Kalkbrenner, Director of Santa Clara University’s Office of Sustainability, and Rachel Novick, Education and Outreach Program Manager at the University of Notre Dame’s Office of Sustainability, who were integral to the tookit's development.

How did you get involved with the Toolkit project? Why did you see a need to create this Toolkit?

DiLeo: While many Catholic colleges and universities are making tremendous efforts in the area of sustainability, fewer schools are explicitly grounding this work in Catholic mission. The Catholic Church, and indeed all faith traditions, has unique contributions to make to the conversation about sustainability (e.g. linking it to the commitments of Catholic social teaching such as respect for human life and dignity). However, if sustainability work is not animated and inspired by Catholic mission–and clearly communicated as such–then these unique contributions can be lost. So, we saw the Toolkit as a way to advance what we are calling “mission-based sustainability.”

What makes "mission-based" sustainability different from the sustainability work at secular schools?

Cromwell Kalkbrenner: One of the biggest challenges for sustainability officers at any institution is helping the campus community fully understand the meaning of sustainability—taking the campus beyond “going green” by exploring the social and economic implications of everything we do. I believe “mission-based” sustainability offers an opportunity to do this, because the campus community inherently grasps and values the social elements of sustainability.

DiLeo: Additionally, mission-based sustainability and care for creation has the potential to link to other ethical concerns. For example, because we see how environmental degradation threatens human life and compromises human dignity, especially for the impoverished, at home and abroad, mission-based sustainability takes us beyond saving polar bears, and puts a primary focus on human beings. We care about all of creation, but too few organizations focus on climate impacts on human beings and even less so on the most vulnerable.

What is the relevance of faith-based mission integration for the future of sustainability?

Novick: Religion takes a long-term view of human history, a welcome contrast to short-term thinking driven by quarterly returns and election cycles. From a very practical perspective, we need communities to work together in order to achieve meaningful change, and the communities with which Americans are typically most affiliated are religious ones.

DiLeo: I have my doubts that the environmental movement alone can alter the course of climate change without the imagination and dedication of people of faith. For many in the faith community, caring for the gifts of creation is an ancient teaching and practice. We hope this toolkit will demonstrate that Catholic colleges can become green not just for the sake of it but because being green is part of who we are at our core.

How is the Toolkit organized?

DiLeo: This Toolkit is organized around the five components of the St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor (the central project of the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change:

• PRAY and reflect on the duty to care for God’s Creation and protect the poor and vulnerable.
• LEARN about and educate others on the causes and moral dimensions of environmental degradation and climate change.
• ASSESS how we — as individuals and in our families, parishes and other affiliations —contribute to environmental degradation and climate change by our own energy use,consumption, waste, etc.
• ACT to change our choices and behaviors to reduce the ways we contribute to environmental degradation and climate change.
• ADVOCATE for Catholic principles and priorities in environmental and climate change discussions and decisions, especially as they impact those who are poor and vulnerable.

What are the metrics being used to determine the reach and effectiveness of the Toolkit?

DiLeo: The most effective metric will be how many school representatives contact the Coalition about becoming a Catholic Climate Covenant Partnership.

What does it entail to become a Catholic Climate Covenant Partner?

DiLeo: Becoming a Catholic Climate Covenant Partner is a way to publicly affirm an institution’s commitment to mission-based sustainability. Covenant Partners, they can join the growing list of Catholic organizations that are supporting sustainability and the Catholic approach to climate change, while raising awareness around activities of the Catholic community in this area. Each partner commits itself to incorporating the [as an integrated part of the organization’s ongoing work. Since the Pledge is designed for individuals, families, and institutions, the Partnership provides a framework that can be applied to their personal lives as well.

How do you envision the Toolkit being adopted and adapted by other universities and colleges? Is the Toolkit applicable outside of Catholic colleges and universities?

Novick: This Toolkit is about embodying the environmental values implicit in the Catholic faith. Because all faith traditions have something important to contribute to the sustainability movement, the concept of the Toolkit can be adapted for any faith-based institution. However, I don’t think it should just be used as a template. In order to be maximally meaningful and effective, the development of something like the Toolkit needs to be an authentic process that draws on people’s deeply-held beliefs. I do hope that other faith-based institutions, in higher education and beyond, will find inspiration in what we are doing and follow their own path toward sustainability.

What aspects of the Toolkit are you most excited about?

Novick: I am most excited about the section titled “Beyond the Campus” at the end of each component of the St. Francis Pledge. The purpose of this section is to offer concrete examples of how to channel the enthusiasm around sustainability on our campuses into the surrounding communities. The best thing about taking on a community leadership role is that it will encourage universities to strive for greater sustainability goals themselves because they are conscious of their positions as role models.

DiLeo: I am especially excited about the section titled “Defining Sustainability for a Catholic Audience.” In this section, we point out that while the traditional three pillars of sustainability (economy, society and environment) are a helpful way to understand sustainability, this model may be of limited use to Catholic individuals and institutions. This is because, for them, the three pillars of sustainability exist within the Catholic identity which ultimately guides and shapes their mission, practices and policies. We therefore offer a revised model in which Catholic identity imbues every aspect of sustainability and, conversely, the principles of sustainability are embedded within Catholic tradition.

What are some of the other sustainability projects and partnerships that have emerged or been strengthened since the launch of the Toolkit?

DiLeo: Based on the model of the Toolkit, the Coalition recently published the St. Francis Pledge Planning Guide for Parishes and Schools. As the name suggests, this resource is designed to help parishes, grade schools and high schools to effectively implement mission-based sustainability through the St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor. We have also worked with the Center for Ministry Development to create six lesson plans for high school-aged students and youth titled “Friending Planet Earth: Helping Youth Understand Solidarity & Sustainability in Light of Climate Change.” These programs are being launched simultaneously this fall as schools and parishes begin programs for the year.

The Catholic Coalition on Climate Change has published a much-anticipated toolkit for catholic universities and colleges that are pursuing sustainability initiatives. The toolkit Sustainability and Catholic Higher Education: A Toolkit for Mission Integration is organized around the five main principles of the Catholic Climate Covenant: pray, learn, assess, act, and advocate. AASHE contributed to this publication, alongside several other organizations and individuals. To delve deeper into the ideas and goals behind this project, we interviewed Dan DiLeo, Project Manager at the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change as well as Lindsey Cromwell Kalkbrenner, Director of Santa Clara University’s Office of Sustainability, and Rachel Novick, Education and Outreach Program Manager at the University of Notre Dame’s Office of Sustainability, who were integral to the tookit's development.

How did you get involved with the Toolkit project? Why did you see a need to create this Toolkit?

DiLeo: While many Catholic colleges and universities are making tremendous efforts in the area of sustainability, fewer schools are explicitly grounding this work in Catholic mission. The Catholic Church, and indeed all faith traditions, has unique contributions to make to the conversation about sustainability (e.g. linking it to the commitments of Catholic social teaching such as respect for human life and dignity). However, if sustainability work is not animated and inspired by Catholic mission–and clearly communicated as such–then these unique contributions can be lost. So, we saw the Toolkit as a way to advance what we are calling “mission-based sustainability.”

What makes "mission-based" sustainability different from the sustainability work at secular schools?

Cromwell Kalkbrenner: One of the biggest challenges for sustainability officers at any institution is helping the campus community fully understand the meaning of sustainability—taking the campus beyond “going green” by exploring the social and economic implications of everything we do. I believe “mission-based” sustainability offers an opportunity to do this, because the campus community inherently grasps and values the social elements of sustainability.

DiLeo: Additionally, mission-based sustainability and care for creation has the potential to link to other ethical concerns. For example, because we see how environmental degradation threatens human life and compromises human dignity, especially for the impoverished, at home and abroad, mission-based sustainability takes us beyond saving polar bears, and puts a primary focus on human beings. We care about all of creation, but too few organizations focus on climate impacts on human beings and even less so on the most vulnerable.

What is the relevance of faith-based mission integration for the future of sustainability?

Novick: Religion takes a long-term view of human history, a welcome contrast to short-term thinking driven by quarterly returns and election cycles. From a very practical perspective, we need communities to work together in order to achieve meaningful change, and the communities with which Americans are typically most affiliated are religious ones.

DiLeo: I have my doubts that the environmental movement alone can alter the course of climate change without the imagination and dedication of people of faith. For many in the faith community, caring for the gifts of creation is an ancient teaching and practice. We hope this toolkit will demonstrate that Catholic colleges can become green not just for the sake of it but because being green is part of who we are at our core.

How is the Toolkit organized?

DiLeo: This Toolkit is organized around the five components of the St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor (the central project of the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change:

• PRAY and reflect on the duty to care for God’s Creation and protect the poor and vulnerable.
• LEARN about and educate others on the causes and moral dimensions of environmental degradation and climate change.
• ASSESS how we — as individuals and in our families, parishes and other affiliations —contribute to environmental degradation and climate change by our own energy use,consumption, waste, etc.
• ACT to change our choices and behaviors to reduce the ways we contribute to environmental degradation and climate change.
• ADVOCATE for Catholic principles and priorities in environmental and climate change discussions and decisions, especially as they impact those who are poor and vulnerable.

What are the metrics being used to determine the reach and effectiveness of the Toolkit?

DiLeo: The most effective metric will be how many school representatives contact the Coalition about becoming a Catholic Climate Covenant Partnership.

What does it entail to become a Catholic Climate Covenant Partner?

DiLeo: Becoming a Catholic Climate Covenant Partner is a way to publicly affirm an institution’s commitment to mission-based sustainability. Covenant Partners, they can join the growing list of Catholic organizations that are supporting sustainability and the Catholic approach to climate change, while raising awareness around activities of the Catholic community in this area. Each partner commits itself to incorporating the [as an integrated part of the organization’s ongoing work. Since the Pledge is designed for individuals, families, and institutions, the Partnership provides a framework that can be applied to their personal lives as well.

How do you envision the Toolkit being adopted and adapted by other universities and colleges? Is the Toolkit applicable outside of Catholic colleges and universities?

Novick: This Toolkit is about embodying the environmental values implicit in the Catholic faith. Because all faith traditions have something important to contribute to the sustainability movement, the concept of the Toolkit can be adapted for any faith-based institution. However, I don’t think it should just be used as a template. In order to be maximally meaningful and effective, the development of something like the Toolkit needs to be an authentic process that draws on people’s deeply-held beliefs. I do hope that other faith-based institutions, in higher education and beyond, will find inspiration in what we are doing and follow their own path toward sustainability.

What aspects of the Toolkit are you most excited about?

Novick: I am most excited about the section titled “Beyond the Campus” at the end of each component of the St. Francis Pledge. The purpose of this section is to offer concrete examples of how to channel the enthusiasm around sustainability on our campuses into the surrounding communities. The best thing about taking on a community leadership role is that it will encourage universities to strive for greater sustainability goals themselves because they are conscious of their positions as role models.

DiLeo: I am especially excited about the section titled “Defining Sustainability for a Catholic Audience.” In this section, we point out that while the traditional three pillars of sustainability (economy, society and environment) are a helpful way to understand sustainability, this model may be of limited use to Catholic individuals and institutions. This is because, for them, the three pillars of sustainability exist within the Catholic identity which ultimately guides and shapes their mission, practices and policies. We therefore offer a revised model in which Catholic identity imbues every aspect of sustainability and, conversely, the principles of sustainability are embedded within Catholic tradition.

What are some of the other sustainability projects and partnerships that have emerged or been strengthened since the launch of the Toolkit?

DiLeo: Based on the model of the Toolkit, the Coalition recently published the St. Francis Pledge Planning Guide for Parishes and Schools. As the name suggests, this resource is designed to help parishes, grade schools and high schools to effectively implement mission-based sustainability through the St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor. We have also worked with the Center for Ministry Development to create six lesson plans for high school-aged students and youth titled “Friending Planet Earth: Helping Youth Understand Solidarity & Sustainability in Light of Climate Change.” These programs are being launched simultaneously this fall as schools and parishes begin programs for the year.

America celebrated its first Food Day on October 24. Organized by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the grassroots mobilization encouraged the nation to not only eat healthy food grown in a sustainable and humane way, but to also advocate for smarter food policies. Food activists including nutritionist Marion Nestle, Food Network host Ellie Krieger and Morgan "Supersize Me" Spurlock staged an Eat Real "Eat In" in New York City's Times Square. More than 30 governors and mayors have proclaimed October 24 as Food Day. Slow Food USA, Unite Here, Change.org, Whole Foods Market, Dole Food Company and the Cooking Channel partnered in support of the event. In total, at least 2,000 events in 50 states marked the inaugural celebration.

Not surprisingly, with the current growth of sustainable agriculture curriculum and campus-supported farms and gardens, higher education advocacy played a big role in Food Day. The campus-based Real Food Challenge launched its GET REAL! Campaign on Food Day, an effort to get every school in the nation to sign its "Real Food Campus Commitment." The commitment will work to ensure healthy food, fair working conditions, transparency and a $1 billion dollar shift of existing campus food budgets to fair, local and sustainable farms and food businesses. Student groups at 216 campuses led the charge, asking their campuses for healthier and sustainable foods.

In addition to welcoming the Real Food Challenge to campus, institutions celebrated Food Day with a variety of educational and advocacy events. A look at the #FoodDay Twitter feed and other sources reveals the following highlights:

• Squash painting and zucchini races at Edmonds Community College

• Real Food Challenge Campus Everett Community College hosts movie screening

• California State University, Sacramento hosts California Board of Food and Agriculture president as a Food Day keynote speaker

• Slow Food Ithaca College petitions for local dining hall food

• The University of California, San Francisco and the Hastings School of Law host a conference on food deserts and the food served in prisons

• Arizona State University students petition for healthier campus food

• Unity College students prep seed garlic

• Washington State University students and volunteers cook a “real food” dinner at local transition house Sojourners’ Alliance

• Rhodes College issues students their own set of re-useable "to go" dining containers

• The University of California, Berkeley hosts “Eat Real, Eat Whole Grains” picnic

• Antioch University hosts "Food Justice and Our Local Food System" panel

Check out FoodDay.org's free recipe booklet for "real food" inspiration, featuring chefs including Mario Batali, Rick Bayless and Emeril Lagasse.

For great photos, visit Grist's Food Day Slideshow.

Today we celebrate the 9th annual Campus Sustainability Day (CSD). Since 2003, CSD has been a time to acknowledge the success of the sustainability movement in higher education. It is also an opportunity to bring different groups on campus together for a united purpose. CSD events and celebrations can be a catalyst for collaborations on campus and help create the combined energy needed to advance sustainability in higher education.

Campus Sustainability Day is a project of the Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC), a consortium of about a dozen higher education associations, listed below. Previously, CSD was hosted by the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP), a HEASC member. With HEASC as host, CSD can achieve a broad reach into all sectors of higher education.

Campus Sustainability Day is a great opportunity to highlight the accomplishments that staff, faculty and students have achieved on campus and with their communities. It is also a time to announce or start new initiatives and create cross campus partnerships.

This year a working group led by HEASC created a place online where everyone could go to announce the events their campus has planned as well as see which events other campuses have planned that celebrate CSD. See http://www.aashe.org/campus-sustainability-day. The working group included participation from Second Nature, U.S. Green Building Council’s Center for Green Schools, and NWF’s Campus Ecology Program.

Currently, the CSD list of events shows over 70 events that celebrate Campus Sustainability Day! This is a great accomplishment for all the working group participants and all the campuses and organizations that have shared their planned events.

In addition, today many campuses are participating in Campus Conversations: A Useful Education: Sustainability in Admissions, Retention, and Educational Value, a webcast that will engage the audience in conversation, and inquiry into the concept of sustainability as a core facet of a useful education. Participants will have an opportunity to share opinions and insights, and see feedback from across the country through an interactive dialogue with video responses from students, faculty and staff, and admissions staff.

HEASC Members are:
• American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)
• American Association of State Colleges & Universities (AASCU)
• Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
• ACPA-College Student Educators International (ACPA)
• Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers (APPA)
• Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU)
• National Association of College & University Business Officers (NACUBO)
• National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP)
• National Association of Independent Colleges & Universities (NAICU)
• National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA)
• Society for College & University Planning (SCUP)