ACUPCC Developed Guidance Documents
Leading Profound Change:
A Resource for Presidents and Chancellors
The members of the ACUPCC Steering Committee developed Leading Profound Change to support all ACUPCC presidents and chancellors in taking an active leadership role in the ongoing process of developing and implementing the climate action plan. It provides an overview of research on select approaches to leading transformational change and examples of successful strategies from ACUPCC campuses to help with the big-picture thinking needed to sustain enthusiasm and implement climate action plans over the long-term. Link
Education for Climate Neutrality and Sustainability
Academic Guidance Document
Signatories of the ACUPCC have committed to take “actions to make climate neutrality and sustainability a part of the curriculum and other educational experiences for all students.” This document is intended to provide high-level guidance to college and university decision-makers and key staff, and includes hundreds of links to examples of sustainability education. Link
Voluntary Offset Protocol
The ACUPCC Voluntary Carbon Offset Protocol (the “Protocol”) project, a coordinated effort of the American academic community, is a formal voluntary protocol that guides ACUPCC institutions and others through the process of evaluating and investing in the voluntary carbon offset market. It brings together interested parties from the over 670 ACUPCC institutions, as well as experts in finance, policy, energy, land-use, climate science, and other relevant arenas. Link
Implementation Resources
Implementation Guide
The Implementation Guide provides more detail on the specific obligations in the Commitment, explains technical issues related to implementation, and outlines key policies. Link
Implementation Liaison Handbook
The Implementation Liaison Handbook was developed to provide detailed resources to assist schools with fulfilling the terms of the Commitment. The handbook is sent to each institution’s designated Implementation Liaison. Link
The ACUPCC Implementer
The ACUPCC Implementer is the monthly e-newsletter of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment. It is targeted at Implementation Liaisons, but anyone may subscribe. Link
GHG Inventory Brief
A summary of common greenhouse gas inventory tools and resources, discussing the merits and drawbacks of each in the campus context. Link
ACUPCC Online Reporting System
Hundreds of GHG inventories and Climate Action Plans available for public viewing. Information can be browsed by institution, Carnegie Classification, or State, and functionality that provides macro-level data views and statistics on campus climate action. Link
Education & Training Offerings Link
• Climate Action Planning Workshops led by Peer Trainers
• Workshops on how to conduct a Greenhouse Gas inventory and evaluate emissions reduction options using the Campus Carbon Calculator™, in partnership with Clean Air-Cool Planet
•Pre-conference workshops at national conferences, including NACUBO's Smart & Sustainable Campuses Conference, Greening of the Campus, and the AASHE conference.
Climate Action Planning Resources
Climate Action Planning Wiki
The CAP Wiki is an interactive how-to guide for college and university climate action planning. Developed by AASHE with support from the ACUPCC, this 'wiki' is an online collaboration tool that allows multiple users to directly edit the content through their web browser. Link
Critical Path Issues on the Way to Carbon Neutrality
This document explores the role of Chief Business Officers on college and university campuses that have joined the ACUPCC or have set a similar goal for reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. It provides an overview of tools, resources, and public policies needed to move colleges and universities down the path towards climate neutrality, highlighting effective strategies, best practices, and common obstacles. Author: Wendell C. Brase, Vice Chancellor, University of California, Irvine. Link
The Educational Facilities Professional’s Practical Guide to Reducing the Campus Carbon Footprint (APPA)
This guide is intended to give educational facilities professionals a practical framework for moving forward in their unique role within the process of fulfilling the ACUPCC. The intent is to help facilities professionals maximize their specific contributions and share their expertise and knowledge while working in tandem with other campus stakeholders to meet their institutions’ goals of carbon neutrality and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Authors: Karla Hignite and the Participants in the APPA Thought Leaders Sustainability Symposium. Generously sponsored and supported by AEI, Affiliated Engineers Inc. Link
ACUPCC Webinar Series
The webinar series is part of the ACUPCC Training & Education program. They include webinars from the ACUPCC Corporate Partners Program, which was designed as a learning community to provide a milieu for knowledge-sharing between the higher education and private sectors. The webinars are designed to support signatories in meeting their commitments to climate neutrality by providing insight into topics relevant to the Commitment. Past webinars are archived on the ACUPCC website. Link
Financing Resources
ACUPCC Energy Performance Contracting Best Practices Toolkit
The ACUPCC and Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), with the assistance of many industry experts, have created a best practices toolkit as a resource for signatories interested in learning about and conducting an Energy Performance Contract (EPC), which can significantly reduce emissions and costs while posing few risks. It provides an EPC overview, highlights critical issues, provides in-depth financing information, contains sample documents, and details industry and state resources. This toolkit is intended to support a project team throughout the EPC process, from early stage opportunity assessment to contract negotiation, implementation, and beyond. Link
Financing Sustainability on Campus
Financing Sustainability on Campus is a comprehensive handbook that provides real world examples, creative strategies, and clear explanations on a wide variety of energy financial tools and programs for colleges and universities. Link
Green Building Resources
Campus Green Builder
The Campus Green Builder (CGB) online portal to green building information for academic institutions provides a one-stop online resource on campus green building. It is free and accessible to all higher education institutions. The CGB is especially geared towards under-resourced colleges and universities. It aims to level the playing field for all institutions of higher education to gain access to funding and technical resources for green building. Visit CampusGreenBuilder.org and sign up for the monthly resource email update, Your Campus Green Builder. Link
Support for Higher Education Professionals
The Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC) is a network of higher education associations (HEAs) with a commitment to advancing sustainability in both their constituencies and in the system of higher education itself. Link
Second Nature | The lead supporting organization of the ACUPCC
18 Tremont Street, Suit 308 | Boston, Massachusetts 02108 | 617-722-0036 | www.secondnature.org |