Overview of the ACUPCC
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Thank you for your interest in the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). With over 650 institutions, representing all 50 states and 5.4 million students (one-third of
the total student population in the US), the ACUPCC is a high-visibility effort led by presidents and
chancellors to address global climate disruption.
Signatories of the ACUPCC have agreed to create Climate Action Plans for accelerating research and
educational efforts to equip society to re-stabilize the earth’s climate, and reducing their campus
greenhouse gas emissions. They have also agreed to publicly report their plans and subsequent progress
reports and adaptations to the plan.
The following resources will be helpful in better understanding the specifics of the ACUPCC and why it
is so important for schools to join this initiative:
• Commitment Document (a 2-page document stating the actions presidents and chancellors
are agreeing to take: (1) create a Climate Action Plan within two years, (2) report publicly
on progress made on that plan, and (3)complete two tangible actions while the plan is being
developed) http://presidentsclimatecommitment.org/html/commitment.php
• Success Stories (the 2007 and 2008 Annual Reports outline progress to date and highlight
success stories told by presidents from a variety of ACUPCC institutions)
http://presidentsclimatecommitment.org/reporting/annual_report.php
• Implementation Guide (a 33-page 'handbook' for the ACUPCC, providing more detail on
the specific obligations in the Commitment, explaining technical issues related to
implementation, and outlining key policies)
http://presidentsclimatecommitment.org/pdf/ACUPCC_IG_Final.pdf
• ACUPCC Implementation Progress Reports (an online reporting system where ACUPCC
institutions submit their institutional information, GHG inventories, Climate Action Plans,
and ongoing progress updates) http://acupcc.aashe.org
• Climate Action Planning Wiki (a comprehensive, online ‘how-to’ guide on campus climate
action planning where users can learn and share experiences and best-practices)
http://www.aashe.org/wiki/climate-planning-guide
• ACUPCC Implementer Newsletter (a free, monthly email to stay up-to-date on the latest
developments in the ACUPCC) Subscribe: http://acupcc.aashe.org/newsletter.php
The ACUPCC provides a framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that is both flexible and
effective. Each school sets its own target date for achieving climate neutrality and agrees to develop an
adaptive plan within two years that can be modified as circumstances change. In this way, each school
ensures that their emissions-reduction actions are feasible, cost-effective, and beneficial to the institution
over the long-term.
www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org
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The ACUPCC offers a unique opportunity for higher education to lead by example, setting climate
neutrality as the end-goal and role-modeling solutions for the rest of society. Using the campus as a
learning lab, and taking actions to incorporate climate and sustainability issues into curriculum,
ACUPCC institutions are delivering the education needed to equip graduates with the knowledge,
values, and skills to enable the rest of society to follow suit. Doing so fits squarely into the education,
research, and public service missions of higher education, and the urgency of the crisis requires this bold
leadership now.
The collective action that the ACUPCC represents is necessary in addition to the great individual efforts
that are happening on campuses, and is designed to complement, not replace existing or planned climate
initiatives. The collective nature of the ACUPCC has led to exciting opportunities that would not have
been possible if each school were working in isolation, including:
• “Education for Climate Neutrality”: a collaborative effort by signatories and sustainability
experts to create a guidance document on strategies for fulfilling the academic aspects of the
ACUPCC. http://presidentsclimatecommitment.org/html/solutions_academics.php
• “Leading Profound Change”: a resource from the ACUPCC Steering Committee for
presidents on their role in creating the big-picture strategies for fulfilling the ACUPCC.
http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/html/leading_profound_change.php
• “ACUPCC Carbon Offset Protocol”: a collaborative effort by signatories and offset experts
to establish principles and guidelines for if, how, and when to invest in high-quality offsets.
http://presidentsclimatecommitment.org/offsetprotocol.php
• Clinton Climate Initiative: a partnership to accelerate energy efficiency through performance
contracting and provide ACUPCC institutions with advisory services, a how-to toolkit on
Energy Performance Contracting, best practices for working with energy service companies,
and price discounts on a variety of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.
http://presidentsclimatecommitment.org/html/solutions_cci.htm
• US Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement: a partnership under development
to support mayors and college and university presidents in working together to meet their
respective commitments, tackle tough infrastructure challenges, and improve town/gown
relationships. http://www.usmayors.org/climateprotection/
Having your institution’s participation would be a great boost to the initiative and would enhance the
effort to engage a large number of presidents. Signatories have found the ACUPCC to be a great vehicle
to build a more vibrant campus community with a sense of shared purpose across their institutions.
They also believe that sustainability leadership will be increasingly important in attracting the best and
brightest students, faculty and staff.
By making this commitment you readily tap and share expertise with other institutions and contribute to
a powerful collective effort that is prompting the markets, policy makers, and other sectors to accelerate
progress towards a climate neutral, sustainable future.
Thank you for your interest and leadership in addressing this critical challenge. If you have any
questions, do not hesitate to contact the supporting organizations at ACUPCC@secondnature.org.
Please join the growing ACUPCC network on behalf of your institution soon!
Resources for your ACUPCC Campaign
PRESIDENT OBAMA’S CLIMATE ACTION PLAN
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/image/president27sclimateactionplan.pdf“We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to
all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so
would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming
judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling
drought and more powerful storms.
The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America
cannot resist this transition, we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that
will power new jobs and new industries, we must claim its promise. That’s how we will maintain
our economic vitality and our national treasure -- our forests and waterways, our croplands and
snow-capped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God.
That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.”
-- President Obama, Second Inaugural Address, January 2013
THE CASE FOR ACTION
While no single step can reverse the effects of climate change, we have a moral obligation to
future generations to leave them a planet that is not polluted and damaged. Through steady,
responsible action to cut carbon pollution, we can protect our children’s health and begin to slow
the effects of climate change so that we leave behind a cleaner, more stable environment.
In 2009, President Obama made a pledge that by 2020, America would reduce its greenhouse gas
emissions in the range of 17 percent below 2005 levels if all other major economies agreed to
limit their emissions as well. Today, the President remains firmly committed to that goal and to
building on the progress of his first term to help put us and the world on a sustainable long-term
trajectory. Thanks in part to the Administration’s success in doubling America’s use of wind,
solar, and geothermal energy and in establishing the toughest fuel economy standards in our
history, we are creating new jobs, building new industries, and reducing dangerous carbon
pollution which contributes to climate change. In fact, last year, carbon emissions from the
energy sector fell to the lowest level in two decades. At the same time, while there is more work
to do, we are more energy secure than at any time in recent history. In 2012, America’s net oil
imports fell to the lowest level in 20 years and we have become the world’s leading producer of
natural gas – the cleanest-burning fossil fuel.
Read more...http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/image/president27sclimateactionplan.pdf
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