Transcript HEASC Presentation

HEASC
Higher Education
Associations
Sustainability
Consortium
Brian K. Yeoman
What is it?
Higher Education Associations
Sustainability Consortium
(HEASC)
An informal network of higher education associations with
a commitment to advancing sustainability within their
constituencies and within the system of higher education
itself.
www.heasc.net
Brief History
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Formed in December of 2005
NAEP is a founding member
Facilitated by Second Nature and
US Partnership for the UN Decade
of Education for Sustainable
Development
• Thirteen members
HEASC members
American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)
ACPA-College Student Educators International (ACPA)
American Association of State Colleges & Universities (AASCU)
Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers (APPA)
Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
Association of College & University Housing Officers International (ACUHO-I)
Association of College Unions International (ACUI)
Association of Governing Boards of Universities & Colleges (AGB)
National Association for Campus Activities (NACA)
National Association of College & University Business Officers (NACUBO)
National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP)
National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA)
Society for College & University Planning (SCUP)
Mission
To support and enhance the capacity of higher education to fulfill
its critical role in producing an educated and engaged citizenry
and the knowledge needed for a thriving and civil society.
Purpos
e
Learn from each other
Work together on joint projects
Access the best practices in sustainability
Advance education for a sustainable future
Critique of Traditional
Development
The Brundtland Commission in 1987 found that after
talking to a million people over 5 years that;
Traditional Development contributes to health problems,
ecological degradation, poverty and social injustice and it
undermines ecological, social and economic capital of
communities.
What is Sustainable
Development?
“meeting the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs”
World Commission on Economic Development. (1987). Our Common Future. England:
Oxford University Press.
Why HEASC?
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It is strategic!
It is educational!
It is future–oriented!
It is cost beneficial!
It is the right thing to do!
It is strategic
• Circle of concern
Circle of Influence
It is Strategic
• Global warming is happening
• Population is increasing
• Affluence and technology are
exported heavily
• The associations see
themselves as part of the
solution
It is educational
• Core missions are professional
development and lifetime learning
• There is a responsibility to bring
information to the public
• The mass media is interested in the
who, what, when, why, where, and
how of sustainability
It is future-oriented
• Ecological economics teaches the
benefit of total costs of ownership vs.
first costs
• Good stewardship today means
dwindling resources can be made
available longer and for more people
• Life cycle assessment supports best
value purchases in lieu of the old low
bid system
• If the Feds can do it why can’t HE?
It is cost beneficial
• HE Associations are here for the long term
• Operating costs are rising dramatically
• Why reinvent the wheel?
It is the right thing to do!
• Social justice is a real issue
• Socially responsible investing
is a very real issue
• Spiritual leaders are endorsing
the sustainability movement
• Many asked “Is the local
environment better today than
it was when I was a child?”
Higher Ed Modeling Sustainability
as a Fully Integrated Community
Higher Education’s
Importance to Sustainability
• Training future leaders & professionals
• Influences K-12 education
• New ideas and experimentation
• Critical mass & diversity of skills
• Crucial but overlooked leverage point
• Large economic engine
Why Sustainability Now?
We are the first generation
capable of determining
the habitability of the
planet for humans and
other species.
Trends
• Students are demanding it
• Donors are requesting it
• Some prime contractors
are requiring it
Benefits
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Reduced redundancies in planning and products
Increased quality and synergies on projects
Ongoing support community
Ongoing availability of sustainability expertise
Capacity building for all HEA’s to make
sustainability a foundation of the association
Resource Center
•Publications
•Press Releases
•Link to AASHE resources
•Link to NAEP resources
•Sustainability websites of members
Dimensions of Sustainability
• Human Health
• Social Justice & Equity
• Economic Opportunity
for All
• Ecological Integrity &
Diversity
Its not just the environment Stupid!!
The imbalance
• 20% of the world’s
people consume
• 80% of its
resources
Footprint
If everyone on Earth lived like the average
Canadian, we’d need at least THREE Earths to
provide all the materials and energy they use.
The worst case
And TEN if we lived like the average
American...
Related Organizations
• AASHE
• ACUPCC
• ULSF
American College & University
Presidents Climate
Commitment
• Plan to achieve climate neutrality
– Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory
– Operations, Education & Research
• Adopt select emission reduction measures
• Public reporting through AASHE
www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org
ACUPCC Signatories (135)
• Arizona State University
• Norfolk State University
• Ball State University
• Northern Arizona University
• California State, Chico
• Oberlin College
• College of Menominee Nation
• University of California (10
campuses)
• Drury University
• Central Washington
University
• University of Florida
• Cal Poly, Pomona
• U Wisconsin – River Falls
• University of Pennsylvania
• UNC Chapel Hill
• New York University
• U Washington, Seattle
• University of Tennessee
For complete list of signatories, see www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/signatories
Association for the
Advancement of Sustainability
in Higher Education
AASHE
• 200 institutions
• Professional Development
• Resources
• Weekly newsletter (what is happening in HE)
www.aashe.org
What NAEP gets
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Staff training in sustainability
Participation with other members in projects
Opportunity to inform a legislative agenda
Opportunity to shape legislation
Access to resources we could never afford
3 Year Goals for HEASC Members
• Teach The Natural Step principles in each association
• Develop the capability for each organization to teach and
apply the principles in their operations
• Get locally sourced/sustainably grown food
• Develop convention site selection/operation tool
• Promote paperless office or use of recycled paper and
soy-based inks as the default for publications
• Carbon neutral conferences
• Carbon neutral operations
Specific Subset of Actions
• Make the invisible “Visible”
• Single name badge for all organizations
• Continuous exchange of knowledge and
information
• Access to best practices of any sectors in
operations, etc.
• Ongoing transparency and advertising
Greening HEASC Meetings
Hotel & Facilities
Materials & Giveaways
Food
Offsets
Transportation
What does HEASC want from NAEP?
• NAEP is the strategic partner which can most
immediately and effectively translate sustainable
development principles to the campus and the
local community.
• Consortium purchasing opportunities for their
organizations
Why NAEP?
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Best opportunity to affect the
bottom line & deliver the bang for
the buck
NAEP is leading by conducting the
Sustainability Institute at ASU at
the end of April 07
We are the partner who can
literally deliver the goods
Why Green Purchasing?
• HEASC members do not need endless argument
and scientific research to tell them they need to
alter their behavior
• There is no better way to model the changed
behavior than to change your purchasing habits.
• HEASC believes the time to act is now!
“It is far to late and far to bad to be pessimistic”
Dee Hock
Purchasing is where the rubber
meets the road
• HE Institutions spend massive amounts of
money 277 b, 2.8% GDP
• Purchasing officials control where the
money is spent
• Purchasing can insist on sound
environmental and societal practices
• Cases studies show vendors are “getting it”
• Competitive advantage drives business
models
Green Purchasing Encompasses
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Recycled content products
Environmentally preferable products
Biobased products
Energy- and water-efficient products
Alternative fuel vehicles/alternative
fuels
• Non-ozone depleting substances
Green Purchasing
• Green Purchasing encourages evaluation of multiple environmental
impacts of every product throughout its life cycle:
• Raw materials acquisition
• Production / Manufacturing
• Packaging / Distribution
• Use & Operation
• Maintenance
• Disposal (recycling/re-mfg.) / End-of-Life
Environmentally Preferable Purchasing
"...products or services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human
health and the environment when compared with competing products
or services that serve the same purpose..."
U.S. Federal Executive Order 13101
High Quality Purchasing/Supply Chain Management
Do Great Things!!
Water Opportunities
Harvesting rain is
easy
- Use as irrigation and
commode source
- Does expensive chemically
treated water make
sense flushing human
waste?
Operational Opportunities
• Office furniture and office
supplies offer huge
opportunities
• Services are fertile ground
as they offer long term
cost savings as well as
environmental benefits
• Can demonstrate the link
between “talking the talk
and walking the talk”
Buy EnergyStar appliances
•They will save you money
•They will reduce Co2
emissions
•They will have a lower total
cost of ownership
•Your customers will be
happier with performance
Invest in durable, maintainable
long lived materials
Specify the reuse of materials
Buy and use recycled materials
90% RECYCLED
ALUMINUM
RECLAIMED
CYPRESS
SALVAGED
BRICK
LOCAL
STONE
• 50% of building materials recycled content
• Materials originate within 500 miles of site
• 50% of construction waste is recycled
Specify fly ash concrete
Waste product from
coal fired power
plants
• Used to replace Portland
cement
• 9 to11% of global CO2
• Stronger concrete using
less water
Commit to waste minimization
Compost kitchen and food waste
and eliminate buying compost
and fertilizer
Remember that waste = food
in the natural system
Reengineer your recycling
program
Change the paradigm from revenue to environmental
stewardship
Green Purchasing will be
A journey. . . .
. . . . not a destination
Changed minds
Is what is required for
Changed behavior to occur