Many of us in higher education are watching the work of the 392 colleges and universities that signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. In this commitment, colleges and universities have pledged to reduce their carbon footprint and establish a more sustainable model of operations. While we are doing great work here at Moraine Valley, we have not yet signed this commitment. There are 1000s of institutions of higher education and most of us are watching and learning from the 392 participants. Today, Inside HigherEd reported (Climate Action for Some) that only 88 of the 392 met the reporting deadline for their climate action plans. It appears that there are a combination of factors at work. Some organizaitons will be filing their plans soon, but are just delayed. Others are working to educate their faculty and staff and trying to get commitments from them to change practice. Some are finding it challenging to calculate their carbon output. Almost all of the organizaitons (whether they made the deadline or not) stressed their commitment to reaching a carbon neutral level of operation.
