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Mar 22 2013

STARS Findings on Campus Infrastructure and Sustainable Development

Submitted by Monika Urbanski on March 22, 2013 - 4:23pm

This article looks at infrastructure development among colleges and universities participating in STARS. Data related to building construction and maintenance, GHG emissions, and energy consumption can shed light on how campuses are developing, whether improvements are being made over time, and how infrastructure relates to campus sustainability on a grand scale.

Feb 21 2013

Divestment at Unity College

Submitted by Jesse Pyles on February 21, 2013 - 12:22pm

The below blog article was originally published on the Unity College Sustainability Monitor blog. Jesse works as the Sustainability Director at Unity College in Unity, Maine.

Nov 30 2012

Doha 2012: UN Climate Change Conference (COP18)

Submitted by Niles Barnes on November 30, 2012 - 4:18pm

Many thousands have have traveled to the Qatari capital of Doha for the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP 18) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Jun 21 2012

Rio+20 Outcomes Document-What will it say?

Submitted by Paul Rowland on June 21, 2012 - 2:49pm

As the heads of state have been meeting in Rio the past two days there appears to be little effort or desire to take on changing the text of the draft outcomes document that was provided by the Brazilian hosts at the beginning of the official conference.

Jun 20 2012

Rio+20 Has Officially Begun

Submitted by Paul Rowland on June 20, 2012 - 11:41am

Earlier this morning the official opening of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) occurred amid dreams, hopes and disappointment. The watering down of the language to achieve greater levels of agreement has resulted in a many NGOs rejecting the document and declaring the conference a failure.

Jun 19 2012

Rio+20 - Fear and Hope

Submitted by Paul Rowland on June 19, 2012 - 9:18am

As the negotiations continue at both Rio+20 and the G-20 Summit I'm seeing reports of both hope and fear. The hope seems to be coming from the non-government and business sectors and the fear from the government diplomats and delegates. At Rio there is little progress other than watering down the provisions of the outcomes document so that there will be greater agreement.

Jun 18 2012

Rio Update – Monday June 18, 2012

Submitted by Paul Rowland on June 18, 2012 - 10:21am

The international sustainability scene is getting increasingly complex.

Mar 1 2012

Submit Your Ideas for Improving STARS

Submitted by Chris Pelton on March 1, 2012 - 2:26pm

Building on the Vision for STARS 2.0 that the STARS Steering Committee distributed last month, AASHE would now like to encourage those with ideas for improving STARS to send them to stars@aashe.org.

Jan 27 2012

Guest Blogger: To Revolve or Not to Revolve?

Submitted by Joe Indvik on January 27, 2012 - 5:37pm

Joe Indvik graduated from Dartmouth College in 2010. As a student and later independent consultant, he led a team to design and implement a $1 million green revolving loan fund at Dartmouth. He now works as a consultant in the Climate Change and Sustainability Division of ICF International in Washington, DC. Despite his day-job in the beltway, he enthusiastically offers free-of-charge consulting and moral support to help folks set up their own green revolving funds.

In the last few years, universities have emerged as a hotbed of investment in clean energy and efficiency (“cleantech”).

An increasingly popular and innovative tactic for making these investments is the green revolving loan fund (GRF). A GRF issues loans to finance cleantech and sustainability projects that can generate monetary savings. The returns from these projects flow back into the fund (“revolve”) and are re-invested in future projects. GRFs are often managed by a committee of community members who review loan applications and oversee fund operations.

Dec 9 2011

Why the Renewable Energy Sector Needs Higher Ed Sustainability Leaders

Submitted by Ashwini Srinivasa... on December 9, 2011 - 4:35pm

The Phase II National Policy Forum, organized by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), took place a few days ago in the Cannon Office of the House of Representatives, just opposite the Library of Congress, in Washington, DC.