American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment Leadership Summit
Grand Rapids, MI - June 5-6, 2008
We are pleased to announce the upcoming ACUPCC 2008 Leadership Summit in Grand Rapids, MI. This inspirational event will bring together ACUPCC signatories to review the progress that has been made to date and to explore several exciting opportunities associated with implementing the Commitment. It will include break-out sessions to discuss and create solutions to key implementation challenges. It will also include nationally-linked media opportunities and outreach to colleagues, especially those in the upper Midwest, who have not yet joined the ACUPCC.
The meeting will be based in beautiful downtown Grand Rapids with all facilities within walking distance. This event will be carbon neutral, and have many other "green" features. Please stay tuned to this site for updates and information as it becomes available.
If you have immediate questions, please contact Megan Begley at mbegley@secondnature.org.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
12:00 – 13:30
Signatory Lunch & Keynote Address
Welcome: Peter Wege, Founder, The Wege Foundation
Keynote: Ray Anderson, Founder and Chairman, Interface, Inc.
13:45 – 15:15
Working Session: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Existing Campus Buildings
Energy use in buildings is a source of a significant portion of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. This session will highlight strategies for addressing this issue, as well as the partnership with the Clinton Climate Initiative to exponentially increase the number of large-scale energy saving retrofits for campus buildings.
(13:45 – 15:15)
Working Session: ACUPCC Carbon Offsets Protocol Working Group Meeting
The ACUPCC Offset Protocol Project is a coordinated effort of the American academic community to carry out a collective evaluation of the carbon offset market. This project is being led by David Hales, President of College of the Atlantic, and a working group of interested signatories and their representatives, as well as experts in finance, policy, energy, land-use, climate science, and other relevant arenas. This session is a designated meeting time for this working group.
15:15 - 15:30
Break
15:30 - 17:00
Working Session:Town/Gown Synergies: Scaling up climate action through community engagement
Higher education institutions are both influential role models for society and key milieus for learning and dialogue. By modeling ways to minimize global warming emissions and engaging local communities, colleges and universities can better serve all of their stakeholders, and meet their social mandate to help create a thriving, ethical and civil society. This session will examine examples of this community engagement at work.
(15:00 - 17:00)
Working Session: Pedagogical Approaches to Climate Change and Sustainability
Signatories to the ACUPCC commit to taking actions to integrating sustainability into the curriculum and making it a part of the educational experience in order to equip students to address the climate issue in their personal and professional lives. This session will highlight various approaches to fulfilling this commitment through an examination of several case studies.
17:00 – 18:00
Break & Non-Signatory Registration
18:00 – 19:30
Welcome Reception: Grand Rapids Art Museum
Welcome: Peter Wege, Founder, Wege Foundation & George Heartwell, Mayor, City of Grand Rapids
19:30 – 21:30
Dinner & Keynote Address
Friday, June 6, 2008
8:00 – 9:00
Networking Breakfast
9:00 – 10:15
Presidential Panel: Climate Neutrality in Higher Education
This session will be a unique opportunity to hear from current signatory presidents regarding the steps they have taken on their campuses to acheive climate neutrality. This will be a time of sharing success stories and will include a question and answer session.
10:15 – 10:30
Break
10:30 - 12:30
World Café: Accelerating Learning and Action for Addressing Climate Change
This session will provide summit delegates an opportunity to learn from each other through discussing the following question: In light of the need for a swift acceleration of learning and action to address the looming 'tsunami' of climate change, what can I and my institution do to facilitate rapid, effective learning and action toward greenhouse gas reduction?
12:30 – 14:00
Closing Lunch & Closing Remarks
Michael Crow, President of Arizona State University and Chair of the ACUPCC Steering Committee
All rights reserved.
Creative: reflectur.com