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Climate Commitment

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Climate Commitment Concordia College & The Climate Commitment An Overview What is the Climate Commitment? The Climate Commitment, signed by President Craft in April of 2017, integrates the goals of te Com ma mi achieving carbon neutrality and increasing climate resilience, encouraging a systems li tm C e approach to mitigating and adapting to climate change. By signing the commitment, e R n h ity es t Concordia has pledged to (1) develop a plan for how and when the college will reach T l il ra ie carbon neutrality and (2) engage the college and surrounding community in resilience t n u c planning. In order to do this, the college must accomplish a number of tasks, such as e e Education N P conducting annual greenhouse gas emissions inventories, creating a Resilience Task l n a o n b Force, and completing a community resilience assessment. Each of these components n r i a n C will be used to guide the creation of a Climate Action Plan (CAP). A CAP is a formal docu- g ment which outlines what actions will be taken to become a carbon neutral and resilient institution. Climate change education will be a key component of the CAP. What is Second Nature? Second Nature is the organization that oversees the President’s Climate Leadership Commitment. Their mission is to accelerate climate action in and through higher education. The organization oversees three commitments: The Carbon Commitment, Resilience Commitment, and the Climate Commitment. The Climate Commitment, which Concordia has implemented, is the most comprehen- sive, integrating concepts from both the Carbon and Resilience Commitments. Second Nature provides guidance to participating institutions on commitment requirements and manages an online platform for reporting progress made on commitment goals. You can access Concordia’s Second Nature profile through the reporting system at http://reporting.secondnature.org/institution/data. What is the Timeline? MARCH 2018 JULY 2019 JANUARY 2020 JANUARY 2021 Implementation Greenhouse Resilience Climate Action Commitment Profile Gas (GHG) Assessment Plan (CAP) Monitoring Signed Inventory and CAP April 2017 Fill out a short Complete the Form a Resilience Create a docu- Review profile about the first, benchmark, Task Force and ment that school and its GHG inventory; complete a outlines our sustainability this will help resilience assess- carbon reduction structure guide our Climate ment of Concor- goals and plans, Action Plan dia and surround- and our strategy ing community to increase COMPLETECOMPLETE resilience Carbon Neutrality Resilience Planning Education Carbon neutrality is accomplished According to Second Nature, A central part of the Climate Commit- through two key actions: resilience is “the ability of a system ment is an effort to ensure that the 1) minimizing college carbon use, and or community to survive disruption education provided by the college 2) investing in carbon sequestration and to anticipate, adapt, and adequately prepares students to be techniques or purchasing renewable flourish in the face of change.” Resil- responsible actors in a world being energy offsets for the carbon use that ience planning prompts a commu- disrupted by climate change. By pairing we are not able to eliminate. nity to consider the risks posed by the work of the Climate Commitment In order to determine our progress climate change. Ecological, with educational initiatives and equip- toward carbon neutrality, we must economic, and social indicators are ping students with climate knowledge, complete a yearly greenhouse gas identified and used to develop a we can call students and staff alike to emissions inventory. We will accom- plan to ensure that the community practice thoughtful and informed stew- plish this by identifying the aspects of can thrive despite disruptive chang- ardship of natural resources so as to campus operations that produce es. Resilience Planning is a proac- conserve earth’s vitality and beauty and carbon and calculating their carbon tive approach to assessing the ensure that all people have the chance output. We will then research carbon strengths, weaknesses, threats, and to thrive both now and into the future. reduction best practices, set target opportunities of a community and The educational element of the Climate dates for reaching intermediate reduc- developing strategies for success. Commitment requires the involvement tion goals, identify indicators for track- Concordia will bring together and ingenuity of the entire Concordia ing progress, and develop actions to college and community stakehold- community, working to integrate integrate carbon neutrality efforts into ers in a Resilience Task Force in climate change, resilience, climate educational experiences. These order to embed Concordia’s action planning, and carbon reduction components will be compiled and resilience planning fully into the into the curriculum and broader educa- presented in the Climate Action Plan. surrounding community. tional life of the college. How is Concordia Moving Forward? Develop steps for Form Climate Action reaching carbon Plan Working Groups Collect data and neutrality Compile findings Measure progress, complete greenhouse into a Climate review CAP, gas inventory Create a College/ Action Plan (CAP) improve methods Write a Resilience Community Resilience Assessment Task Force What is My Role? Be Open. Be Active. The Climate Commitment necessitates making changes to the Everyone is invited to be involved in Climate Commitment work, way we view and use carbon on campus. This may result in bringing their gifts and talents to bear on this challenging changing patterns of energy use, travel, and financial manage- endeavor. Please be involved and communicate your ideas and ment. We need to work together to make appropriate changes. thoughts to the Sustainability Coordinator, Jackie Maahs. Be Mindful. Start reflecting on the carbon footprint of college activities. Think about how we can reduce carbon use and what you can do to integrate climate change and resilience issues into your work at the college. Reach out to the Sustainability Coordinator if you have any questions about the Climate Commitment or how you can be involved ([email protected])..
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