American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment

June 14, 2007
The leaders of 284 colleges and universities from around the country (45 states and represent about 15 % of US higher education institutions) officially unveiled this week the The American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, a pact that urges educational institutions to eliminate their greenhouse gas emissions.

1. Begin development of a comprehensive plan to achieve climate neutrality ASAP;
2. implement 2 or more actions from a list of ways to reduce greenhouse gases while the more comprehensive plan is being developed;
3. make action plan, inventory, and periodic progress reports publicly available through the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

Mitch Tomashow, president of Unity College in Maine, ...signing the commitment was a "no-brainer," but ...the sub-section of the commitment that requires making climate change and sustainability part of the curriculum for all students posed an entirely different challenge. Tomashow said. "Moving the curriculum so that every engineering student, every medical student, takes these types of classes -- that's a much bigger challenge, but that ultimately will need to happen."