Those of you who have seen me speak recently know that I have had some pretty disparaging things to say about polar bears. Not because I have anything against polar bears (though I did visit a school in Alaska once where they had to put up a big fence to keep the bears from eating students), but because I don’t believe that polar bears are deserving of being the icon for sustainability, or even climate change.
Tag: sustainability
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Center for Green Schools Opportunities: Sustainability Summit
Sustainability Summit
The Center for Green Schools at USGBC is now accepting applications to attend this summer’s School Sustainability Leaders Summit from June 27-29. The Summit will be held at our offices in Washington, D.C. and is designed for school district or school system staff who are the point-people for sustainability within their organization. -
Green Apple Day of Service Kicks Off With Strong Commitments
The Center for Green Schools had barely begun to take our plans for Green Apple Day of Service on Sept. 29 beyond water cooler conversations, when two powerhouses came forward asking how they could help: Interface Global and Harvard University.
When two sustainability leaders want to know how they can be a part of your next big idea, you start to think you might be onto something.
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What You Need to Know About the U.S. Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Schools Program
In his 2012 Earth Day Proclamation, President Obama outlines the case for green schools and recognizes the U.S. Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Schools program as a driver for improving school sustainability, health and education for 21st century jobs.
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Putting the Students in Charge
“In order to solve our climate problems, we need a coalition of leaders.” This was the message delivered by Boston Latin School’s Youth Climate Action Network leaders, Rebecca Park and Eshe Sherley, as they addressed two dozen peer students who had gathered to envision how a rooftop sustainability learning center could shape their educational experience in and out of school.
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Cornell University Competes to Reduce in This Year’s Campus Conservation Nationals
As the energy conservation intern in Cornell University’s Sustainability Office, I was privileged to lead Cornell through its pilot year participating in Campus Conservation Nationals! When we first decided to participate in the competition, we didn’t know what to expect. Unsure of the savings we could make as well as the challenges we would face, we began to put together a vision for our campus-wide energy conservation competition.
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Center Spotlight: Tiffany Coyle, Marketing Account Associate
Tiffany is responsible for coordinating marketing pieces for the Center for Green Schools, as well as other initiatives at USGBC. She concentrates on ways to get the Center’s message out to folks and give them the tools they need to empower their local movement for sustainability. This comes in all forms and can be a simple sheet of paper with a web address to a complex guidebook to a really fun interactive digital element.
Position: Marketing Account Associate
Current location: Washington, DC
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Resiliency & Sustainability: A Great Convergence and Synergies in Solutions
Videos:It’s not zero sum. It’s not either/or. It’s not this or that.
Instead, when it comes to sustainability and resiliency, we need (and thankfully we’re seeing) a great convergence.
Not only do the agendas of these two great causes overlap, but their destinies must be forged together.
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The Nation’s Capital Steps Up to Become the ‘Greenest College Town in America’
On Feb. 29, the District of Columbia’s Mayor Vincent Gray was joined by local university presidents to sign the District of Columbia Mayor’s College and University Sustainability Pledge. The Mayor’s goal is for the nation’s capital to become the ‘Greenest College Town in America’ – ambitious, yet attainable with the collective energy of local universities.
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Campuses in the Sustainability Spotlight
Over the last three and a half years, I’ve had the pleasure of watching colleges and universities across the country prove their ability to lead and innovate as sustainability doers. Green buildings are a starting point for institutional leadership, but by no means the end. From students and faculty, to staff and senior administrators, to boards and alumni, I’ve observed a groundswell of environmental stewardship, pedagogy and practice indicating that the changes these champions are putting into place are here to stay.