Despite the difficulty for students to access the endowment information, they now know that the university [of Michigan] has almost 1 billion dollars invested in fossil fuels out of its total 8 billion dollar endowment (one of the largest endowments in the country). This 1 billion dollars from UM accounts for 5% of the total amount of fossil fuel investments from US universities. Despite UM’s large amount of funding for faculty and research dedicated to sustainability and climate change, they still support the fossil fuel industry with this significant chunk of change from their endowment.

Michigan students are certainly not alone in this effort, there are already over 200 campuses involved, and many cities as well. This divestment movement also ties in with another, larger movement, something Bill McKibben would classify as the “Fossil Fuels Resistance”. McKibben recently wrote an article in rolling stone that goes over this movement and the many reasons why people all over the globe are finding the need to stand up to these companies that are intent on destroying our climate.

A student at St Clair County Community College scans a QR code with her smartphone to learn more about a campus green feature. Image credit St Clair County Community College.

Campus sustainability (read:  campus efficiency projects) today is frequently driven by facilities departments, who see the cost savings from use of long-lasting CFL bulbs or double-paned windows, but, Newport and Antle say, economic benefits can’t be the main force behind sustainability. Eventually we’re going to have to figure out how to tap into the “moral imperative,” based on the concept that everything is part of the puzzle.

Climate change is, obviously, not an easy concept to grapple with for students and the general public alike, and in the face of increasing extreme weather and political inaction on mitigation and adaptation, it’s easy to feel like this problem is too big to solve. But, Newport and Antle agree, this is where colleges and universities, especially community colleges, come into play, bringing together stakeholders and making immediate and positive impacts on the local level. Campus sustainability efforts provide a rare opportunity for relatively instant gratification in the realm of action to address causes and effects of climate change; colleges and universities are generally willing and able to move much more quickly to cut carbon emissions, operate more efficiently and transition to clean energy, than, for instance, the government.

Newport argues, however, that with all the good they are doing, institutions of higher education can operate with even greater transparency, and with greater self-awareness of their environmental impact. Somewhat surprisingly, Newport suggests multinational corporations as models. The general market trend has been toward increased, consumer-demanded corporate social responsibility–better labeling, workers’ rights, agricultural practices, etc. Newport touched briefly on the current student-driven movement to divest from fossil fuels (which now includes cities, churches, 210+ campuses and at least one or two senators) as a good start. I’ll add that the 665 signatories of the Presidents’ Climate Commitment, which requires emissions inventories and a solid plan for achieving carbon neutrality are not too shabby in the transparency department either.

So to address the title of the webinar, the future of campus sustainability will be well-integrated, all-inclusive and very transparent. Students, faculty, staff and administrators will all be part of not only the discussion but also helping to create the solutions for living lightly on a strained planet.

What do you think the future holds for sustainability on your campus? Solar-powered hovercraft? 100% self-sufficiency for energy, and something close to that for food? What are you doing to propel your campus toward Sustainability 2.o? Leave a comment and let us know!

Related Reading:

• Climate Literacy in a Time of Climate Silence, previous post by yours truly
• Campus Environment 2008:  A National Report Card on Sustainability in Higher Education, NWF Campus Ecology resource
• Campus Sustainability Case Study Database, a 23-year collection of reports on green projects at colleges and universities across the world (search “environmental education” to find out how students are engaging peers in sustainability, as referenced above) 

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