September 2009 On behalf of Arizona State University, I am pleased to present our Carbon Neutrality Action Plan 2009. For more than 30 years, the Center for Environmental Studies at ASU advanced environmental research that served as the foundation for the subsequent establishment of the ASU Global Institute for Sustainability and the nation’s first School of Sustainability. This document outlines our institutional efforts in ten key areas toward the single goal of making ASU carbon neutral by 2025. While college and university campuses across the country are, in aggregate, responsible for only about three percent of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions emitted by the U.S., we are educating 100 percent of our future political, business, and social leaders. This fact alone places significant accountability on higher education and its leaders to take action. Our institutions have the opportunity to serve as transformational catalysts in sustainability education, research, and operational practices. By initiating change from within, we as leaders are empowered to better guide the adaptation of our organizations to the sustainability-related needs and challenges faced by society. To do so successfully requires the ingenuity, participation, and enthusiasm of our university communities at every level. Presidents and chancellors possess the ability to guide policy, encourage and support administrative initiatives, and pioneer best practices in sustainability. Through leading edge curriculums and use-inspired research, faculty can help to create new generations of knowledgeable future leaders and well-prepared workforces. Students can acquire new knowledge, advance forward-thinking enterprises, and work directly in building a sustainable future.
Michael M. Crow, President action from a broad demographic of stakeholders. Success cannot be achieved with the engagement of only a handful of learning institutions. All of higher education must work together and challenge others to create the change we want. The American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) is a critical mechanism and resource in the attainment of this goal. As a signatory of the ACUPCC, ASU has committed to becoming carbon neutral, which we intend to achieve by 2025. I invite you to read our detailed plan of action and consider how your college or university may contribute to the responsiveness of higher education to our global climate challenge.
Michael M. Crow President, Arizona State University Co-chair, ACUPCC Steering Committee
From a climate perspective, research has affirmed that the reduction of GHG emissions is essential to ensuring a sustainable world. However, any meaningful progress in realizing this reduction will require timely
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