Ithaca College has made a number of commitments at the institution level to ensure that our graduates are prepared with the persistence, knowledge, and innovation required to deal with today's climate and social challenges.
Campus Commitments
AMERICAN COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS' CLIMATE COMMITMENT
In 2007, then-President Peggy R. Williams signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) on behalf of Ithaca College. The ACUPCC is a joint effort between the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), ecoAmerica, Second Nature, and presidents in higher education to reduce and ultimately neutralize greenhouse gas emissions. When signing the commitment, President Williams pledged Ithaca College would initiate the development of a comprehensive plan to achieve complete greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation, create institutional structures that will help guide the development of that plan, and complete a comprehensive inventory of all GHG emissions.
CLIMATE ACTION PLAN
In the fall of 2009, the Board of Trustees approved the Ithaca College Climate Action Plan - a comprehensive proposal for the College to reach climate neutrality. It established our goal of 2050 and serves as a framework for organization and benchmarking tools today. The Plan calls for transparency in development and implementation and requires frequent progress reports. In 2017, a Climate Action Plan Reassessment Team was formed to evaluate progress made from 2009 to present. In 2019, the Team completed the new Energy Roadmap to help accelerate campus carbon reductions.
Climate Action Plan -
Climate Action Plan.pdf (7.68 MB)
Ithaca College NYSERDA REV Campus Challenge Energy Roadmap (2019) -
Energy Roadmap Final _ 20190715_combined.pdf (4.98 MB)
Building off of the 2009 Climate Action Plan, the Energy Roadmap helps to provide an updated guide of potential actions to guide energy and greenhouse gas reduction actions.
SECOND NATURE CARBON COMMITMENT
Ithaca College has been a member of Second Nature since 2007. Colleges that sign the Commitment recognize the speed with which impacts of climate change are being experienced, and have committed their institutions to climate neutrality.