Sustainability Statement

SCUP's Statement in Support of Sustainability

For the past five years, the SCUP Board of Directors has pursued a commitment to sustainability in higher education.

SCUP will continue to work with external organizations, such as the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), and the Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC), support initiatives such as the Higher Education Sustainability Act (HESA), and create professional development programming (conference sessions, workshops, webcasts, etc.) on this crucial topic.

Further, the SCUP board and staff pledge to incorporate the principles of sustainability into member benefits and daily operations. Examples:

Conferences:

Invited environmental activist Jerome Ringo to speak at SCUP-45 in July 2010.
Selected Portland, OR, the most sustainable city in the United States, for its annual conference location in 2009 and invited sustainability-focused plenary speakers to past annual conferences, such as Susan Anderson, director, Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (SCUP-44) and Sadhu Johnston, commissioner, City of Chicago’s Department of Environment (SCUP-43). Also provided annual conference track (concurrent sessions and workshops) and roundtables on topic of sustainability.
Focused on sustainability at several regional conferences and one-day events, including the 2009 Pacific Regional Conference in Boulder, CO, "Strategies for the University Presidents Climate Commitment: Traversing From LEED to Carbon Neutrality," and the 2008 Southern Regional Conference in New Orleans, LA, "Regeneration: Planning Beyond Sustainability."
Eliminated most print promotional materials for conferences. Annual and regional conference promotion will use primarily electronic communications. Inexpensive save-the-date postcards on recycled paper may be mailed, but multi-page brochures, including the annual conference's preliminary brochure, which is normally printed and mailed in January, will be published online as a PDF only--a savings of 83,200 printed pages or approximately nine trees.

Books & PHE

Published books in PDF format instead of printing or reprinting--a savings of hundreds of trees.
Published special issue of the journal: “Sustainability: Taking the Long View.”

Communities:

Explored social media as a way to help members learn, share, and connect. Find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Ning.

Membership Directory:

Moved from a print directory to an enhanced, online directory in 2009--a savings of 1,680,000 pages or approximately 200 trees. The enhanced online membership directory will be password-protected and allow members to search for other members using name, job title, organization, city, state/province, or country. Members also will be able to download a PDF of the entire member roster, which will be updated daily.

Membership Dues Notices:

Reduced the number of paper dues notices to members from three to one. Members receive a paper dues notice 90 days from their membership’s expiration date. Other reminders are now sent via email and telephone.

Professional Development Programs & Webcasts:

Founded national Campus Sustainability Day in 2002.
Offered "Sustainability: Strategies for Vibrant Campus Communities," the title of Campus Sustainability Day 7.0 on October 21, 2009. The webcast is a co-production of SCUP and The New York Times.
Worked with the Association of Governing Boards (AGB) to broadcast, “Environmental Sustainability as a Strategic Policy Issue: What Governing Boards Need to Know” in February 2009. (Available on CD.)
Offered the renowned institute "on campus," which makes it a no- or low-travel learning opportunity for the participants--it also allows the institution to invite a wider variety of participants to learn about integrated planning.
Sends AIA and other educational credits in PDF format via email to conference attendees.

SCUP Office:

Hosted a booth or table at the US Greenbuild Conference for past four years.
Purchased recycled copier paper and partially recycled color copier paper.
Used washable plates and silverware in the office kitchen.
Used recyclable storage containers for personal and office materials instead of boxes during the recent move to new location.

Trends in Higher Education:

Tracked environmental issues in one of SCUP’s most popular member benefits, SCUP Trends in Higher Education, which is available as a downloadable PDF only to members.