SCUP's Statement in Support of Sustainability

 SCUP has a commitment to support sustainability in higher education.

The society:

1. Works with external organizations, such as the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), and the Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC),
2. Supports initiatives such as the Higher Education Sustainability Act (HESA) and Carbonfund.org, and
3. Creates professional development programming (conference sessions, workshops, webcasts, etc.) on this crucial topic.

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

Annual Conferences:

• Awarded the 2012 SCUP K. C. Parsons Founders Award for Distinguished Achievement in Higher Education Planning to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).
• Eliminated most print promotional materials for conferences. Annual and regional conference promotion use primarily electronic communications, such as PDFs. Inexpensive save-the-date postcards are printed on recycled paper. Multi-page brochures, including the annual conference's preliminary brochure is published online only--a savings of 83,200 printed pages or approximately nine trees.
• Provided concurrent sessions, workshops, and roundtables on the topic of sustainability.
• Selected one of the most sustainable city in the US--Portland, OR-- as the location for its 2009 annual conference.
• Hosted sustainability-focused plenary speakers at past annual conferences:
  • Environmental activist Jerome Ringo (SCUP–45)
  • Susan Anderson, director, Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (SCUP–44) 
  • Sadhu Johnston, commissioner, City of Chicago’s Department of Environment (SCUP–43)

Regional Conferences:

• Focused on sustainability at several regional conferences and one-day events:
  • 2010 Pacific regional one-day symposium at University of New Mexico, "Uncovering Patterns in the Sustainability Maze: An In-Depth Discussion,"
  • 2009 Pacific Regional Conference in Boulder, CO, "Strategies for the University Presidents Climate Commitment: Traversing From LEED to Carbon Neutrality"
  • 2008 Southern Regional Conference in New Orleans, LA, "Regeneration: Planning Beyond Sustainability."

Books & PHE:

• Ceased printing Planning for Higher Education journal in October 2012. PHE journal is available in a variety of downloadable format for easy searching.
• Published all books and white papers in a variety of downloadable and highly searchable formats.
• Published special issue of the journal: “Sustainability: Taking the Long View.”

Communities:

• Used social media to help members learn, share, and connect. Join 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, member-only membership directory allows searches for name, job title, organization, city, state/province, region, or country. Members can also download a PDF of the entire member roster, which is updated daily.

Professional Development Programs & Webinars:

• 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 was 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.
• Emailed PDFs of AIA and other educational credits to conference attendees instead of mailing.

SCUP Office:

• 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 a move to a new office location.
• Participated in the carbon neutral program of United Parcel Service (UPS) through our affiliation with The University of Michigan.
• Participated as a CarbonFree Partner with Carbonfund.org, the nation's leading nonprofit provider of carbon offsets and climate solutions.

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.