Events Archives

Using the building design and delivery process to deliver carbon reduction

Webinar featuring Corey Peterson, Chief Sustainability Officer at the University of Tasmania

Register now on Microsoft Teams

Date: May 28 / May 29 (Asia, Oceania)

Time:
Australia (AEST): 7-8:15am May 29
Pacific Daylight Time (PDT): 2-3:15pm May 28
Eastern Daylight Time (EDT): 5-6:15pm May 28

Check the start time in your time zone and download a calendar link for this event.

Details:

Together, building operations and construction now account for nearly 40% of global energy-related CO2 emissions (UNEP 2021). The University of Tasmania is undertaking a $750+m redevelopment of our campuses in Tasmania and New South Wales. Given our world leading Times Higher Education Impact #1 ranking for Climate Action, Carbon Neutral certification (one of three certified carbon neutral Australian universities), and being a Race to Zero signatory, we have worked to minimise embodied carbon in our building efforts. Our Emissions Reduction Strategic Plan 2022-2030 requires a minimum 50% reduction in gross emissions across all three scopes.

Our Facilities, Sustainability and Finance staff co-designed an approach to align our environmental and financial sustainability goals through innovative financing approach - our Green Bond Framework. The funding received allowed us to avoid 13,527 tCO2e across five projects at the end of 2023, averaging upfront carbon reductions of over 34% for new builds and over 60% for re-purposing existing buildings compared to reference buildings. A continuous improvement approach allowed achieving more reductions over time through a design focus and industry cooperation and upskilling.

Webinar participants will gain an understanding that embodied carbon reduction requires a focus on upfront carbon reduction very clearly in project scopes to guide design and delivery. Industry also needs to step up with viable options, from materials replacement through to de-materialisation, as well as reduced carbon alternatives. It also requires upskilling of all those involved in the building process (from designers and quantity surveyors through to the construction companies, including project managers and the trades) to understand carbon emissions impact issues within their professions.

Corey Peterson is the Chief Sustainability Officer at the University of Tasmania in Australia and charged with advancing a holistic organisational sustainability agenda. He was on the University of Tasmania Governing Council from 2012-2020 and is the current President of Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS). He has also served on the Board of several community organisations, including Sustainable Living Tasmania for ten years (five as President), is a graduate of the Tasmanian Leaders Program and has joint Masters Degrees in Environmental Science and Public Administration. He also spent 16 years supporting science in Antarctica before immigrating to Tasmania.

Register now on Microsoft Teams

by Jen Crothers

Strategic Sustainability for Change

Date: May 23, 2023

Time:
10-11:15am Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5)

Check the start time in your time zone and download a calendar link for this event.

Details: This is the final webinar based on the recently released “Bloomsbury Handbook of Sustainability in Higher Education: An Agenda for Transformational Change” edited by Wendy M. Purcell and Janet Haddock-Fraser.

The handbook shows that higher education is essential to transformative change for sustainability and delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals. Part One focuses on sustainability as a driver of change within higher education institutions (HEIs), while Part Two examines how HEIs’ sustainability agenda influences and amplifies change beyond the institution. Cases include Aruba, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Lebanon, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa, Spain, Uganda, UK, and the USA.

This session will explore ways sustainability can be adopted at a strategic level using different lenses. For example, the pursuit of research and academic excellence, or an institutional focus on the betterment of community and society at large. It will highlight the importance of leadership at all levels and the time it takes to effect true transformational change in higher education fueled by sustainability.

Speakers at this session are:

Alice Aiken, Dalhousie University, Canada
Jim Longhurst, University of the West of England, Bristol, United Kingdom
Harro Von Blottnitz, University of Cape Town, South Africa
David Nwogbo, National Open University of Nigeria, Nigeria

Organised by ISCN and Professor Wendy M. Purcell PhD FRSA, Professor at Rutgers University and Affiliated Research Scientist, Harvard University.

https://sph.rutgers.edu/directory/wendy-purcell-phd-sheherhers
https://scholar.harvard.edu/wendypurcell/home
https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-purcell-phd-frsa-08703472/

The Bloomsbury Handbook of Sustainability in Higher Education: An Agenda for Transformational Change: Wendy M. Purcell: Bloomsbury Academic

Photo credit: Strategy by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images

by Jen Crothers

Global University Climate Forum 2022 Showcase

Led by the Environmental Innovations Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania on behalf of the ISCN, the Global University Climate Forum offers university students from around the world the opportunity to define and lead their own local-scale projects in the context of the global climate negotiations.

This event (open to everyone) will feature a selection of videos from the 2022 cohort as well as a panel discussion of members of the newly appointed youth-led leadership committee. The Forum is currently accepting applications for the 2023 cohort: student applicants and advisors are encouraged to attend.

🗓️ 24 March ||⌚️ 12:00-1:00 pm EST (UTC-5) || Register now >>

by Jen Crothers

Expression of interest: Host 2024 ISCN Conference

We are inviting members to submit an expression of interest to host the 2024 ISCN conference.

Requirements to host

ISCN member
Institution has experience in hosting an international conference (of 100-150 people)
Support of senior leadership of the institution to host the conference
Identified conference coordinator and team that can deliver

Process

Call for expressions of interest
Shortlisted institutions submit formal proposal
Final decision by ISCN Board
2024 host announced at 2023 Conference

EOI Submission

If interested, please send the following information to [email protected] by February 22, 2023.

Institution name:
Contact name:
Contact job title:
Contact email:
Please describe why you would like to host the 2024 ISCN conference:

by Jen Crothers

Advancing Sustainability in Fragile Contexts

Date: February 23, 2022

Time:
9-10:15am Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5)

Check the start time in your time zone and download a calendar link for this event.

Details: This is the third of four webinars based on the forthcoming “Bloomsbury Handbook of Sustainability in Higher Education: An Agenda for Transformational Change” edited by Wendy M. Purcell and Janet Haddock-Fraser.

This session will explore how sustainability is advanced by higher education in fragile contexts drawing on the experience and insights from four universities operating in very different contexts.

Speakers at this session are:

Eric Mijts (University of Aruba)
Leonardo Fernandes & Andreia Abrahao Sant’Anna (Newton University, Brazil)
Aram Yeretzian (American University of Beirut, Lebanon)
Purna Nepali (Kathmandu University, Nepal)

Organised by ISCN and Professor Wendy M. Purcell PhD FRSA, Professor at Rutgers University and Affiliated Research Scientist, Harvard University.

Register now on Zoom . You must have a Zoom account to attend the webinar.

The Bloomsbury Handbook of Sustainability in Higher Education pre-order flyer

Save the date for the final session

Session 4 May 23, 2023, 10:00 Eastern
‘Strategic Sustainability for Change’, featuring authors from Canada, Nigeria, South Africa, and UK

by Jen Crothers

2nd Malaysia Sustainable University Network National Conference

The MYSUN project and network are happy to announce the 2nd Malaysia Sustainable University Network National Conference (#mysun2022) and accompanying workshop, on 6^th – 7^th December, 2022. The conference and workshop are hosted by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), together with other MySUN Partners in Malaysia and EU.

This conference aims to attract researchers, scholars, engineers, technologists, and students from universities and industries throughout the world, especially in any related to engineering, social sciences, climate and disaster resilience related to sustainability pillars. The conference would provide opportunities for delegates to exchange ideas and research experiences and to establish research collaborations with global partners.

This Conference and Workshop is FREE of CHARGE (FoC) for all categories, thus allow early registration throughout the opportunity networking among MySUN partners and other stakeholders in Malaysia.

All abstract submissions will be blind reviewed by the Technical Review Committee based on technical quality, relevance to conference topics of interest, originality, significance and clarity. The accepted abstract will be published in Conference Proceedings with the e-ISSN registration.

Topics of interest for abstract submission include, but are not limited to:

Net-Zero
Energy Management
Waste Management
Cooling Technology
Alternative Energy
Energy Communities
Transportation
Environmental Monitoring
Campus Management and Community Engagement
Campus Governance
Education For Sustainability

For more information, including important dates and contact details:

https://www.mysuncampus.eu/en/conferences/2nd-malaysia-sustainable-university-network-national-conference

by Jen Crothers

Symposium on Interdisciplinarity for the Net-Zero Transition

Only by joining forces and mobilising all disciplines and parts of the research ecosystem, can we tackle the challenge of the #NetZero Transition.

Register now for the Symposium on Interdisciplinarity for the Net-Zero Transition that ISCN is co-organising with Science Europe, CESAER, the European University Association, UNICA, and Strathclyde University: http://scieur.org/cop27-symposium-registration

🗓️ 3 November
⌚️ 14:00-17:00 Central European Time (UTC+1)

by Jen Crothers

Student Leadership, Community & Entrepreneurship for Sustainability

Webinar for ISCN Members only or by invitation

Date: November 29, 2022

Time:
9-10am Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5)

Check the start time in your time zone and download a calendar link for this event.

Details: This is the second of four webinars based on the forthcoming “Bloomsbury Handbook of Sustainability in Higher Education: An Agenda for Transformational Change” edited by Wendy M. Purcell and Janet Haddock-Fraser.

This session will focus on students and ways in which three different higher education institutions have worked to create transformative learning communities, develop global leadership by experiential learning, and drive entrepreneurship for green innovation. Speakers at this session are:

Jan Beyne (Antwerp Management School, Belgium)
Sally Randles and Helen Wadham (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)
Frederick Kakembo, (Ndejje University, Uganda)

Organised by ISCN and Dr. Wendy M. Purcell PhD FRSA, Academic Research Scholar, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Register now on Zoom

The Bloomsbury Handbook of Sustainability in Higher Education pre-order flyer

Save the date for future sessions

Session 3 February 23, 2023, 09:00 Eastern
‘Advancing Sustainability in Fragile Contexts’, featuring authors from Aruba, Brazil, Lebanon, and Nepal

Session 4 May 23, 2023, 10:00 Eastern
‘Strategic Sustainability for Change’, featuring authors from Canada, Nigeria, South Africa, and UK

by Jen Crothers

From Culture To Sustainable Practices webinar recap

On June 29, 2022, the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) and the Tecnologico de Monterrey joined forces for the first workshop organized and promoted by the ISCN Latin American Chapter: “From Culture to Practice of Sustainability. Practices and experiences from Latin American Universities”.

Zinia Padilla of Tecnologico de Monterrey presented a report on the first year of the Culture component of the Ruta Azul. Plan de Cambio Climatico 2025 (2025 Sustainability And Climate Change Plan), an integrated plan built on five key components: Culture of Sustainability, Mitigation, Adaptation, Education, Research, and Outreach. Zinia outlined the challenges to go beyond a general familiarization of the public but rather to insert new knowledge and break paradigms through education, tutoring, and training.

One of our biggest challenges is to provide change management tools, so that the initiatives and activities that arise are in collaboration with the other axes of the project.

Nancy Merary from Campus Morelos of UNAM introduced the Programa Manejo Integral de Residuos Solidos Universitarios con Enfoque Basura Cero (Zero Waste Management Program) as a specific commitment of the university to transform public practices, improve management systems, reduce waste impact, and retrieve subproducts for a more effective recycling chain.

We want to be an example of commitment to the environment. Likewise, we are interested in dignifying and modernizing the management system of campus waste. Unfortunately, the latter is denigrating and precarious for the workers in many other university spaces since it does not grant an actual management of our waste.

The full session recording in Spanish is available on the COUS UNAM YouTube channel:

by Shannon Lambie

Embedding Climate Change Education within HEIs

Session 6. Embedding Climate Change Education within HEIs

Friday, June 10^th, 15:00 – 16:30 British Summer Time (UTC+1)

Description

Over the last decade Climate Change Education (CCE) at universities has increased (Filho et al. 2021; Thew et al., (2021). There is a range of published examples/case studies illustrating how CCE is embedded within certain courses/disciplines (Madden et al., 2018; Molthan-Hill et al., 2019; Kinakh, 2021). There are still challenges in addressing climate change within the teaching practices at universities.

This session seeks to further the debate on:

What are the attitudes of teaching staff to CEE, their knowledge of climate change, and inclusion of ‘climate change’ topics in their teaching?
What strategies are more effective in educating modern-day students about climate change (e.g., how educators should teach and how undergraduate/postgraduate students might be engaged to learn about climate change and actions that can be taken to mitigate and adapt to climate change)?
To assist in embedding CEE in curricula, can the existing strategies, initiatives, case studies, etc. be replicated in universities across the globe, and can challenges to implement CCE be addressed/resolved promptly?

Professor Petra Molthan-Hill PhD, MBA, MDiv, PFHEA is Co-Chair UN PRME Working Group on Climate Change & the Environment and a Professor of Sustainable Management and Education for Sustainable Development at Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University. Professor Dave Reay FRSGS is Executive Director of Edinburgh Climate Change Institute , Policy Director of ClimateXChange and Chair in Carbon Management & Education, School of GeoSciences, The University of Edinburgh.