Universidad y Biodiversidad (Seminaro virtual en Español)
More information on the ISCN LATAM website.
How to go fossil free? The journey of VU Amsterdam
17 September 2024 16:00 - 17:00 CET, online
In April this year, VU Amsterdam hosted the final Fossil-Free Dialogue and celebrated the signing of the new fossil-free research framework. This session was the culmination of a comprehensive process that began with the landmark decision to no longer enter research partnerships with companies in the fossil fuel industry not complying with the Paris Agreement, after an extensive consultation process with the VU community. VU became the second university in the world to stop research collaborations with companies of the fossil fuel industry, unless certain criteria are met.
Cutting ties with the fossil fuel sector is a multifaceted and complex process. VU Amsterdam made the first transformative step in this journey by focusing on its research domain. This SDG Academy delves into the topic of fossil fuel severance as a university, following the journey of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and will open with a comprehensive overview of the current landscape of Dutch universities, delivered by Dr.–Ing. Aaron Pereira, co-founder at Solid Sustainability Research. Afterwards, the fossil free journey of VU Amsterdam will be discussed, with insights from key contributors to the process:
- Dr. Mathieu Blondeel, Assistant Professor at IVM and Climate Expertise Centre expert
- Prof. Marjan Hofkes, Professor at the School of Business and Economics of VU Amsterdam and chair of the Central Committee for Fossil-Free Research
- Prof. Philipp Pattberg, Director of the Amsterdam Sustainability Institute (ASI) and Professor of transnational environmental governance and policy at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) of VU Amsterdam
The session will close with an interactive Q&A segment, with input from the audience.
This event is open for anyone interested in the process of cutting ties with the fossil fuel sector, with a particular relevance for university staff, and sustainability officers.
Programme
16:00 Welcome by Prof. Philipp Pattberg
16:05 University landscape in the Netherlands by Dr.–Ing. Aaron Pereira
16:15 The journey of VU since the divestment decision by Dr. Mathieu Blondeel
16:25 The development of the VU Framework on Fossil Free Research by Prof. Marjan Hofkes
16:35 Q&A with inputs from the audience moderated by Paulina Raniecka, ASI Communications Coordinator
Expression of Interest: Host the 2026 ISCN Conference
We are inviting members to submit an expression of interest to host the 2026 ISCN conference. Submissions due Friday, September 27, 2024.
Host Requirements
- ISCN member
- Commitment from senior leadership of the institution to host the conference
- Institution has experience in hosting an international conference (of 100-150 people or larger)
- Identified coordinator who is responsible for conference planning and management
- Support team with financial and in-kind resources necessary to manage the conference process
Preferred
- A representative of the university has attended an ISCN conference
- A senior university leader who will act as conference chair
- Venues and facilities that exemplify sustainability principles and design
- A plan to incorporate innovative conference design and delivery methods
Roles and Responsibilities (to be confirmed with the selected host)
ISCN is responsible for:
- Overall conference planning framework
- Website
- Registration
- Main program development
- Budget
Conference hosts are responsible for:
- Venues
- Catering
- Planning local tours and events
- Cultural programming
- Transportation (if required)
- Audio visual and IT support
- Other logistics
ISCN and hosts to collaborate on:
- Keynote speakers
- Sponsorships
- Session design
- Engagement with external partners
Process and Timeline
2024
September: Submission deadline
October:
- Review and evaluation by ISCN Secretariat (clarification requested as needed)
- Shortlist candidates for more detailed discussion
November: Final decision by ISCN Board
December: Conference Host for 2026 announced
2025
January: Conference planning kickoff and timeline with key milestones confirmed
2026
June: 18th ISCN Conference
EOI Submission
If interested, please complete the Expression of Interest form by no later than Friday, September 27, 2024.
Using the building design and delivery process to deliver carbon reduction
Webinar featuring Corey Peterson, Chief Sustainability Officer at the University of Tasmania
ISCN 2024 UTAS Webinar - Embodied carbon presentation
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.
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/
Photo credit: Strategy by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images
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 >>
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.
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 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
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 6th – 7th 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:
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)
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.
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 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