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Important Information About
the Carbon Commitment
Dear Larry Zitzow,
On October 5th, Second Nature launched the Climate Leadership
Commitments, providing an exciting opportunity to expand climate leadership
efforts for higher education institutions. As an ACUPCC signatory, your
institution has rolled over to the Carbon Commitment. Below you will find a
brief overview of the changes to the commitment, as well as information and
resources to support your implementation.
What You Need to Know
1) Name Change
The most distinct change is the renaming of the ACUPCC to the Carbon
Commitment.
In total, Second Nature now offers three commitments - the other
commitments are the Resilience Commitment, and a commitment integrating
carbon neutrality and climate resilience called the Climate Commitment.
Together the three commitments make up the Climate Leadership
Commitments. Signatories of any of the three commitments, in turn, constitute
the Climate Leadership Network.
For more information on how the names came to be, read Second Nature
President, Tim Carter's recent blog, What's in a Name?
2) Reporting
With the launch of the new commitments, Second Nature has reset your
reporting schedule, thus eliminating your past due report(s). You will not have
a report due until January 15, 2017.
Please note, your institution's Implementation Profile (IP) should be
updated as soon as possible. The IP now allows you to add additional
colleagues, as well as designate who should have Reporting System access
privileges.
Looking ahead we want to highlight the commitment changes that will support
institutionalizing your climate action efforts:
 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reports will now be submitted annually, beginning
in 2017. This will help integrate carbon mitigation practices into the campus’
everyday decision making processes. The GHG will be incorporated into an
annual progress evaluation aimed at driving creative solutions,
communicating progress against clear benchmarks, and iterative learning.

The Climate Action Plan (CAP) is required to be reviewed, revised if
necessary, and resubmitted every five years. For most carbon signatories,
this will begin in 2018.
3) New Resources and Website
For more information on the new commitments, please see the following
resources:

New Carbon Commitment Logo - the new Carbon Commitment logo
replaces the ACUPCC signatory logo. Please update by April 2016 on your
website.

Commitments Implementation Guide - a brief overview of the intent, goals,
and reporting requirements of the commitments.

Frequently Asked Questions - answers to commonly asked questions about
the commitments.

Sustainability Planning & Climate Action Guide - in-depth resource for
implementing the climate leadership commitments.
Over the next few weeks we'll be providing opportunities to learn more about
the Climate Leadership Commitments.
Today (October 16th, 2:00 - 3:00 pm EDT), we'll be hosting an introduction to
the Climate Leaderships Commitments webinar, presented by Second Nature
President, Tim Carter. On October 26th, we'll be facilitating an IL Networking
Meeting at AASHE.
We are also available to talk with you directly about how the new commitments
can support your institution's efforts. Please feel free to contact me with
your questions/concerns via email at [email protected], or by phone
at 617-722-0036 x218.
Thank you again for all your climate leadership efforts,
Steve Muzzy
Climate Programs Senior Manager, Second Nature
Second Nature
18 Tremont Street, Suite 930
Boston, Massachusetts 02108
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