Environmental Committee

Who We Are
The Environmental Committee will engage the entire community in environmental &amp; sustainability issues from campus to global scales &amp; increase the community's awareness of &amp; accessibility to low-impact living options on/off campus.

The Environmental Committee gathers information pertinent to:


 * decreasing the college's environmental footprint
 * coordinating campus-wide environmental/sustainability efforts and/or links to external sustainability projects
 * maximizing socially-just sustainable planning in purchasing, development, and policy making.

For more details, click here.

Climate Action Plan &amp; American College and University President's Climate Commitment
In an effort to combat the unprecedented global challenges presented by climate change, nearly 700 American colleges and universities have signed the American Colleges and University President’s Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). In 2008, Hampshire College joined the list of signatories; in doing so, the college pledged to:

1. Set a date for climate neutrality; 2. Integrate sustainability into the curriculum and educational experience; and 3. Publicly release a climate action plan, a greenhouse gas inventory, and biannual progress reports.

The Environmental Committee has been working with GreenerU to develop the Hampshire College Climate Action Plan.

It will be signed off on during Inauguration on April 27th, 2012 by Jonathan Lash. At this point the CAP will also be available for the community to sign to represent our commitment to a future of Hampshire's climate neutrality.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAMPSHIRE?
We, the Environmental Committee, propose that, as a community, we embrace sustainability as a lens that encompasses all aspects of campus life, thereby informing the actions and decisions made by each of us.

Every institution should play a key role in reducing anthropogenic carbon emissions and otherwise degrading the environment. But Hampshire is not just any institution: from its very inception, Hampshire has been dedicated to academic innovation and social justice. This, we believe, invests Hampshire with a special responsibility – as well as an opportunity – in the global drive for sustainability.

We have an obligation to assume leadership in promoting sustainability in all aspects of college life – learning, community, and our resources (buildings &amp; grounds etc.) – and an opportunity to cast Hampshire as a national and international center of innovation in all of these endeavors, thereby contributing to the long-term health of the College.

It is through us that change is made – each of us impacts our surroundings on a daily basis. We all have creative and innovative ideas to bring to these questions. As a community viewing our world through a lens of sustainability, we increase our awareness of, and positive impact on, the world around us.

We believe sustainability is critical to the mission of the campus &amp; affects all elements of the campus mission. Community-wide examples can be seen in Erika Linenfelser's diagram above.

Some Useful Links

 * Archived Meeting Minutes 
 * Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education - http://www.aashe.org
 * American College &amp; University Presidents Climate Commitment - http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/

In Collaboration With

 * Board of Trustees
 * Meeting Minutes
 * Campus Planning
 * Environmental Health and Safety
 * Facilities and Grounds