Read The New York Times article about Presidents Climate Commitment

Dr. David Shi

       The American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPPC) was formally announced Tuesday at a summit of higher education leaders in Washington, D.C.  Shi, who also serves in the group’s Leadership Circle, was one of three presidents asked to participate in the Tuesday news conference in the nation’s capital.

      The Presidents Climate Commitment is a bold effort to put colleges and universities in the forefront of the mushrooming national emphasis on sustainability, environmental awareness and energy independence.  Modeled after a successful initiative adopted by many of the nation’s major cities, it focuses on garnering institutional commitments to reduce and eventually eliminate global warming emissions on campus.

       The schools were asked to join the Leadership Circle of the ACUPCC because of their demonstrated national leadership in sustainability efforts.

       “Furman’s holistic commitment to sustainability, endorsed by the university’s Board of Trustees in 2001, makes the university a natural participant in the Presidents Climate Commitment,” Shi said.  “The Climate Commitment represents a powerful and public form of institutional engagement—which is an especially apt role for Furman, given our longstanding emphasis on engaged learning, environmental sustainability and civic responsibility.”

      Shi said Furman and the other colleges and universities, including some of the nation’s largest and most prestigious institutions, will create comprehensive institutional action plans to move their campuses towards climate neutrality.  Those action plans will include measures such as the use of

renewable sources of energy, energy conservation, high performance “green” buildings, and curricular initiatives designed to educate young people about climate change and environmental stewardship.

      Furman dedicated 2006-07 as the “Year of the Environment’ at the university.  Initiatives this past year included purchasing fresh produce from local farms for the university dining hall, introducing a new concept in student residential living known as the Environmental Community of Students, and hiring the university’s first Environmental Sustainability Fellow.

      All of Furman’s new and renovated facilities are also required to qualify for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, an organization that promotes buildings that are environmentally responsible.  The university’s Herman N. Hipp Hall, completed in 2002, was the first building in South Carolina to receive LEED certification. 

      Also this year, Furman received awards from the South Carolina Wildlife Federation and the state chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council for its commitment to sustainability and conservation education.  The university is also among 25 institutions of higher education that comprise the steering committee for the American Council on Renewable Energy’s Higher Education Committee.

       The Presidents Climate Commitment is a high-visibility effort to accelerate the research and educational efforts of higher education so it can help equip society to re-stabilize the earth’s climate.  As president Shi explained, “It is especially fitting that the higher education community take a leadership role in promoting sustainability and energy independence.  After all, colleges and universities are the sources of most scientific research.  They are also the nation’s seedbeds of creativity and innovation, and they were founded in perpetuity, to last forever.  Colleges are one of our most important renewable resources.”

       The Presidents Climate Commitment is being supported by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, Second Nature, and ecoAmerica.

      For more information, contact Furman’s News and Media Relations office at 864-294-3107 or visit the Presidents Climate Commitment website at www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org.

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