Join UC3 - Second Nature

Faculty, researchers, and staff of UC3 member institutions have the opportunity to accelerate climate action efforts on campus, in their communities, and as a global coalition by connecting with counterparts from peer institutions, sharing knowledge and best practices, and collaborating on the development of new resources that help scale action beyond what individual universities can achieve on their own. Additionally, UC3 members have access to exclusive UC3 events, and senior leadership can use the UC3 to connect with other UC3 presidents, chancellors, or rectors for high-visibility and high-leverage events, as well as government leaders, business CEOs, and other executives that share a commitment to addressing the global climate challenge.

Already a UC3 Member?

Are you a faculty member, researcher, or staff person at one of the 23 UC3 institutions? Get involved and access your benefits. Contact [email protected]g to get started.

Get Involved in UC3

Is your institution a leading research institution not currently involved in UC3? Review the benefits and eligibility requirements below.

University Climate Coalition (UC3) Working Groups

NOTE: NOTE: UC3 Working group membership is limited to UC3 schools, however working group outputs have sector-wide benefit and impact.

For further inquiries about UC3 working groups, contact [email protected].

UC3 Steering Committee

A group of appointed and elected leaders from member institutions who meet monthly to steward strategy and governance of UC3.

UC3 Liaisons

All the official designated liaisons to UC3 from each member institution meet monthly to discuss topics pertaining to campus climate action. This group receives regular updates on coalition opportunities to disseminate across their campuses, and provides feedback from their campus regarding UC3 priorities and engagement.

UC3 Research Working Group

Scholars and Research program staff focused on transdisciplinary (TD) or community-engaged research meet monthly to network and collaborate on resources to build capacity in the TD field.

UC3 COP Working Group

UC3 campuses attending the annual Conference of Parties convene monthly from May-December to develop educational webinars and engagement sessions for the higher education sector, and collaborate on participation in the COP.

Campus as Lab Community of Practice

Monthly discussions support research-intensive universities in developing and implementing high-impact climate-related CLL initiatives, by identifying and filling resource gaps, and by convening operational and academic practitioners to exchange ideas, methods, and experiences, and discover opportunities for collaborative work.

Sustainability Culture Assessment Cohort

Participating campuses can receive mentorship in establishing or refining a campus wide sustainability literacy or culture assessment, and attend quarterly full cohort meetings to network with other campuses in the initiative and explore common questions and data analysis opportunities.

Eligibility Criteria

Leading research universities are eligible to join UC3 if the following criteria are met:

The university president/chancellor/rector has pledged to reduce their university’s institutional carbon footprint, and their commitment is consistent with objectives of the Paris Agreement and the Under2 MOU for subnational climate leaders
The university is a leading research institution as designated by the R1 classification (Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education) or equivalent classification/ranking
Acknowledgment of support and participation from the president, chancellor, or rector’s office and the designation of university liaisons that can support regular engagement with UC3
Designated liaisons are able to participate in regular UC3 events and encourage broader engagement in other Coalition activities by other members of the university

Process

Membership is open to any university that is interested in furthering climate action in the higher education sector, agrees to support the Coalition’s Mission Statement, and can fulfill the eligibility requirements.
The steering committee will evaluate the eligibility of universities that express interest in joining the coalition and approve those that clearly meet all requirements.
Once a university is deemed eligible the Leadership Lead institution’s president or chancellor will extend a written invitation that includes instructions on how to formally accept the invitation.

Want to Join?

For New member inquiries, contact us.

UC3 e-newsletter

Professionals at UC3 member institutions, regardless of their working group engagement, can subscribe to the monthly University Climate Change Coalition (UC3) e-newsletter, which summarizes the ongoing working group activities, offering links to recordings and topical insights, and provides a space for noteworthy news updates from fellow UC3 member institutions.