After growing up in a small, progressive town, I don’t think I truly understood the global climate crisis until I was released, aka went to college, from what felt like my bubble. I was shocked, and unpleasantly surprised, about how common daily practices for me, such as recycling, using reusable water bottles or shopping local, […]

Some 413 schools, or about 10 percent of U.S. higher education institutions — where about 30 percent of full-time U.S. college students are enrolled — have signed a climate pledge from Second Nature, an organization committed to accelerating climate action through higher education institutions. By signing, schools vow to achieve carbon neutrality as soon as they can, according to Tim Carter, the organization’s president.

Lane Community College has been awarded a $20,000 grant for Climate Action Planning from Second Nature, "a leading NGO focused on accelerating climate action in, and through, higher education," the college said in a news release. LCC is one of nine higher education institutions selected to receive pro bono consulting services for campus climate projects in Round III of the initiative. Second Nature's Pro Bono Consulting opportunity, first announced in Fall 2020, offers technical and advisory support worth up to $20,000 in three areas: (1) Climate Action Planning, (2) Shifting to Renewable Power, and (3) Water Resiliency Strategy.

The primary objectives of Second Nature’s Buddy Program are to champion interpersonal relationship building among peer higher educational institutions in the Southeast and to share scalable sustainability best practices that fit the culture and capacity of each institution. Second Nature and Agnes Scott College (Decatur, GA) are both invested in building a long-standing active relationship […]

In collaboration with Second Nature and The Nature Conservancy, San Francisco State University launched a community-based process to assess extreme weather and climate change impacts and to generate and prioritize solutions to improve the resiliency, sustainability, and equity of their community. This report is a summary of their findings. The Workshop occurred as part of […]

THIRD ROUND Congratulations to the Third Round Awarded Colleges & Universities! Arcata, California Seaside, California Sacramento, California Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Tucson, Arizona Los Angeles, California Chicago, Illinois Oxford, Mississippicc Norfolk, Virginia cc Media Coverage: cc UIC awarded continuation funding from Second Nature’s Acceleration FundDate: April 22, 2022Source: UIC Today Laying the Groundwork for Climate ResilienceDate: April […]

This report, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and produced in collaboration with researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Energy Transition Institute, evaluates the current climate research landscape supported by the and highlights key levers to improve the effectiveness of academic research for climate solutions. Researchers compiled and analyzed a dataset of over […]

Resources Are you looking to accelerate your climate policy foundational knowledge? You can use this page as a starting point. We understand that there is a ton of information out there, and that climate policies and initiatives can change rapidly. Which is why when we come across items that we think can help be great […]

SECOND ROUND Congratulations to the Awarded Higher Ed Institutions!     Thank you to the colleges and universities who submitted applications for this round! A tremendous thank you to the application review committee:Susan Kidd, Agnes Scott College | Kaede Kawauchi, Intentional Endowments Network (IEN) | Terri Taylor, Lumina Foundation | Bre’Anna Brooks, Chesapeake Bay Trust […]

Friday, April 30th was Arbor Day in Illinois and to celebrate, we proclaimed UIC’s tree accomplishments to all 47,000+ faculty, staff and students. We have been recognized, once again, as a Tree Campus Higher Education institution for our efforts in 2020. We put a lot of work into our urban forestry management, and we are […]

Advocacy Letters & Initiatives Below you will find information on, and copies of, letters and initiatives that Second Nature implemented solo or in conjunction with some of our partners and other organizations. Note that information on the general advocacy letter sign-on opportunities we have shared out to you on behalf of many of our partners, […]

Higher Education Institutions Across the United States Support a Strong 2030 U.S. Climate Target On Thursday, April 8, 2021, a letter from 75 diverse higher education institutions from across the United States – spanning 29 states – was sent to President Biden urging his administration to adopt a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. […]