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Mission

Second Nature's mission is to create a sustainable society by transforming higher education. We accelerate movement toward a sustainable future by serving and supporting senior college and university leaders in making healthy, just, and sustainable living the foundation of all learning and practice in higher education.

Too often, we view health, social, economic, security, environmental, and other major societal issues as separate, competing, and hierarchical, when they are really systemic and interdependent. We do not have environmental problems per se - we have negative environmental consequences of the way we have designed our business, social, economic, and political systems. The challenge of addressing these flaws in societal design is unprecedented, daunting, and exciting. It is one that will require the best in all of us, especially in higher education.

We believe that in order for society to move in a sustainable direction, higher education must develop a new framework in which the sector and individual institutions operate as a fully integrated communities that teach, research, and model social and ecological sustainability.

Since 1993, Second Nature has worked with over 4,000 faculty and administrators at more than 500 colleges and universities to help make the principles of sustainability fundamental to every aspect of higher education. Our successes include advancing Education for Sustainability (EFS) networks at the state, regional, and national levels; and conducting a multi-million dollar, ten-year advocacy and outreach effort that was instrumental in launching the higher education EFS movement.

Today, as senior leaders in higher education (presidents, chancellors, provosts, chief financial officers, trustees, etc.) adopt the values of sustainability, Second Nature is well-positioned to build their capacity to rapidly translate these values into action.

Second Nature is a Commonwealth of Massachusetts nonprofit public benefit corporation, and a tax-exempt charitable organization as described in section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.