SN Advisory Services

Helping Campuses Move from Good Intentions to Strategic Action

Individuals at literally thousands of college and university campuses across the country are coming to recognize the necessity and advantages of making sustainability an integral goal of learning and practice, and ultimately the need for leading transformative change throughout their entire institutions.

Such transformative change can be immensely challenging to initiate. On-campus champions of EFS inevitably face the immensely challenging questions like “How do we get started?” and “How can we institutionalize sustainability efforts?” Colleges and universities are complex systems, and a comprehensive understanding of their structure and culture are essential to developing a plan for systemic change.

Second Nature (SN) was founded in 1993 to address precisely this challenge. SN works with administrators, faculty, staff and students at colleges and universities and with higher education organizations across the country to make the principles of sustainability the foundation of all learning, practice and collaboration with local communities. More than any other single organization, Second Nature has led the way in helping over 500 colleges and universities throughout the country begin to move towards sustainability.

Second Nature presentations, consultations and workshops are always tailor-made to reflect the specific needs of the particular audience. At the same time, what distinguishes almost all SN activities is (1) their unique inclusion of case studies of innovation and best practices from other academic, business and public institutions; (2) addressing all dimensions of sustainability – health, social, economic and environmental; and (3) integrating sustainability in and across education, research, institutional practices and collaboration with local and regional communities.

Our clients are individual institutions, consortia, higher education associations, and networks.

Our services include:

Presentations, Consultations, and Workshops led by Dr. Cortese and noted specialists for administrators, faculty, operations managers and students on topics such as:

• designing sustainable societal practices and strategies



• the critical role of higher education in achieving societal sustainability



• institutionalizing sustainability education and practice



• faculty and curriculum development



• sustainable planning, operations, and design



• sustainably preferable purchasing



• collaboration with local and regional communities



• assessing institutional impacts and progress in achieving sustainability goals

Typical Presentations/Consultations last from 1 to 5 days, and often are variations on the following:

Day 1:

• Deliver a 1-2 hour university-wide speech and discussion



• Meeting with college/university sustainability task force or committee to refine goals and plans as well as generate new ideas for strategies



• Review and make recommendations on campus-wide sustainability strategies, programs, policies and other initiatives

• Planning session with the university President, Provost, and Vice President for Administration and other senior management



• Strategy session with facilities, purchasing and planning staff to identify new opportunities for the institution to practice what it preaches



• Consultation meeting with faculty and/or students to identify new ways to help make sustainability a core part of the curriculum

• Help design and deliver a multi-sectoral campus “summit” meeting on EFS to develop university programs, policies and recommendations to university leadership

• Conduct a faculty and curriculum and/or staff development workshop on sustainability in education, practice and collaboration with local communities



• Several institutions have requested these sorts of services on an annual basis until the sustainability work has enough momentum to be self-generating, and we have found this approach to be the most effective. Others have asked us to work with them by phone and email on issues ranging from designing workshops to reviewing progress on achieving sustainability goals as described above.

* Click here for a partial list of past presentations/consultations.

* Click here for a partial list of past workshops.