Second Nature Climate Leadership Awards
Recognizing Innovation and Excellence in Climate Leadership at Signatory Institutions of the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment CALL FOR NOMINATIONS Second Nature invites nominations for the 3rd Annual Climate Leadership Awards to highlight campus innovation and climate leadership to transition society to a clean, just, and sustainable future. Nominations are invited from American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) signatory institutions to highlight the ways senior leadership, academic and curricular initiatives, institutional efficiency, and innovative financing are being used to adapt to a changing climate. Finalists will be selected in December 2011 and featured in a public voting forum on PlanetForward.org during Spring 2012, with award winners announced and recognized at the ACUPCC Climate Leadership Summit June 2012 hosted by American University. Applications must be sent to ACUPCC@secondnature.org by November 18th 2011. Second Nature is pleased to announce a partnership with Planet Forward, the web to television initiative that asks citizens and experts to share energy, climate and sustainability innovations, to highlight the leadership of the ACUPCC network. All finalists will be featured on the Planet Forward website by producing a short video highlighting the institutional leadership outlined in their nomination. Finalists' videos will be open to the public from March to April 2012, where viewers can vote on the most innovative and ground-breaking institution in each Carnegie Classification. Campuses with the top votes at the end of April will be featured at the Planet Forward Conference in April 2012, with one top vote-getter being featured in the Planet Forward Spring 2012 TV special. In addition, every entrant will have the opportunity to be featured in one of Planet Forward's weekly webisodes or as a feature in the Planet Forward newsletter. APPLY FOR LEADERSHIP AWARD Eligible Institutions: Institution must be a signatory to the ACUPCC, and must be in good standing with the ACUPCC (i.e. have no outstanding, overdue reports). See if your institution is in good standing by visiting the ACUPCC Reporting System. Institutional Categories - Doctorate Granting University
- Master's Colleges and Universities
- Baccalaureate College
- Associate/Tribal/Special Focus College
Nomination Process: Download Application form Any signatory institution that meets the pre-requisites may nominate itself by filling out the application form above. Applications are due November 18th 2011 to acupcc@secondnature.org. Award finalists will be asked to submit a video accompanying their application form in Spring 2012; no video submissions are due at the time of the initial application deadline, November 18th 2011. Evaluation Criteria:
Applications will be evaluated based on climate leadership on campus, including but not limited to the following: - Adaptation Innovation
How has your campus created new and effective projects, initiatives, or programs to educate, address, and prepare the campus and surrounding community adapt to a planet that is changing as a result of climate change? - Climate Action Strategies
How is your campus providing leadership and tangible progress towards climate neutrality in the design, coordination, and development of the climate action planning and implementation process? In what ways is the campus working towards tangible interim targets and measuring success? - Strategies & Financing
In what creative ways has your campus invested in conservation, efficiency, demand reduction, and clean energy production? Have you partnered with utilities, suppliers, local communities, etc. to scale up investments in order to achieve greater GHG reductions? How has your campus utilized its social and political capital to reduce emissions not directly within the institution's control? - Learning Experiences
In what ways has your campus provided formal and informal learning opportunities on climate disruption and sustainability? How is your campus addressing the academic and/or research aspects of the Commitment? How is your campus training faculty, staff, and administration on climate action? SELECTION PROCESS Nominations will be evaluated and both finalists and award winners will be selected by members of the Second Nature Board not affiliated with ACUPCC institutions, and in consultation with the Second Nature staff. The 2-3 finalists in each institutional category will be chosen and notified in December 2011 and will be asked to produce a short video to be featured on the Planet Forward.org website. Planet Forward will provide multiple exposure opportunities for the finalists by sharing the content that appears on their site with several different media collaborators, as well as giving them the opportunity to be the feature of one of their unique webisodes. See the Planet Forward website for more examples of their media feature opportunities. VIDEO GUIDELINES Videos should be between 2-3 minutes, and should focus on the innovation that your project, initiative, or program presents. For more information on the video guidelines, see Planet Forward's "Learn How To Make a Video" page. Videos are only needed from award finalists, who will be notified in December 2011, after submitting their nomination in November 2011. Contact your Communications or Media Relations Department today and share this exciting opportunity for highlighting the success of your campus sustainability efforts and the innovation of the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment as a whole. Consider involving students, or a media/communications/production class in the process of producing your campus's accompanying nomination video.
For questions about the Nomination Process and Awards, please contact:
Sarah Brylinsky, Program Associate (Second Nature)
Email: sbrylinsky@secondnature.org
Phone: 617 722 0036 ext. 205 For questions about video production and media highlights for Finalists, please contact:
Charlie Rybak, Outreach Coordinator (Planet Forward)
Email: charlie@planetforward.org | 