As the risks and impacts of climate change become more visible every year, the call for net zero emissions is no longer restricted to country-level commitments. It has become equally important for non-state actors, like business corporations and large institutions, to establish targets and pathways to net zero by mid-century or sooner.
Universities and colleges across the world have the unique opportunity in this race to zero, to not only build strategies to reduce emissions within their operations, but to also champion knowledge, climate research, and action within their communities.
As universities and colleges across the world continue to commit to reaching net zero emissions, it is crucial that lessons and resources are shared in a comprehensive and intentional manner to accelerate campus decarbonization efforts. Thus, SDSN, the Climateworks Centre, and Monash University have come together to leverage their expertise and networks of academic institutions around the world to develop a guide to net zero campuses and this accompanying online toolkit. Both serve as timely and valuable resources that build on frameworks and tools developed by universities at the forefront of climate action around the world.
The guide and this accompanying online toolkit will enable universities and colleges to accelerate the planning and implementation of net zero strategies, and act as living laboratories for testing solutions. These resources will be applicable to universities and colleges of different sizes and regions, as well as decarbonization experiences and progress, equipping them with both the knowledge (via the guide) and tools (via the toolkit) they need to accelerate their climate action plans, while creating new communities of practice.