During the 2020-21 academic year, the Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) reviewed the 2011 Climate Action Plan and delivered a report of recommendations to President Byerly and the Tuesday Group. We anticipate that sometime in the near future Carleton College will begin a process to update the Climate Action Plan per these recommendations and other campus input. Click the links below to see the EAC recommendations:
2021 EAC Climate Action Plan Recommendations – Cover Memo
2021 EAC Climate Action Plan Recommendations – Appendix
During the 2020-21 review, the EAC did the following:
- Review past progress and goals of the 2011 Climate Action Plan (CAP)
- Identify gaps in the 2011 CAP and advise on how to address them
- Recommend high-level goals and updates to the CAP sections
- Advise on how Carleton’s updated CAP should reflect the current context of elevated climate crises, a global pandemic and urgent calls for justice
- Recruit campus departments, committees, organizations and individuals whose expertise and input should be included in these discussions
- Recommend which campus departments, committees or individuals should be responsible – over a longer period of time – for implementing the goals of the updated Climate Action Plan
- Once recommendations are compiled, support and assist with a broader campus communication, review and approval process
- Provide ongoing oversight of the plan once it is updated by supporting the efforts, monitoring progress,and communicating updates to campus
To do this work, the Sustainability Office staff created a series of workshops intended to help facilitate this process. Phase 1 includes four workshops focused on the overarching CAP context and framework. Phase 2 includes “nuts and bolts” workshops that are focused on specific topics. For Phase 2 workshops, the EAC invite subject-matter experts and other interested campus constituents to help define appropriate goals for each CAP section.
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The EAC will conclude its 2020-21 work with a set of recommendations for broader campus review and approval. The EAC recommendations and workshop outcomes will then provide a basis for the actual writing of Carleton’s updates to the 2011 Climate Action Plan (to be completed by Sustainability Office staff and others, as needed).