• Washington DC

    Campus sustainability takes a step forward in Congress

    The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Higher Education Sustainability Act (HR 3637 for you Congress junkies out there), a bill that would provide federal support for sustainability projects on college and university campuses. The bill, known as HESA, must now survive negotiations between the Senate and House, who will consider HESA as one program in an omnibus education bill. Senators Murray, Kennedy, Dodd, Bingaman, and Kerry have sponsored the Senate version of the bill (S 2444).

    HESA would provide $50 million in grants for campuses to design and implement sustainability practices in the areas of “energy management, green building, waste management, purchasing, transportation, toxics management, and other aspects of sustainability that integrate campus operations with multidisciplinary academic programs and are applicable to the private and government sectors.” Funding could also be awarded for educational efforts regarding best practices, external stakeholder outreach, or professional development for faculty, staff, and administrators.

    If passed, HESA would also require the Department of Education to organize a Summit on Sustainability, which would bring together higher education sustainability experts, government representatives, and business leaders to honor outstanding projects and research. For more information on HESA, and to track its progress in Congress, visit the Campaign for Environmental Literacy.