Climate Commitment & Technical Reports Pitzer’s Definition of Sustainability Adopted by vote of College Council, May 2016 American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) In 2007, Pitzer signed an agreement with the ACUPCC to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The agreement calls for participating institutions to develop and implement plans to become climate neutral. Implementation Profile Climate Action Plan Reporting Platform GHG Reports 2015 2014 2012 2011 2008 Progress Reports 2016 2017 2018 Pitzer College’s Fossil Fuel Divestment Climate Action Model Divests virtually all College endowment investments in fossil fuel stocks by December 31, 2014 Develops an environmental, social and governance policy to guide endowment investment decisions Creates the Pitzer Sustainability Fund within the endowment to make environmentally responsible investments Targets a 25 percent reduction of the College’s carbon footprint from current levels by the end of 2016 Establishes a Campus Sustainability Taskforce to bolster on-campus measures to promote sustainability Annual Reports to Pitzer College Board of Trustees 2016 2017 2018 Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. 2015 STARS report Gold Rating We Are Still In Coalition On December 19, 2016, President Oliver signed onto a letter developed by Second Nature and a diverse group of Higher Education Institutions that was sent to the new Congressional delegation and incoming Presidential transition team on January 17, 2017. This letter urged them to accelerate progress towards a clean energy future. The full text of that letter can be seen here. In light of President Trump’s decision to leave the Paris Agreement, President Oliver joined a grand total of 1,219 governors, mayors, businesses, investors, and colleges and universities from across the U.S., representing the broadest cross section of the American economy yet assembled in pursuit of climate action, today in declaring their intent to continue to ensure the U.S. remains a global leader in reducing carbon emissions. Read the full letter and learn more about the We Are Still In Coalition here. Renewable Energy Certificates In order to meet the goal of achieving a 25% reduction in emissions by the end of 2016 (as outlined in the Divestment Climate Action Model), Pitzer has contracted with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation to purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs) to match nearly all of the College’s electricity usage during the 2016 and 2017 fiscal years. These RECs are Green-e Energy certified and each REC represents the environmental benefits of 1-megawatt hour of renewable electricity generated and delivered to the power grid. For more information about RECs, visit this website or watch this short video. FY 2017 FY 2016
