On October 13, 2023, Emory University completed the next steps in honoring its climate commitments made two years ago on this day. After more than a year of stakeholder engagement and community input, Emory posted its 2023 Climate Action Plan for public viewing. As described in the CAP itself, Emory has completed several milestones described by these two commitments to get to this point, including:
Second Nature Climate Leadership Network |
UN Race To Zero |
Create joint campus community task force | |
Complete GHG Inventory | |
Complete campus-community resilience assessment | |
Submit annual evaluation of progress |
|
Revise CAP no less than once every five years |
Take immediate action towards achieving net zero |
The CAP development process was the most inclusive in Emory’s history and led to the development of a variety of supplemental products addressing equity and justice, climate change and mental health, art and hope and more. The Office of Sustainability Initiatives will share more on these over the coming months.
So What’s Next?
When the plan was released for public comment this September, the single most common question was “what about implementation?” Following the adoption of the CAP, OSI is preparing proposals for implementation as part of the upcoming renewal of Emory’s Sustainability Vision. This third Vision (see our current Vision here) will address areas beyond climate, and create additional stakeholder engagement and community feedback opportunities, as well as begin the process of operationalizing the Climate Action Plan. In the meantime, if you didn’t have a chance to offer feedback on the plan while it was being drafted, you still have time to share your thoughts!