Four years after Al Gore collected his Academy Award for An Inconvenient Truth, North American Colleges and Universities are still struggling to articulate what they plan to do to make their campuses more sustainable. The findings have been gathered from a survey fielded by Kyoto Publishing for their Climate Neutral Campus series. According to Kyoto Publishing CEO Nick Smith, more than half of universities and colleges are still educating themselves on what can be done, and close to 20% of respondents were keen to learn more about how they can finance sustainable development.

The Climate Neutral Campus Report is a collection of white papers, case studies, and interviews that address how the higher education sector is tackling the climate crisis. Originally developed in response to the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) - a commitment signed by nearly 650 college and university presidents - the Report, which is available in printed form and online at www.climateneutralcampus.com, includes bold ideas on topics ranging from the re-orientation of student education to the re-design of campus operations, from the policy reforms that will enable colleges and universities to switch to renewable energy, to the emerging competition for carbon reduction in college sports.

"Progress is being made - dozens of Colleges and Universities are integrating sustainability education in their curriculum to match the demand from corporations, as well as graduate and post-graduate students" said Nick Smith "But when it comes to reducing ghg's on campus, the majority of educational institutions are lagging behind. They are either a) still at a stage where they are articulating their commitment or b) still working out their plans".

"This study offers us invaluable insight on Educational Institutions" adds Nick Smith "where they are in the decision making process, and where they're planning to invest their sustainability dollars. Our job is to understand our audience and help develop content that can be put to good use".

Additional headline findings include:

- When asked to identify the key factors driving investment in more sustainable solutions, 27% of respondents said 'A desire to do the right thing' followed closely by 25% of respondents who said 'Save money'.
- When asked to identify which channels they looked at to inform their sustainable purchasing decisions 16% of respondents said 'Whitepapers' and 16% said 'Publications'.
- 74% of respondents confirmed their educational institutions are planning on investing in technologies and services to reduce greenhouse emissions in the next six months.

The 2010 Climate Neutral Campus Report promises to build on the success of the 2009 report and feature well-known leaders in higher education, business, sustainability, and policy advocacy. Last year's study featured - amongst others - Jacqueline Johnson, Chancellor of the University of Minnesota, Morris, who writes about her institution's use of renewable, sustainable, and local resources that will enable the campus to achieve carbon neutrality by 2010; Doug Gatlin, Vice President for Market Development of the US Green Building Council, who presents A Holistic Approach to Green Building; and industry icon and respected author Hunter Lovins, Esq., Natural Capitalism, Inc.

About Kyoto Publishing
Kyoto Publishing partners with respected government and non-government agencies, organizations, consultants, analysts, academics, business leaders, and solution providers to create thought leadership initiatives, delivering diverse, thought-provoking perspective on the topic of sustainability for executive leaders. For more information, visit www.climateneutralcampus.com.

If you'd like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Nick Smith, please call Mike Rodger at 604.688.6221 or e-mail Mike at @kyotopublishing.com

Kyoto Publishing

Kyoto Publishing

Kyoto Publishing partners with respected government and non-government agencies, organizations, consultants, analysts, academics, business leaders, and solution providers to create thought leadership reports that deliver a diverse, and thought provoking perspective on the topic of sustainability.

Currently we produce thought leadership initiatives for three target audiences:

Fortune 1000 C-level Executives - The Sustainable Enterprise Report; Turning Awareness into Action

Higher Education Leadership - The Climate Neutral Campus Report

Federal Agencies - Government by Example

Custom Media

Kyoto Publishing provides custom media solution for entities related to sustainability and climate change. This enable them to leverage our expertise in editorial, design, digital media, sales, environmentally friendly production and distribution.

We are committed to increasing social, economic, and environmental understanding while becoming a profitable and competitive company. Our commitment to conduct operations in an environmentally responsible manner extends to our business principles, our direct and indirect interaction with the environment, our interactions with vendors and stakeholders, and our treatment of our employees.

If you would like to participate in any of our thought leadership initiatives or would like to discuss how we could help you, please call us at 604.688.6221

U.S. Office
2134 Pine Street,
San Francisco, CA 94114

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