Inviting You to Participate in Drexel’s Climate Action Plan
October 24, 2023
Summary: This message provides an update on the current status of the Climate Action Plan process and invites you to participate by:
- Answering a series of poll questions over the coming months
- Joining a Climate Action Plan conversation, including the first scheduled for early November
- Joining one of the Climate Action Plan Task Force’s six subcommittees; nominations are now open
Dear Students and Colleagues,
Starting this fall term, there are new opportunities for members of the University community to participate in the development of Drexel’s Climate Action Plan, as we shift into the next phase of this crucially important work. The Climate Action Plan will serve as our institution’s roadmap to achieving ambitious greenhouse gas reductions and will strengthen the work that students, faculty and professional staff are already doing in this realm. In alignment with the Drexel 2030 Strategic Plan, the Climate Action Plan will also buttress the University’s ability to thrive in the changing landscape of higher education as a leader, innovator and problem-solver tackling one of society’s most pressing challenges — climate change.
The recommendations that make up the plan will be stronger when they are informed by broad participation and careful deliberation. Please consider participating through one of the avenues described below.
Progress to Date
During the 2023 winter term, the process co-chairs convened to develop a communication plan and to identify and recruit members of the Climate Action Plan’s Task Force. The Task Force worked during the spring and summer terms to set up the key parameters for the process, including which topic-specific subcommittees would be needed to generate detailed plan recommendations and the kinds of issues they would address; the core principles the plan will affirm; and a framework for greenhouse gas reductions.
Opportunities to Participate
During this term, Climate Action Plan activity is ramping up with three new opportunities for providing feedback and input to the plan.
- Respond to Community Poll Questions: As a way of soliciting opinions and priorities across the Drexel community, we will be sharing a series of poll questions through channels like Drexel Now, the Climate & Sustainability website, the Climate & Sustainability email list, and Climate & Sustainability social media that will roll out one at a time, in a format that is easy to answer in a minute or less. The first question is up now: What do you think is the most important action Drexel could take to address climate change?
- Participate in a Scheduled Climate Action Plan Conversation: These conversations will dig a little deeper into the climate priorities of the Drexel campus community, providing another way for you to both hear about what is happening with the Climate Action Plan and speak directly with the process leadership, as well as committee members developing recommendations for the plan. For our first conversation, we are offering two different dates, both on Zoom, and will use the time to reach a better understanding of how the Drexel community thinks about the climate crisis and the role of higher education in addressing it.
- Join a Climate Action Plan Subcommittee: The Climate Action Plan Task Force has six subcommittees:
- Academics and Research
- Buildings and Energy
- Campus Infrastructure
- Business Practices
- Institutional Culture
- Civic Engagement and Community Impact
We anticipate that these subcommittees will use the academic year 2023-2024 to deliberate and develop their recommendations, with initial subcommittee meetings convening during this term. We welcome students, faculty, professional staff, alumni and campus neighbors to participate. Subcommittee members should be prepared to commit consistently to the work, but specific expertise in a certain area is not required. Please use the subcommittee self-nomination form to indicate your interest. We will be aiming to contact self-nominated committee members starting the week of November 6, but the form will remain open through the academic year for rolling nominations.
We hope you will consider being a part of the Climate Action Plan process in a way that fits your availability; your contribution will help shape the plan as well as Drexel’s future as a climate problem-solver. Learn more about the Climate Action Plan on the Climate & Sustainability website, and direct all questions to climateactionplan@drexel.edu.
Sincerely,
Julie Ann Jones
Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer
Chair of the Climate Action Plan Committee
Co-Chairs
Alan Greenberger, Vice President for Real Estate and Facilities
Esta Jacob ’24, Finance and Legal Studies
Avani Kavathekar ’25, Environmental Engineering, Peace Engineering
Alison Kenner, Associate Professor of Politics, Center for Science, Technology & Society
Franco Montalto, Professor of Environmental Engineering
Mathy Stanislaus, Vice Provost and Executive Director, The Environmental Collaboratory