Tool Kit for Justifying Attendance

 

Making the Case to Attend the CA Higher Education Sustainability Conference

Please utilize the talking points and toolkit below to explain the importance of attending the CA Higher Education Sustainability Conference to your supervisor or potential funder.

Why attend?

The CA Higher Education Sustainability Conference brings together all higher education institutions in the state with representation from 21 of the 23 CSU Campuses, 43 Community Colleges, 10 UC campuses, and 16 private universities. The CSU and CCC Chancellor’s Office, UC Office of the President, the utility companies, the UC/CSU/IOU Energy Efficiency Partnership, and the CCC/IOU Energy Efficiency Partnership also take leadership and/or sponsorship roles.

The CA Higher Education Sustainability Conference highlights proven best practices in campus operations, business services, and curriculum from colleagues at peer institutions. All practices presented on at the conference have already been proven effective within a typical campus budget and within the particular regulations and restrictions that CA campuses must work within.

The CA Higher Education Sustainability Conference provides an opportunity to build relationships with campus staff, faculty, and students that are implementing energy efficiency and sustainability measures on their campus every day. Through the regional focus on California campuses, Registrants are ensured that they will build relationships with colleagues that they can continue collaborations with throughout the year. Over 70% of our attendees are staff, faculty, or students from a CA campus.

The conference offers 16 simultaneously run educational workshops throughout the event with over 100 workshop opportunities in total. Topics include:

  • Energy
  • Food Systems
  • Green Building New Construction
  • Green Building Operations, Maintenance, and Renovations
  • Green Industry
  • Healthcare
  • Institutionalizing Sustainability
  • Procurement and Business Services
  • Research and Curriculum
  • Social Equity
  • Student Affairs
  • Student Activism and Leadership
  • Transportation
  • Waste Reduction and Recycling
  • Water

A Sound Financial Decision
Los Angeles Community College District has made every effort to reduce the costs of traveling to this event. Housing options have been negotiated with the University of Southern California and the Biltmore, both of which are a few minutes of public transit and/or a shuttle ride away from the Los Angeles Trade Technical Campus, where the sessions will be held. The location is also ideal for setting up quick inexpensive flights in and out of the conference. Parking will be available for $5/day at Los Angeles Trade Technical Campus , we recommend parking vehicles there and using the inexpensive public transit options to travel to the housing options.

Talking points
In talking with peers, supervisors, and other potential funders about your possible attendance at the conference, we recommend:

  • Explain the value of developing relationships with colleagues at peer institutions
  • Articulate goals and problems that you hope to solve by attending the conference
  • Offer to share what you will learn at the conference with your campus and/or community

Please let us know if additional resources or information would be helpful in making your case to attend the CA Higher Education Sustainability Conference. Katie Maynard, katie.maynard@2010sustconf.org