Dickinson College
PRE-2: Points of Distinction

Dickinson College attained carbon neutrality in 2020, reaching a goal that we set and have worked toward since 2007. Dickinson is one of the first 10 colleges in the nation to achieve zero net emissions of greenhouse gases and has maintained its carbon neutral status since 2020.

We reduced emissions of greenhouse gases by increasing energy efficiency of our campus, switching from high-carbon energy sources to low- and zero-carbon energy sources, and promoting behavior changes. High-impact climate actions at Dickinson include transitioning to nearly 100% LED lighting, improving the efficiency of our central energy plant and energy intensive buildings, purchasing high-efficiency equipment when older equipment is retired, incorporating energy-efficient design when renovating existing buildings and constructing new buildings (including our LEED Platinum High Street Residence Hall) and sourcing electricity generated with renewable energy, including development of a 3-megawatt solar field at Dickinson Park that generates 30% or more of our annual electricity consumption. Emissions that have not been eliminated are mitigated by purchases of certified carbon offsets that finance emission reductions by other entities and reduce Dickinson’s net emissions below zero.

In 2022, Dickinson joined the Second Nature Climate Resilience Commitment and in doing so became one of approximately 100 colleges to join both the carbon neutrality and climate resilience commitments. The college is currently working on an assessment of our climate resilience preparedness and will be developing a climate action plan that addresses both mitigation and resilience initiatives.

In addition to our climate commitments, Dickinson is a leader in climate change education, raising awareness of climate change and promoting action on climate change. We engage our students in research with local governments in south-central Pennsylvania to inventory greenhouse gas emissions, assess climate risks and resilience in our region, and evaluate actions for mitigating emissions and building resilience to climate change. Our students have presented their work in public meetings and workshops and their work helped catalyze adoption of local climate action plans by the Borough of Carlisle and by Cumberland County. Dickinson received a major grant from NASA's Innovations in Climate Education program Cooling the Liberal Arts, a campaign to integrate climate change across the liberal arts curriculum. Over 180 educators from more than 60 colleges and universities participated in workshops led by Dickinson faculty. Dickinson students, faculty and staff are partnering with local government agencies and community organizations in Carlisle and Cumberland County to inventory greenhouse gas emissions and develop and implement local climate action plans.

Dickinson also advocates for climate action at state, national and international levels. We have advocated for Pennsylvania to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and to price carbon emissions. We are signatories of the We Are Still In and We Are All In pledges, Second Nature’s Carbon Commitment, the United Nations Higher Education Sustainability Initiative and the Talloires Declaration, and we are members of the U.S. chapter of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Dickinson is a registered observer of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and has sent delegations of students and faculty to the annual Conference of the Parties to conduct research and advocate for international action on climate change.

All Dickinson students must complete a Sustainability Investigations (sustainability-focused) or Sustainability Connections (sustainability-related) course to fulfill our graduation requirements. Many exceed the requirement. In 2024, 88% of graduating seniors completed two or more sustainability courses during their four years of studies at Dickinson, 54% completed four or more and 23% completed six or more.

Dickinson’s Sustainability Across the Curriculum initiative, led by our Center for Sustainability Education, has infused sustainability issues, content and solutions into 120+ courses that are offered by about 38 of our 42 academic programs, spanning the sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities. The Center has supported development of Dickinson’s sustainability curriculum through workshops, study groups, consultations, class visits and over $675,000 in grants to Dickinson faculty since 2008 to revise existing courses, create new courses and engage in sustainability research with students.

Dickinson also helps other colleges and universities to integrate sustainability across their curricula. Dickinson, designated as an AASHE regional Center for Sustainability Across the Curriculum, welcomes faculty members from other institutions to participate in its annual Valley & Ridge faculty workshop and study group. Additionally, Dickinson has advised other colleges on this strategy and helped faculty connect between institutions.

Participants in the Valley & Ridge workshop work collaboratively to develop innovative content and high-impact pedagogies for teaching sustainability in courses at their home campuses. In addition, Dickinson has provided training to educators from other institutions for sustainability education through Cooling the Curriculum workshops and workshops and webinars offered with AASHE, the Pennsylvania Environmental Resources Consortium, the Forum on Education Abroad and other organizations. Over 280 educators from more than 70 colleges and universities have participated in Dickinson’s faculty development programs for sustainability education.

Sustainability education in the formal curriculum is supplemented at Dickinson by rich co-curricular programs that engage students in sustainable solutions on campus and in the Carlisle community. Examples include growing sustainable, organic food at the Dickinson Farm; working with community associations to protect watersheds across the region; creating a bicycle-friendly campus with the Handlebar bicycle co-op; beekeeping with the Hive co-op; repurposing used clothing with the Dickinson Free xChange; promoting sustainable behaviors through competition; coordinating regional Campus EcoChallenges; updating Dickinson’s climate action plan; and working with ICLEI, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Borough of Carlisle and Cumberland County to assist the Borough and County to create community climate action and resilience plans.

Dickinson’s Sam Rose and Julie Walters Prize for Global Environmental Activism, an annual $100,000 prize established in 2012, is given to individuals and organizations to celebrate and raise up their work protecting the planet, its resources and people. The prize brings inspiring environmental leaders and activists to campus to meet with and work with Dickinson students, helping our students gain skills for making positive change in their communities. Tara Houska, the 2023 recipient of the Rose-Walters Prize, is a citizen of the Couchiching First Nation, water defender, land defender, and Indigenous rights activist. She came to Dickinson for a 10-day residency in October 2023, meeting with students one-on-one and with groups of student leaders, leading a workshop on organizing and activism skills, visiting classes, giving a public talk that was uplifting and challenging, and participating in opening ceremonies of Dickinson’s Center for the Futures of Native Peoples.

In 2022, the prize was awarded to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations body that is charged with assessing knowledge of climate change science, risks, and solutions and winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Leaders and authors of the IPCC’s most recent reports came to Dickinson to participate in a 3-day symposium, Science-Based Choices for Climate Action: Insights from the IPCC 6th Assessment Report. The symposium featured 50 speakers and moderators, affording numerous opportunities for Dickinson students to meet and learn from some of the world’s foremost experts on climate change. Over 1,600 people attended the symposium in-person, and over 1,700 people attended virtually via our YouTube livestream.

Varshini Prakash, the executive director and co-founder of the Sunrise Movement, was our 2021 Rose-Walters Prize winner. During her residency, Prakash met with Dickinson’s sustainability interns, the Baird Sustainability Fellows, the “Tree Kids” (residents of Dickinson’s Center for Sustainability Living), and other student groups to share her experiences organizing climate action on a college campus and growing it into a national movement. She also visited classes, gave an inspiring public lecture, and led a workshop on environmental activism.

Other past winners of the prize include Armond Cohen of the Clean Air Task Force, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Our Children’s Trust, Brett Jenks of Rare, actor and activist Mark Ruffalo, and authors Elizabeth Kolbert and Bill McKibben.