Iain's Blog: A Harvard Shot in the Arm for University Sustainability Leadership

3rd November 2015

Post by Iain Patton, EAUC CEO:

It's hard to express my recent delight at spending four uninterrupted and very stimulating days in the refined space of Harvard University's Faculty Club!

Thanks to a unique open collaboration between Leith Sharp, the Harvard T.H.Chan School of Public Health and the US Green Building Council, I was on Harvard's pioneering Executive Education for Sustainability Leadership Programme.

For some time the EAUC has been working with sector and industry leaders to find the language and leadership models dedicated to high-impact sustainability leadership which is dedicated to driving sustainability into the core mission and business of a college or university. Our recent Governance Guide on building organisational resilience had showed us and our partners the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education and the Committee for University Chairs - CUC, that sustainability and good governance go hand in hand. But now we need to reposition sustainability as a top table, leadership issue.

The EAUC successfully trialled a version of the Programme in March at a one-day Leadership Summit at our conference in Leeds.  This led to five sector leaders and myself investing time to make the journey to Harvard for the full (and very intense!) multi sector programme. It was fantastic!

What's next is that we want to find a way of bringing Harvard to the UK. Course Director Leith Sharp is up for it, the five UK Harvard alumni are up for it and the EAUC is certainly up for it.  Watch this space as we find the right industry partner to help us give a real shot in the arm for university and college sustainability leadership.