The ISCN promotes continuous improvement through learning and innovation on all aspects of sustainability on campus. Key goals in this respect are summarized in the ISCN-GULF Sustainable Campus Charter, which is complemented by a detailed Charter Report Guidelines document. The Charter was developed to support universities in setting targets and reporting on sustainable campus development goals and performance.
Organizations endorsing the ISCN-GULF Sustainable Campus Charter (referred to as signatories) commit to setting their own concrete targets against three shared Charter principles, and to report transparently and regularly on their progress against those targets.
Development and endorsement of the Charter was shared between the ISCN and GULF, the Global Universities Leaders Forum convened by the World Economic Forum (WEF). GULF currently consists of 25 heads of leading universities from 9 different countries (for more information, visit the GULF website). At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2010, the Charter was presented to the public for the first time, and was opened for endorsement by interested organizations. Current signatories of the ISCN-GULF Sustainable Campus Charter include premier institutions from across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
Requirements, benefits, and process
The ISCN has established the following requirements to ensure the full strategic commitment of organizations that want to support the ISCN-GULF Charter:
- The Charter must be signed by the president, vice-chancellor, rector, or CEO of the institution.
- A commitment to produce short Charter Reports annually to facilitate knowledge-exchange and transparency among the ISCN community and with the broader public
- Pay an annual Charter membership fee of Euro 2,000 (with discounts for smaller universities and those in developing countries available, and special rates applicable to corporate members) that contributes to the operational costs of the ISCN-Secretariat and its ISCN-GULF Charter program
Signatory status entitles endorsing organizations to benefits including:
- Recognition as a leader in campus sustainability through listing as a Charter signatory on the ISCN website
- Distribution of your institution's Charter reports to their peers via this website
- Featured internationally in annual GULF reports on Charter progress made available at the World Economic Forum
- Participation in cutting-edge campus sustainability research through working groups
- Opportunities to plan and orchestrate sessions of ISCN conferences and symposia
For additional information, please refer to the ISCN Brochure.
Enrollment Process
To join, please complete and return the following to the ISCN Secretariat (secretariat@isc-network.org):
- ISCN Membership Application
- Scanned ISCN-GULF Sustainable Campus Charter signed by the president, vice-chancellor, rector, or CEO of the institution
- The official institution logo
A member of the Secretariat will respond to you promptly to confirm receipt of these materials and finalize the enrollment process.
Should you have any questions during the enrollment process, please contact the Secretariat.
