A Comparative Study of Climate Action Plans in Liberal Arts Colleges: Planning Processes, Climate Action Strategies, and Implementation Techniques

Actors around the country are taking action to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Municipalities and higher education institutions are part of this movement. Starting in the early 2000s, they began developing climate action plans (CAPs) to address climate change and its impacts, often focusing on emissions reductions in order to reach net zero carbon emissions. While a plethora of literature exists about CAPs in municipalities, there is little research about CAPs in higher education institutions. This study provides insight into CAPs in liberal arts colleges around the United States with a comparative analysis of 30 CAPs. Specifically, we researched CAP contents and the planning processes that formed the CAPs. This study finds that CAPs vary greatly in depth, length, organization, strategies included, formation processes, and implementation progress. Furthermore, CAP content and detail, while previously thought to be crucial to the effectiveness of a CAP, were generally not as important for creating an effectively implemented CAP as broad stakeholder involvement, administrative support, and financing strategies. Therefore, this study finds that, in general, CAPs should serve as launching points for action, goals, and support for climate action in institutions, but do not need to be strictly adhered to in order to make progress