Second Nature announced today the seven Milestones Pilot Cohort member institutions in the Climate Leadership Network that earned inaugural milestones in its new Climate Action Milestones Program. 

Miami University received the Leadership in Campus Decarbonization (50%) and the Investment in Decarbonization milestones. 

Second Nature, a national nonprofit dedicated to accelerating climate action in and through higher education, announced the Climate Action Milestone Program and Unify for Climate in March. It is designed for the higher education sector to more fully recognize the climate action journey, prioritize decarbonization, and accelerate a broad suite of higher education’s assets towards these aims. 

The seven Milestones Pilot Cohort members earned the inaugural milestones through a pilot that tested the review and verification process ahead of opening applications to all members. Together they earned 16 milestones in seven categories. 

Today, the Climate Action Milestones program opens for the more than 400 Second Nature member institutions. The program provides a way for higher education institutions to demonstrate progress on climate action with raised ambition and lower barriers to creating impactful climate solutions, guide progress, and recognize achievement. 

“These seven institutions, our pilot cohort, put their work forward, it was reviewed against rigorously developed standards, and it met them. Our members now have a credible way to show raised ambition, using work they've already done,” Tim Carter, president of Second Nature, said. 

“They achieved this in a year when the sector had lots of reasons to do less on climate action. Many institutions are facing funding pressure, enrollment pressure, and political pressure. The easy move was to scale back, but these institutions used the opportunity to go further, and we commend them for that,” he said.

The milestones complement Second Nature's Climate Leadership Commitments, the signed presidential commitments that have anchored the Climate Leadership Network for more than two decades. Miami signed the Presidents’ Climate Leadership Commitments - Climate Commitment in 2020 and has committed to carbon neutrality on its Oxford campus by 2040. 

“We often think that climate action is only defined as reductions in carbon emissions. It is that, but the Climate Action Milestones program recognizes actions that are much more comprehensive than just mitigation. It’s an important way for us to widen the opportunity for leadership to those within higher education who truly are making an impact," Carter said. 

Next Generation Milestones for Higher Education 

Second Nature invites the higher education sector into a new era of climate action with Unify for Climate, a new guidance and a milestones program built for institutions of every type, from community colleges to research universities. 

“Unify for Climate is our call to action for higher education to align around climate solutions with measurable societal impact. Climate Action Milestones are how that call becomes actionable,” Carter said.

 “Every institution that earns a milestone strengthens the case that higher education is raising its climate ambition, responding to pressure with progress,” Carter said. 

Campus climate leaders can apply directly, using institutional data they already maintain, across 14 categories ranging from investment in decarbonization, leadership in indirect emissions, to education integration, inclusive governance, community collaboration, and more.

Investment in Decarbonization Award

Milestone description summary: To earn this milestone, an institution must demonstrate attribution of institutional investment to a decarbonization activity or activities that will decrease source emissions. The attribution of funds should be at least multi-year or otherwise demonstrate an enduring commitment to decarbonization. This milestone aims to recognize tangible and innovative ways that institutions are encouraging climate positive financial decisions to prioritize decarbonization, particularly within resource limited contexts. 

Miami’s application was noted for impressive investments and installation of geothermal and solar. “The funding mechanisms to combine utilities, campus services, a donation, and potential IRS tax incentive (for the Sharon and Graham Mitchell Sustainability Park and Solar Fields) seems like something other campuses would benefit from hearing about,” the reviewers said. 

Miami’s Sharon and Graham Mitchell Sustainability Park and Solar Fields — dedicated in April — was made possible by a $5 million gift gift from Graham '73 and Sharon Janosik Mitchell ’73, longtime supporters of Miami and of sustainability. The park features two solar arrays — Western Solar North and South — with more than 3,300 ground mount solar panels that will produce around 2,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity annually. The Western Solar North array sits on top of Miami’s Western Geothermal Well field. Completed in 2014, the wellfield consists of 690 geothermal wells, each 600 feet deep. 

Miami University is a signatory of Second Nature’s President’s Climate Leadership Commitment and is committed to carbon neutrality on its Oxford campus by 2040 (Miami 2040 Climate Action Plan). Miami is decarbonizing its campus through energy systems transformations, including geothermal exchange and solar energy, and has achieved a 50% reduction in utility-based carbon emissions since 2008. Miami’s 36 LEED Silver-and Gold certified buildings account for 36% of the gross square footage of buildings on the Oxford campus. Miami received its third AASHE STARS (3.0) Gold rating in summer 2025 in recognition of sustainability achievements and is named on the Princeton Review’s 2026 Guide to Green Schools. For more information, visit MiamiOH.edu/Sustainability.