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The CANIE Accord
Signatory Listing
AIFS Abroad

AIFS Abroad

Signatory Date: May 12, 2022

Region: CT, United States of America, 06905

Address: 1 High Ridge Park, Stamford

commitments

Basic: 27/32

Better: 28/32

Best: 2/6

commitments

Basic: 27/32

Better: 28/32

Best: 2/6

General Information

Organization Type: Service Provider

Organization/Department URL: www.aifsabroad.com

Link to Organizational Sustainability Plan: https://www.aifsabroad.com/green/

CANIE Accord Commitments

Leadership and Influencing - 12/14

Basic - 7/7

Commit to greater levels of collaboration with other stakeholders in international education to forge a coordinated approach to accelerate climate action;

Advocate for accelerated climate action within Signatory’s own organisation and with other stakeholders within their sphere of influence;

Place climate action at the center of organisational international education strategy;

Embed climate action in organizational missions and strategies, policies and frameworks including official strategic documents;

Signatories should minimize negative financial impacts of their climate action plans on their partners;

Publish a climate action plan within 12 months of signing this Accord; and

Promote and commemorate Signatory’s commitment to this Accord.

Better - 3/3

Collaborate to design policy options to incentivise and drive climate conscious practices across the sector. For example, through support or funding for think tanks, research, and other new or existing initiatives;

Work with partners to develop programming to increase resilience to the effects of climate change in host communities;

Identify policy options within Signatory’s scope of influence to incentivise and drive inclusive climate action across the sector.

Best - 2/4

Investigate that banking, superannuation and other financial services do not fund fossil fuel industries and advocate for, or implement, change in provider if needed;

Advocate for banking, superannuation and other financial services to fund nature-based solutions and renewable energy;

Encourage regulators and accreditation bodies to include climate action criteria in their standards; and

Leverage Signatory’s influence to pressure major airlines and hotel chains to reduce their footprint.

Emissions Accounting and Reduction - 10/15

Basic - 7/9

Establish a baseline year to represent peak emissions and serve as a reference point for GHG reduction progress;

Set context-appropriate decarbonization targets and timelines. Targets should represent a progression beyond the Signatory’s baseline year and reflect its highest possible ambition and shortest possible time frame;

Determine context-appropriate methods of measuring GHG emissions;

Account for emissions from international education activities inclusive of operations; international student academic-related travel; global education participant academic-related travel; faculty academic, research, and business travel; researchers’ project-related travel; staff and administrators’ travel, and student personal travel during their academic program.

Establish immediate, mid-term, and long-range limits on verified carbon credit projects. Verified carbon credit project limits should be defined as percentages of baseline year emissions;

Commit to not using carbon credit projects as a substitute for decarbonization measures nor as justification for delaying emissions reductions;

Follow up on carbon credit projects to ensure they deliver;

Regularly revise carbon credit strategy as best practices evolve; and

Signatories that offer conferences and other events should account for GHG emissions from in-person attendees.

Better - 3/5

Take immediate and rapid action to reduce GHG emissions by no less than 25% below the baseline year within one year after signing;

Commit to a year-over-year decrease in GHG emission of no less than 25% until 2030;

Differentiate between, and account for, emissions in scopes 1, 2, and 3 in GHG reporting to align with globally accepted standards and to allow for comparison across industries;

Account for likely differences in personal energy consumption in the host location compared to energy consumption in the home location for business and academic travellers; and

Include climate impact measures in program approvals and assessments

Travel - 8/12

Basic - 2/4

Replace physical meetings with online ones when possible and logical;

Adjust, or introduce, climate conscious travel policies to incentivise lower carbon means of travel and reduce emissions-intensive business and academic travel;

When travelling by air is deemed necessary for international education business purposes, fly economy class or the least carbon-intensive mode;

Signatories that deliver conferences and other events should offer virtual participation options.

Better - 6/7

Add typical personal energy consumption of study destinations and carbon intensity of available transport modes to program approval and review criteria;

Arrange student travel to ensure lowest emissions;

Invest in technology to improve the virtual exchange and other online international experiences;

Where established learning outcomes allow, add or expand low-carbon global education opportunities including virtual exchanges, transnational education, local global engagement, or internationalization at home opportunities.

Where short-term international program learning outcomes are achievable without long-haul flights, replace them with virtual, local, or regional alternatives;

Locate staff offshore and adjust business models to reduce the need for air travel;

Signatories that deliver conferences and other events should coordinate to collaboratively offer combined events (e.g. per country or region) to consolidate attendee travel.

Facilities, Operations, and Procurement - 15/16

Basic - 7/7

Commit to collaborating with organizational sustainability unit(s);

Resource international education climate action commitments through budget and staffing allocation;

Ensure climate action is a responsibility in at least one person’s position description;

Collaborate globally on data collection and surveys relating to climate action in international education;

Implement flexible and equitable work from home options;

Replace printing and shipping marketing materials with digital marketing technologies; and

Encourage international education stakeholders to become Signatories to the CANIE Accord.

Better - 8/9

Conduct a risk-mapping exercise to determine the direct social, economic, and environmental impacts of climate change on key international education markets and destinations;

Introduce human resources incentives and rewards to encourage decarbonization including incentivized low-carbon travel to and from work;

Invest to support recruitment agents to develop lower carbon operating models;

Include climate action criteria in the contract and procurement processes to consider suppliers’ climate strategies;

Invest in emission reduction projects with partners;

Establish regular virtual meetings with partners to share and implement best practices in climate action in international education;

Replace large in-person meetings with virtual alternatives;

Invest in technology to improve the virtual conference and meeting experience; and

When catering, use plant-based, locally sourced ingredients and eliminate single use plastics. Opt for compostable or other biodegradable alternatives.

Climate Education - 12/13

Basic - 4/5

Insert climate literacy training modules into programming for all globally mobile students;

Support the development and dissemination of climate literacy professional training programs;

Encourage and support personnel to take advantage of climate action events resources provided by CANIE and other organizations; and

Make proprietary resources (e.g. articles, white papers and conference sessions) freely available to all in the sector when they pertain to climate action in international education; and

Include climate action as a theme at conferences and events.

Better - 8/8

Leverage Signatory’s influence to insert climate literacy modules into all undergraduate orientation packs;

Leverage Signatory’s influence to advocate for, and support, making climate literacy a graduate attribute;

Create structured opportunities for students to share climate action stories with peers;

Include a climate action stream within scholarship programs and prioritise sustainability-related courses within scholarship funds;

Commission and support research, training, and the development of climate action materials for international education practitioners,

Commission and support research and data collection on the intersections of climate change, global education, and social justice;

Ensure that commissioned research and resources on climate action is open access; and

Signatories that are associations or membership organizations should establish or maintain climate action expert communities.

Signatory Listing

About

AIFS Abroad is a leading provider of cultural exchange and international education programs since 1964 with over 1.5 million students have traveled abroad on AIFS programs. With more than 50 years of experience, we have the resources and experience to provide what our students want and need in an international exchange and education program, and to safeguard their welfare around the globe.

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