CANIE - CANIE

Organization Type: Service Provider

Organization/Department URL: https://www.qs.com/

Basic - 3/7

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.

Emissions Accounting and Reduction - 2/15

Basic - 2/9

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.

Travel - 3/12

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 - 1/7

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 - 6/16

Basic - 4/7

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 - 2/9

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 - 3/13

Basic - 3/5

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.

QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd

General Information

CANIE Accord Commitments