APSCC announced its strategic partnership with ULSF — the Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future — becoming India's champion for the Talloires Declaration, a 10-point action plan for sustainability in higher education signed by more than 400 university presidents worldwide.
In July 2015, APSCC took a defining step in its mission to embed sustainability across India's campuses and communities by forging a strategic partnership with ULSF, the Secretariat for the Talloires Declaration. The alliance positions APSCC as India's principal advocate for a framework that has, since 1990, guided universities around the world in weaving environmental literacy and stewardship into the very fabric of higher education.
What is the Talloires Declaration?
Drafted in 1990 in Talloires, France, the Talloires Declaration was the first official statement made by university leaders committing their institutions to environmental sustainability. Its 10-point action plan sets out a shared agenda for incorporating sustainability and environmental literacy into teaching, research, operations, and community outreach. Today it has been signed by more than 400 college and university presidents and chancellors across over 40 countries — making it one of the most widely endorsed commitments in the global higher-education movement for sustainability.
"A university that commits to the Talloires Declaration commits to shaping graduates — and a society — that understand and act on the challenge of sustainability."
APSCC's role in India
As ULSF's strategic partner, APSCC assumes responsibility for carrying the Declaration's vision forward within India. That mandate spans four core areas of work:
- Promoting the Declaration — encouraging Indian universities and colleges to become signatories and embrace its principles.
- Facilitating capacity building — equipping institutions with the knowledge and tools to translate commitment into action.
- Fostering collaborations — connecting campuses, communities, and partners around shared sustainability goals.
- Advocating for policy — championing frameworks that support sustainability in higher education at institutional and national levels.
Twelve recommendations for action
To help institutions move from pledge to practice, ULSF sets out twelve recommendations that APSCC will help embed across Indian campuses. These include advancing interdisciplinary research on sustainability challenges, deepening faculty engagement, and establishing multidisciplinary centres of excellence. They also call for partnerships with primary and secondary schools to build environmental awareness early, alongside sustained efforts to raise environmental consciousness across the wider campus community.
Advancing the Global Goals
The partnership directly supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals — most notably SDG 4 (Quality Education), by embedding environmental literacy into higher learning, and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), by strengthening the cross-institutional collaboration on which lasting change depends.
Association for Promoting Sustainability in Campuses & Communities (APSCC) in partnership with ULSF — Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future, Secretariat for the Talloires Declaration. Announced July 2015.