If your president, chancellor or provost is not already interested in signing the Talloires Declaration, the following action steps are recommended:
1. If your institution already has a Sustainability or Environmental Committee, propose that it pursue this goal. If not, you might organize your own Talloires Declaration (TD) committee that includes representatives from as many campus constituencies as possible. In either case, develop a strategy to get the president to sign. Committee members, for example, can work with key administrators other than the president to bring support to the effort. Eventually committee members should meet with the president to present their argument for signing. If the president is not already motivated to sign, he or she will need to see a critical mass of support for signing the TD.
2. Students can also organize a petition drive urging the president to sign. Student leadership is one of the most powerful levers for change. (When arguing for becoming a signatory, it is important to make a connection between the existing mission of your institution and the values and actions outlined in the TD.)
NOTE: Once your president has agreed to sign the Talloires Declaration, the process of becoming an official signatory institution is simple. All we need from you is a signed copy of the Signatory Form. We will then add your institution to the official list. Send the signed form to: ULSF, 45 Forty Acres Dr. Wayland, MA, 01778, USA, OR email a PDF of the form to Wynn Calder (find email address at bottom of form).
We recommend that you organize a public event for the signing of the Talloires Declaration, especially because it lets the campus community know that there is a formal institutional commitment to sustainability. It is always helpful to have the event publicized online and in a campus newsletter and/or press release.