Andrea Putman, my colleague at Second Nature, and I are in the final stages of completing our book, Boldly Sustainable: Hope and Opportunity for Higher Education in the Age of Climate Change. Sustainability in higher ed is a hot topic right now and several good books have already been published on the topic. The primary focus so far, however, has been on what colleges and universities can contribute to sustainability.

What we're exploring, in contrast, is the impact that sustainability can have on how colleges and universities go about the business of teaching, learning, research, and managing their facilities and finances.

Without getting too deep in the weeds here -- the book will be out by the end of this year -- a number of interesting points become clear when the question is framed this way. I want to share one example from the book, in part because it relates to my earlier discussion of corporate greenwashing and raises some crucial issues about branding and the need for being both bold and authentic. 

A lot of energy has been expended on the mysteries of branding in higher ed. When you clear out all of the underbrush, however, the three most important assets any college or university has to carve out a successful niche in an increasingly competitive market are  place, academic program mix, and approach to teaching and learning.

Aside from the Ivy League institutions and others of that ilk which are gold-plated because of longstanding tradition, status, and prestige, the most effective brands in higher ed figure out how to generate synergies among the more common elements of place, program, and approach. Of course, carrying out this kind of dynamic integration is easier said than done.

One of the advantages of sustainability is that it offers a powerful vehicle for weaving together these three components in new ways, creating some serious brand equity along the way.

To pick just one example, Green Mountain College, a small college in Vermont, has made “Cow Power” the hallmark of its brand identity. In doing so, by using a dash of humor, GMC has taken one of its major weaknesses, its relatively isolated rural location, and turned it into a distinctive strength.

Clearly, far more than the use of manure to generate electricity is involved here. Not only does “Cow Power” resonate with the college’s location in the Green Mountains, it also highlights its very real commitment to reducing its environmental footprint, its innovative interdisciplinary program that blends the liberal arts and professional studies, and its emphasis on providing students with a living laboratory that connects learning inside the classroom with learning outside of it. "Cow Power," in short, is not just a humorous, somewhat self-deprecating slogan, it is a coherent, compelling strategy for sending a very effective message about what sets GMC apart from the hundreds of other small colleges in the U.S.

Leveraging the impressive synergies generated by this strategy, GMC has become of the great turn-around stories in higher education, achieving six consecutive budget surpluses, a 35% increase in student enrollment, the introduction of several very successful online master’s degree programs (including an M.B.A in Sustainable Business), and the completion of the largest capital campaign in the school’s history. Not a bad record!

As with so many things, the key variable is leadership. President John Brennan, who just retired after six years at the helm of GMC, understood the potential of sustainability to transform the college's in the marketplace and he led the charge, becoming the first Vermont president to sign the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. His insistence on getting GMC out front of the curve on this issue sent a persuasive message to the rest of the campus that he wanted everyone on board.

There is little doubt that an institution can make its mark if it commits to a genuine and comprehensive sustainability effort that involves curriculum and research, campus operations, and community outreach. But it needs to be bold, otherwise it won't matter. Half-hearted measure won't work. By taking on one of the greatest challenges of our time—sustainability—and coming up with pragmatic solutions, not only can a college or university dramatically increase its value proposition, it can also make a positive and enduring contribution to the betterment of all.

The lesson for corporations is clear: you need to be bold and authentic. The payoff, if you do, can be huge. If you try to cut corners in implementing a sustainability strategy, however, watch out. Manure can generate a lot of energy, but it can also put out a pretty powerful smell, attracting a lot of unwanted attention.