The Center for Sustainability and Division of Mission and Ministry are embarking on a year-long strategic planning process to develop a Sustainability Action Plan that takes us through 2030, inspired by the Pope's encyclical Laudato Si’. This initiative brings stakeholders from across campus together to define shared goals, draft a strategy for meeting them, and implement them over time. It will deepen our integration of SCU's mission and amplify the campus by connecting with more than 130 other universities worldwide.
Alert icon June 2023 Update: The fourth and final Working Group meetings were held in May. In these meetings, working groups reflected on feedback from the Summit*, tied up loose ends, and offered any final refinement of draft goals and strategies. There will be three meetings over the summer in which subject-matter experts in each of the working group areas will finalize the drafted strategies, identify strategies that can be implemented soon and those that require discussion, and outline an “executive summary” for SCU senior leadership. This fall, campus experts in the five Working Group areas will discuss how and when this plan will be integrated into SCU’s practices. *Read the Summit Executive Summary (must be signed into SCU email)
FAQs
In 2015, Pope Francis released his momentous encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home, as a call to the world to focus on caring for the natural environment and all people, as well as broader questions about the relationship between God, humans, and the Earth.
Today, SCU is joining over 130 founding universities worldwide that have committed to Pope Francis’ 7-Year Journey Towards Integral Ecology. These universities, including SCU, have committed to creating seven-year action plans to deepen their community’s integral ecology in the areas of academics and research, operations, campus life, and outreach.
The intended outcome of our year-long planning process is to develop a sustainability action plan that takes us through 2030, rooted in Laudato Si’. Creating a 2030 sustainability action plan using Laudato Si’ as a lens will build upon SCU’s existing sustainability leadership and strengths, while enabling our University to amplify our work and connect to the worldwide Laudato Si' Journey. This planning process will also support and inform the University’s strategic planning process.
For SCU, participating in the Laudato Si’ Action Platform is an opportunity to:
- Unite globally with other campuses on a common goal
- Support & align with university strategic planning
- Build upon our award-winning sustainability leadership to deepen strategic goals & operational practices.
- Improve our rankings & leadership status
- Excite our community about our intersectional work, integrating Jesuit, Catholic faith with sustainability and social justice
For participants, it’s an opportunity to:
- Contribute to an inclusive, wide-ranging planning process that prioritizes sustainability on our campus for years to come. Even better - the time commitment will be approximately 15 hours, carefully distributed over the academic year.
- Earn recognition from administration and have a voice in shaping SCU's future sustainability and justice efforts
- Gain experience participating in and contributing to a strategic planning process. (Students are encouraged to list these skills on their resumes!)
This year-long initiative is a collaboration between the Center for Sustainability and Division of Mission and Ministry. It involves stakeholders from across the SCU community: graduate and undergraduate students, faculty, staff, alumni, administration, and other community members. Individuals are encouraged to apply to participate in a Working Group to share their input and contribute to the development of our new Laudato Si' Action Plan.
We are intentional about having inclusive and diverse participation so our next Action Plan reflects the full University community.
- Check out our page to find out how you can participate in a working group.
- Review opportunities throughout the year to share your ideas at events both in person and online.
- If you are unable to attend in-person events, you are encouraged to share your ideas for the Action Plan on this online feedback form.
We have compiled a document with general types of questions that have been coming up during Working Group meetings. This will be updated throughout the planning process.