President’s Committee for Sustainability

The President’s Committee for Sustainability (PCS) was convened in March 2011 to oversee:

The implementation of Seattle University's Climate Action Plan (2010)
The integration of sustainability initiatives across campus

The President's Committee includes faculty, staff and students from all areas of campus. The PCS contact person is Yolanda Cieters (cietersy@seattleu.edu).

Progress toward SU's Climate Action Plan Goals:

Seattle University has committed to the following four goals in the Climate Action Plan:

ACADEMICS: Expand sustainability in the curriculum
CO-CURRICULAR PROGRAMS and ENGAGEMENT: Expand sustainability in co-curricular programs and educate SU's campus community about climate change and sustainability outside the clasrroom
OPERATIONS: Increase sustainable practices in university operations and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from operations and transportation
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS: Share our sustainability knowledge and expertise with others

Since the adoption of the Climate Action Plan (2010), considerable progress has been made. Check out the Campus Sustainability Infographic and find out more for each CAP goal below:

Academics:

The Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability was created to support interdisciplinary scholarship and teaching on environmental justice and sustainability and make Seattle University a recognized leader in these areas. CEJS serves as a clearinghouse for SU’s environmental programs and sustainability initiatives. The Center offers student internships and provided fellowships to 28 Faculty and 16 Students between 2013-2017.
Sustainability literacy survey for Freshmen (started in 2013) and post-survey for seniors (started in 2017)
Eight study programs related to sustainability
Two-yearly survey on sustainability research at SU
Two-yearly inventory of sustainability courses at SU

Co-curricular Programs and Engagement

CEJS events such as brown bag lunches, conferences, lectures, symposia, workshops, theatre, films, and other events
The annual celebration of Earth Month
Campus sustainability tours
The monthly New Hire Orientation covers information about sustainability on campus, the Climate Action Plan, and the work of CEJS
The international "Just Sustainability: Hope for the Commons" conference was organized in 2014 and 2016
Several student clubs work to promote environmental justice and sustainability
50+ Global Service projects with SU organizations such as Professionals Without Borders (PWOB), Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW), KiloWatts for Humanity (KWH), and Nicamigos
SU participates in the annual, national Recyclemania tournament
Creation of the sustainability representatives program in residence halls
Creation of resource conservation signage
Self-guided sustainability walk maps such as Trees of Seattle University and the Edible Campus map
SUstainable events checklist to green our on-campus events
Public policy participation: SU is one of more than 300 colleges and universities from across the United States to sign the "We Are Still In" declaration demonstrating its enduring commitment for climate action and reducing carbon emissions despite President Trump’s announcement to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
Sustainability Partnerships: SU is a member of AASHE, WAHESC, WOHESC, the Capitol Hill EcoDistrict, and Seattle 2030 District.

Operations

On September 13, 2018, SU's Board voted to divest from fossil fuels. SU will become the first university in Washington state and the first Jesuit school in the nation to divest its endowment from fossil fuels over the next five years
Seattle University committed to work towards climate neutrality and reduce emissions by at least 12% by 2020 and by at least 51% by 2035 from buildings, solid waste, university-owned vehicles, air travel, and commuters to campus. To reach that goal, the university implemented a series of facilities improvement measures; improved the efficiency of campus vehicles and equipment; moved to an electronic procurement system; implemented energy efficiency projects; increased waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting activities; and provided commuter incentives for car/van pools, car sharing, transit, walking and biking. In fiscal year 2019, SU’s greenhouse gas emissions totaled 15,650 metric tons which is a 16% reduction since 2009.
4 LEED GOLD buildings were constructed between 2009 and 2012
In 2010, SU became a plastic water bottle-free campus, following a three-year campaign led by students and Professor Gary Chamberlain
In 2015 Seattle University became the first Fair Trade designated University in the Pacific Northwest
A campus-wide Commuting Survey was conducted in February 2020 and November 2016 providing updated data related to commuting behaviors of SU's community members and GHG emissions from commuting
In 2017 the Grounds Fields Team received Environmental Facility Certification from the Sport Turf Managers Association for sustainably maintaining the turf for Championship Field
In 2016 SU submitted its first STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System) report and obtained a GOLD rating. In 2018, the second STARS report resulted in another GOLD rating with an improved score of 75.64.
A Tree Care Program was created in 2017 and the univerity obtained the Tree Campus USA designation (2018 and 2019)
In 2020, Seattle University ranked #20 in the Sierra Club's annual "Cool Schools" ranking, and #16 in the Princeton Review (2021), deserving a spot on Princeton's Green Honor Roll. In addition, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) ranked SU #4 in the nation for its sustainability curriculum and #3 overall among master's institutions. See SU's accolades here.