Leading the Way in Sustainability

In 2023, Seattle University achieved a significant milestone—it became the first university in Washington state and the first Jesuit, Catholic university in the country to fully divest from fossil fuels. 

This milestone was the result of decades of focus on sustainability on campus, efforts amplified in 2021 by the university’s commitment, as part of its Reigniting Our Strategic Directions, to the global Laudato Si’ Action Platform (LSAP), which just celebrated its five-year anniversary. 

The LSAP is a papal initiative launched by Pope Francis and tied to his environmental encyclical Laudato Si’, which invites us to redefine and rebuild our relationship with each other and our common home. 

At Seattle University, the implementation of LSAP was co-led by Professor Jeanette Rodriguez, PhD, who serves as former executive director of the Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture on campus, and Yolanda Cieters, SU’s Director of Sustainability and co-director of the Institute for Environmental Justice and Sustainability. 

“For so many years we have been working on sustainability at SU, but the Laudato Si’ Action Platform brought it together truly across areas, across programs, across schools, across the roles that we each hold on campus,” says Cieters. 

SU's commitment to sustainability measures goes as far back as 1986, which is when the university amped up its efforts, starting with making the campus grounds organic and pesticide-free.

In 2007, the university signed on to the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), followed by the adoption of its first Climate Action Plan in 2010. In 2013, SU launched the Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability (now called the Institute for Environmental Justice and Sustainability).

The challenge, then, for Dr. Rodriguez and Cieters was bringing these efforts and achievements from across campus together through a unified, actionable vision.  

“In many institutional structures, the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing and Laudato Si’ really invited people to come together and journey together in this commitment,” says Dr. Rodriguez.

“… People found common causes to come together from various different units. And so for me, that was the exciting part—that we were working like an integral system.” 

In light of the five-year anniversary of LSAP, the plan was re-adopted to focus on the following five university priorities: 

1. Integrate integral ecology across the curriculum and research.
2. Achieve climate neutrality and reduce Seattle University’s environmental footprint.
3. Practice socially responsible consumption, purchasing and investment.
4. Develop a sustainable campus culture and deepen engagement and public advocacy.
5. Amplify Seattle University’s sustainability impact and strengthen recruitment and advancement strategies.

Over the last five years, the LSAP achieved significant results, such as obtaining carbon neutrality for on-campus operations and the divestment from fossil fuels, along with hitting milestones with many of the goals outlined in the plan. 

Since the signing of the LSAP, 75 percent of undergraduate departments and programs—and 70 percent of graduate departments/programs—have strengthened existing or identified new ways to devote curricular focus to sustainability and climate change. They also identified new, discipline-specific opportunities to expand this work in the coming years. 

A university-wide “green fleet” policy was developed, with the goal of 100 percent electric vehicle use for light vehicles by 2030 and to expand electric vehicle charging stations on campus. 

The Action Plan also created opportunities for students beyond the classroom. With support from Cieters and Rodriguez, the Student Government of Seattle University added a Sustainability Delegate position. Most recently, the delegate applied for and received a sustainability grant that, starting this fall, any student group can apply for, either to host a sustainability-related event on campus or to practice more ethical and sustainable purchasing for their club. 

“That's a very clear, concrete student-led result of being a Laudato Si’ university,” says Cieters. 

The five-year Laudato Si’ Action Plan was a starting point, not a one-off, and is actually part of the original seven-year plan proposed by the Pope to account for time to get people on board and implement recommended changes, "to form a community of people that walk together toward the same goal,” says Dr. Rodriguez. 

“The seven years was really to bring that foundation to life and to create that roadmap and robust ecosystem enabling us to live this out in the years ahead while continuing to reflect as we move forward,” adds Cieters. “It was really just to get us started.” 

To support these ongoing efforts, and to demonstrate the university’s commitment to sustainability, the Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability was redesignated as the Institute for Environmental Justice and Sustainability (IEJS), co-directed by Cieters and Dr. Tanya Hayes, professor and chair of the Department of Environment & Sustainability.  

Cieters describes the IEJS as the gateway or hub for all things related to sustainability, environmental justice and integral ecology on campus. 

“As we were in this journey of integral ecology, it was a good moment also to discern what the center’s focus has been over the last decade and its role moving forward as part of the university’s LSAP commitment,” says Cieters. “One of the core areas of the institute in the years ahead will be to facilitate the LSAP work on campus and support the LSAP Executive Committee in coordinating each of the Laudato Si’ priorities.” 

Looking ahead, IEJS has its sights set on an ambitious goal—net-zero emissions by 2045. In the short-term, the aim is to adopt and implement a plan for full campus decarbonization beginning in 2027. 

Interested in getting involved with sustainability efforts on campus? Connect with the Institute for Environmental Justice and Sustainability.