Messiah University
PA-2: Sustainability Planning

1. Goal: Adopt one sustainability learning outcome within the general education curriculum
a. Work with the general education committee to identify sustainability as a learning outcome to be assessed in existing general education requirements
i. Possible Gen Ed Outcomes to assess: Created and Called for Community (CCC); Science, Tech & the World (STW); Non-Western
2. Goal: Develop a non-credit bearing Sustainability learning requirement (i.e. ELI)
a. Develop criteria for sustainability learning (associated with the U.N. goals)
b. Identify courses which meet a set of criteria for sustainability learning

3. Goal: Assess sustainability competencies of 50% of graduating seniors
a. Survey for first year students on sustainability literacy
b. Survey assessment of seniors related to sustainability literacy

2. Goal: Cultivate student culture for sustainability and promote opportunities for engaging the campus and community
a. In partnership with Student Success and Engagement, develop one sustainability education and one sustainability practice for each department within SS&E and support the implementation and assessment of these goals
b. 50% of the campus community take a survey to assess individual sustainability practices
c. Host a chapel series annually on Sustainable living, practice, and faith development.

1. Goal: Reduce the total amount of GHG emissions from purchased energy by 25% below 2008 levels
a. Adopt and continually assess campus design and management to LEED Silver standards for all existing buildings, new buildings, and renovations
b. Monitor building energy use publically using building dashboards
c. Hire or adjust job descriptions in facilities to include energy management in order to assess building performance and prioritize energy efficiency (Hire or train for LEED certification)
d. Purchase solar RECs or solar energy through Constellation’s CORe program.
e. Build a 2 MW or higher Solar PV array – estimated 9% reduction in GHG
f. Build a second solar thermal array on south complex

2. Goal: Reduce gasoline use associated with campus by 25% below 2008 levels (includes employee commuting and all campus related vehicles. Current reduction as of 2019 is 17%)
a. Purchase 2 fully electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles for college fleet
b. See Theme 4 “Policy & Planning” for further action steps associated with this goal.

1. Goal: Develop an employee incentive program for alternative transportation (walking, biking, and carpooling to work)
a. Map employee clusters to identify employees to target for a carpool program
b. Map employees to identify those well situated for a walk/bike to work program
2. Goal: Create a flexible work policy to reduce commuting to and from campus for employees
a. Work with area Directors to reduce unnecessary travel to campus for employees by 1 day per week during appropriate times of the year
3. Goal: Conduct a Wage Equity Assessment
a. Salary gap between high level executives and lowest paid employee
b. Gender pay gap assessment
c. Living wage assessment

https://www.messiah.edu/download/downloads/id/7245/A_Faithful_Commitment_to_Sustainability.pdf

A Faithful Commitment to Sustainability at Messiah College
Our commitment to creating a more sustainable campus community is an outgrowth of both our
Christian faith and our institutional mission of promoting reconciliation, which in its truest form,
must expand the boundaries of community to include reconciliation between human and
ecological communities. As a Christian College, our action to prepare ecological citizens and mitigate the
impacts of our ecological footprint are rooted in a long held Christian belief and scripture’s call to
creation care as well as a deep concern for ecological and human degradation that occurs when God’s
vision of land stewardship is not practiced.
Throughout the Creation narrative of Genesis, God created and saw his creation as “good,” and tasked
human beings to be caretakers of this land. God’s very first blessing in scripture is not saved for the
human race, but for the birds of the air and fish of the sea. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and
increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”1 Immediately
following this passage, God creates Adam and Eve with the special identity as image bearers. The idea of
imago dei in Genesis (1.26) is followed by “let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the
birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping
thing that creeps upon the earth.” This oft-cited passage is used to justify creation’s manipulation and
destruction; however, Biblical scholars such as Ellen Davis argue that the Jewish understanding of
dominion is not destructive, but protective. To be imago dei is to steward and nurture the creation, and
the garden scene in Genesis 2 amplifies this responsibility. Davis argues that early Jews would have
understood dominion as exercising skilled mastery among instead of over the created order, ensuring
that the very first blessing uttered into existence is protected.i
In the New Testament, Ephesians 2.10 builds on the idea of imago dei and its fulfillment in Christ, “For
we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to
be our way of life.” Ephesians is concerned with the building of the church and its role in God’s
redemptive story, and Paul does so by building on imago dei. The good work God prepares for us as
image bearers is the work of redemption, of co-creation, of stewardship, and living in community with
both the human and natural world. As Wendell Berry reminds us, “how we take our lives from this
world, how we work, what work we do, how well we use the materials we use, and what we do with
them after we have used them – all these are questions of the highest and gravest religious significance.
In answering them, we practice or do not practice our religion.”ii
In addition to providing instruction in living as caretakers of the land rooted in the Imago Dei, the Biblical
writers called out against those who chose to veer from that path, and implored Israel to be reconciled
to the land. Warnings against the destructive behavior that we’ve grown accustomed to in our modern
world is not new. Jeremiah (4:23-26; 17:4), reminds Israel that when the responsibility to land is
forgotten the world can become a desolate place void of people and wildlife. Furthermore, the earlier
writers of the law offered warning that if we abused our role as caretakers of the land, the land would
not fulfill its divine mandate to produce (Lev. 26). However, in true redemptive fashion, we are not left
with destruction as our only option. Remembering God’s gift of good land and repenting for destructive
behavior offers hope to humanity (Psalm 85).
1 Genesis 1.22
O
2
These passages (and many others), as well as a long Judeo-Christian tradition show that creation care
and stewardship are part of the values of Christian faith. While campus sustainability has been a rising
trend, Messiah’s efforts are not merely an effort to compete with current sustainability trends in the
market place of higher education or a gesture to appease the popularity of environmentalism. Our
institutional values, rooted in a faithful reading of scripture and tradition require us to participate in
shaping sustainable human communities, now and into the future.
Messiah College understands the term sustainability to be rooted in ecological conservation, social
equity, and economic strength. John Elkington’s 1994 development of the triple bottom line2
(Environment, Economy, Social Justice) and Jullian Ageyman’s 2003 definition of “just sustainability” are
both strong influences for our campus sustainability culture. As such, the College defines sustainability
as, “The need to ensure a better quality of life for all, now and into the future, in a just and equitable
manner, whilst living within the limits of supporting ecosystems.”iii These definitions of sustainability
help unpack the College’s focus on issues of climate change, biological and cultural diversity, and
environmental justice, all of which fall under the umbrella of sustainability.
It is well documented that climate is changing, and that humans are the primary cause of this change.
The fourth National Climate Assessment reports that the average surface air temperature has increased
1.8° Fahrenheit and that human activity, primarily carbon dioxide, is the dominant cause.iv While there
are slight disagreements about what this warming specifically means for the global community, it is
largely agreed upon that without a clear greenhouse gas mitigation strategy, life on the planet will be
more difficult in the future with higher sea levels, more extreme temperature variations, and stronger
storms affecting community wellbeing, food supply, and safety.v
Our community extends beyond the people associated with our campus to include the rest of our biotic
community. When we fail to broaden our scope of community in this way, we directly participate in an
era of species loss perpetrated by humans not seen in the last 65 million years.vi When human
institutions cause damage to the natural world on this scale, affecting billions of people around the
world, our very human identity and our ability to recognize the identity of others is hampered. The
health and diversity of the plants and animals that inhabit our campus directly impacts the well-being of
Messiah College’s ecosystem, and we must preserve the health of our campus’s natural environment as
part of a larger expression of care for our global human and ecological communities.
Lastly, we must acknowledge the most vulnerable human communities experience the worst of
ecological degradationvii. Understood as environmental justice, environmental resources, scarcity, and
degradation is disproportionately distributed between communities along racial, ethnic, and
socioeconomic lines. Over exploitation of natural resources related to industrial activities create a
myriad of excessive burdens on both current and future generations, and those who are already
marginalized or vulnerable will bear the burden.viii We must recognize our campus’ implicit participation
in this unjust system, and work to change our impact on marginalized human communities.
With these in mind, our position as an institution of higher education provides a unique platform in the
efforts at building more socially equitable and ecologically sensitive communities. In one aspect, we
have the duty of educating our students about how to lead globally aware and environmentally
2 Elkington’s triple bottom line definition of sustainability is when an action protects the natural world,
grows the economy, and enhances social wellbeing
3
responsible lives, even if their eventual occupations do not directly intersect with social or
environmental services. In another aspect, we cannot, with integrity impart such awareness to our
students without also tangibly modeling sustainable practices on our own campus. Lastly, our
responsibility to the broader community to be a resource and partner for creating and advancing
sustainability knowledge and practice is an essential component of creating more socially and
ecologically just communities. A truly campus wide commitment to sustainability, therefore, influences
our academic, operational, and co-curricular spheres.
The deep connections between human and ecological wellbeing and the realities of environmental and
social degradation are pressing issues facing our global society. Messiah’s response to these realities is
rooted in our faithful call to restoration as outlined in Scripture and our institutional identity rooted in
the Brethren In Christ tradition.
Providing early leadership to campus sustainability, President Phipps, signed the American Colleges and
Universities Presidents Climate Commitment (henceforth known as the Climate Commitment) in 2007,
which committed the College to become carbon neutral by the year 2050. The Climate Commitment was
a catalyst for much of the campus sustainability efforts seen on campus today. Shortly after signing, the
College established an Office of Sustainability, installed a solar thermal array on N. Complex, planted the
Grantham Community Garden, and in 2008 assessed the College’s greenhouse gas emissions for the first
time.
The accomplishments since 2007 are significant, and can be seen throughout the campus community;
however, we must broaden our scope and recommit to the work of creating a socially and ecologically
just campus community. Ten years after the initial 2007 commitment, the College assessed campus wide
sustainability efforts using AASHE STARS3 where a lot of growth was discovered, but more opportunities
were to be had at integrating sustainability into the mission, identity, and planning of the College. The
possibilities and expectations are numerous to further mitigate the impacts of climate change, protect
biodiversity, manage campus waste, educate the campus community, consider our responsibility to
marginalized communities, and facilitate and lead in public dialogue. As a result, the College is
committed to the work of Sustainability by recognizing the realities of ecological degradation,
acknowledging and educating about the unique role of humans in contributing to this degradation, and
undertaking a plan to operate campus in a way to reduce these negative consequences.
* Prepared by the Campus Sustainability Committee 2018-2019, and Affirmed by Messiah’s President’s
Cabinet on April 1, 2019