Xavier University
PA-2: Commitments and Planning
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
Reporter |
2.1 Public sustainability commitment
Narrative detailing the institution’s guiding vision or goals for sustainability and the plan(s) in which they are published:
In 2021, President Colleen Hanycz committed Xavier University to Pope Francis' Laudato Si' Action Platform. From this a steering committee was formed and created the Laudato Si' Action Plan. The plan is centered around the 7 goals areas from Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato SI'. Those goals are: Response to the Cry of the Earth, Response to the Cry of the Poor, Ecological Economics, Adoption of Sustainable Lifestyles, Ecological Education, Ecological Spirituality, and Community Empowerment and Resilience. The entire plan can be found here: https://www.xavier.edu/green/documents/master-laudato-si-timeline.pdf
Narrative and/or website URL outlining the institution’s external sustainability commitments that include a reporting requirement:
The Laudato Si' Action Plan is reproted out through the Laudato Si' Action Platforms' website.
https://laudatosiactionplatform.org/plans/?page=1
It can also be found on our website.
https://www.xavier.edu/green/documents/master-laudato-si-timeline.pdf
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
2.2 Measurable sustainability objectives
Narrative listing the institution’s measurable sustainability objectives that address teaching, learning, and research:
The Laudato Si’ Action Plan Ecological Education subcommittee looks to create an academic curriculum that introduces every Xavier student to ideas and issues of sustainability from a variety of perspectives in many different classes and to become a dynamic research center for interdisciplinary collaboration working toward sustainable solutions to environmental and societal problems.
The Ecological Education subcommittee has recently created a sustainability attribute so that interested students can more easily find courses with sustainability topics. The subcommittee plans to continue to build out the sustainability attribute course catalogue. The hope is to expand this attribute into a flagged requirement and eventually into required core curriculum course so each student at Xavier will have studied the ecological crisis upon graduating.
Has the institution adopted one or more measurable sustainability objectives that address stakeholder engagement?:
Narrative listing the institution’s measurable sustainability objectives that address stakeholder engagement:
The Laudato Si' Action Plan, published in 2022 and updated in 2024, is overseen by the University Sustainability Coordinator and has provisions that address stakeholder enagement.
https://www.xavier.edu/green/documents/master-laudato-si-timeline.pdf
The structure of the Laudato Si' Action Platform requires collaboration across the campus. The leadership of each subcommittee has been tasked with ensuring that their subcommittee has a faculty member, staff member, and student in its membership to ensure engagement across campus. Further, many of the initiatives within the Laudato Si' Action Plan require stakeholder enagement to carry out.
Examples:
Initiative 1: Responding to the Cry of the Earth - Campus Environment - The Tree Campus and Arboretum project involved students from a project management class to develop a community engagement plan which then will also require the assistance of students to carry out.
Initiative 2: Responding to the Cry of the Poor - Improved Food Accessibility - Implemented a food swipe share program where students are able to to donate extra meals from their meal plans to students expereincing food insecurity.
Initiaitive 3: Ecological Economics - Digital Campus - This program is exploring paper use on campus to change behaviors with stakeholders all across campus.
Initiative 3: Ecological Economics - XU Office Swap - This program pools resources giving them a second life and makes them available across campus.
Initiative 4: Sustainable Lifestyles - Promote Sustainable Lifestyles - Faculty, staff, and students create and run sustainability campaigns for the campus community.
Initiative 5: Ecological Education - Sustainable Curriculum - The committee worked to create a sustainability attriubute that could be assigned to courses so that registering students could more easily find courses that include sustainability as a topic.
Initiative 6: Ecological Spiriutality - Immersive Programming - faculty, staff, and student led immersive experciences in nature with reflection for campus.
Leadership for the inititives can be found online and is assisted by the University Sustainability Coordinator.
https://www.xavier.edu/green/laudato-si-action-platform-steering-committee
Has the institution adopted one or more measurable sustainability objectives that address campus operations?:
Narrative listing the institution’s measurable sustainability objectives that address campus operations:
The Laudato Si' Action Plan, published in 2022 and updated in 2024, is overseen by the University Sustainability Coordinator and has provisions that address campus operations.
https://www.xavier.edu/green/documents/master-laudato-si-timeline.pdf
Examples:
Initiative 1: Response to the Cry of the Earth - Campus Environment - This initiative includes provisions for increases in native plantings, expansion of leaf mulching, and the expansion of the Tree Campus program into an accredited level 1 Arboretum then increased ranking.
Initiative 1: Response to the Cry of the Earth - Food Waste and Composting - This initiaitve includes provisions for installing and increasing a campus composting system.
Initiative 1: Response to the Cry of the Earth - Advance Sustainable Building - This initiative includes provisions to increase the LEED and WELL standards of new construction projects and increase energy reduction in current buildings.
Initiative 1: Response to the Cry of the Earth - Advance Renewable Energy - This initiative includes provisions to increase on-site renewable energy production and purchasing of off-site renewable energy.
Initiative 1: Response to the Cry of the Earth - Create EV Charger Infrastructure - This initiaitve includes provisions to increase the availability of on campus electric vehicle charging stations for employees and visitors
Initiative 1: Response to the Cry of the Earth - Reduce Water Waste - This initiative includes provisions to reduce water use and increase the use and capture of stormwater runoff.
Leadership for the inititives can be found online and is assisted by the University Sustainability Coordinator.
https://www.xavier.edu/green/laudato-si-action-platform-steering-committee
Has the institution adopted one or more measurable sustainability objectives that address racial equity and social justice?:
Narrative listing the institution’s measurable sustainability objectives that address racial equity and social justice:
The Laudato Si' Action Plan, published in 2022 and updated in 2024, is overseen by the University Sustainability Coordinator and has provisions that address racial equity and social justice.
https://www.xavier.edu/green/documents/master-laudato-si-timeline.pdf
Examples:
Initiative 2: Response to the Cry of the Poor - Imporve Food Accessibility - This initiative includes provisions that evaluating the level of food insecurity among students and increasing food assistance programs.
Initiative 2: Response to the Cry of the Poor - Food Rescue - This initiative includes provisions that development and increase in programs that collect exess food on campus and make it available to those in need within the broading community.
Initiative 3: Ecological Economics - Green Investments - This initiative includes provisions that increase ESG investing criteria at the University.
Initiative 4: Sustainable Lifestyles - Increase Sustainabily Produced Items - This initiative includes provisions that increase sustainably and ethically produced merchendise on campus.
Initiative 4: Sustainable Lifestyles - Promote Sustainable Lifestyles - This initiative includes provisions that promote an increase in simple living.
Initiative 7: Community Resilience and Empowerment - Community Engagement Committee - This initiative includes provisions foster relationships in the local community to engage in and increase dialogue and action on environmental justice.
Leadership for the inititives can be found online and is assisted by the University Sustainability Coordinator.
https://www.xavier.edu/green/laudato-si-action-platform-steering-committee
Has the institution adopted one or more measurable sustainability objectives that address administration and finance?:
Narrative listing the institution’s measurable sustainability objectives that address administration and finance:
The Laudato Si' Action Plan, published in 2022 and updated in 2024, is overseen by the University Sustainability Coordinator and has provisions that address administration and fiance.
https://www.xavier.edu/green/documents/master-laudato-si-timeline.pdf
Examples:
Initiative 1: Response to the Cry of the Earth - Advance Sustainable Building - This initiative includes provisions to reduce energy use and build to WELL standards.
Initiative 1: Response to the Cry of the Earth - Advance Renewable Energy - This initiative includes provisions to increase on-site renewable energy production and purchasing of off-site renewable energy.
Initiative 1: Response to the Cry of the Earth - Reduce Water Waste - This initiative includes provisions to reduce water use and increase the use and capture of stormwater runoff.
Initiative 3: Ecological Economics - Green Investments - This initiative includes provisions that increase ESG investing criteria at the University.
Initiaitive 3: Ecological Economics - Digital Campus - This initiative includes provisions to decrease paper resources uses across campus.
Initiative 3: Ecological Economics - XU Office Swap - This initiative includes provisions to pool resources across campus reducing costs.
Initiative 4: Sustainable Lifestyles - Increase Alternative Transportation - This initiative includes provisions to increase the use of active transportation which would increase wellbeing.
Initiative 4: Sustainable Lifestyles - Reduce Waste - This initiative includes provisions that would reduce waste and increase recycling which would create a financial savings.
Initiative 6: Ecological Spirituality - Immersive Ignatian Eco-Retreat - This initiative includes provisions that increase wellbeing.
Initiative 6: Ecological Spirituality - Immersive Programming - This initiative includes provisions that increase wellbeing.
Initiative 6: Ecological Spirituality - Ecological Liturgies - This initiative includes provisions that increase wellbeing.
Initiative 7: Community Resilience and Empowerment - Funding Identification - This initiative includes provisions to secure grants and other funding to support the other initiatives.
Leadership for the inititives can be found online and is assisted by the University Sustainability Coordinator.
https://www.xavier.edu/green/laudato-si-action-platform-steering-committee
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
2.3 Climate resilience assessment and planning
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s climate resilience assessment:
Each year Xavier particpates in an energy audit and curtailment exercise. This audit is part of a program designed to reduce energy consumption during extreme conditions to assist in the event of an emergency.
https://www.xavier.edu/green/campus-initiatives/infrastructure1/leed-buildings
Does the institution participate in an ongoing campus-community task force or committee that is focused on climate resilience?:
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the campus-community task force or committee focused on climate resilience:
The Laudato Si' Action Platform is Xavier's on-going task force addressing climate change and resilience. It was formed in 2021 when President Colleen Hanycz committed Xavier University to Pope Francis' Laudato Si' Action Platform. From this a steering committee was formed and created the Laudato Si' Action Plan. The plan is centered around the 7 goals areas from Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato SI'. Those goals are: Response to the Cry of the Earth, Response to the Cry of the Poor, Ecological Economics, Adoption of Sustainable Lifestyles, Ecological Education, Ecological Spirituality, and Community Empowerment and Resilience. The plan address climate change and resileice from the view of integral ecology, which understands the climate crisis as a series of complex and interrelated social, political, economic and societal problems.
https://www.xavier.edu/green/laudato-si-action-platform-steering-committee
Has the institution incorporated climate resilience strategies and/or goals into one or more of its published plans?:
Narrative listing the institution’s climate resilience strategies and goals and the plan(s) in which they are published:
Xavier University has incorporated some climate resilience strategies into its Laudato Si' Action Plan. These strategies are mostly in the area of mitigation. The entire plan can be found here:
https://www.xavier.edu/green/documents/master-laudato-si-timeline.pdf
Examples:
Initiative 1: Response to the Cry of the Earth - Food Waste and Composting - This initiaitve includes provisions for installing and increasing a campus composting system thus reducing waste and GHG.
Initiative 1: Response to the Cry of the Earth - Advance Sustainable Building - This initiative includes provisions to increase the LEED and WELL standards of new construction projects and reduce energy usage.
Initiative 1: Response to the Cry of the Earth - Advance Renewable Energy - This initiative includes provisions to increase on-site renewable energy production and purchasing of off-site renewable energy.
Initiative 1: Response to the Cry of the Earth - Create EV Charger Infrastructure - This initiaitve includes provisions to increase the availability of on campus electric vehicle charging stations for employees and visitors.
Initiative 1: Response to the Cry of the Earth - Reduce Water Waste - This initiative includes provisions to reduce water use and increase the use and capture of stormwater runoff.
Initiative 4: Sustainable Lifestyles - Increase Active Transportation - This initiative includes provisions to increase mass transit use and active transportation methods.
Initiative 4: Sustainable Lifestyles - Reduce Waste - This initiative includes provisions that reduce waste and as a result GHG.
Initiative 4: Sustainable Lifestyles - Increase Sustainabily Produced Items - This initiative includes provisions that increase sustainably and ethically produced merchendise on campus.
Initiative 4: Sustainable Lifestyles - Promote Sustainable Lifestyles - This initiative includes provisions that promote an increase in simple living through educational campaigns.
Initiative 5: Ecological Education - Sustainable Curriculum - This initiative includes provisions that increase students exporsure to sustainability in the classroom.
Initiative 5: Ecological Education - Sustainable Onboarding - This initiative includes provisions that increase faculty and staff's exporsure to sustainability.
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
Optional documentation
Additional documentation for this credit:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.