BC Campus Commitment to Sustainability

As a Jesuit university, Boston College has always sought to educate its students to be men and women for others and to live out this commitment as an institution. Combating global climate change and reducing our environmental impact is a matter of justice to the human community residing on our sacred earth. In light of the recent declaration by Pope Benedict XVI that pollution is a sin and the Vatican intent to become carbon neutral, our university, too, is called to educate its students to be responsible stewards of the earth and to reduce our institutions environmental impact. With the development of the Master Plan and the initiation of a large-scale expansion project, it is imperative that this development proceed with an attention to institutional sustainability and also that our university does not fail to improve the sustainability of our Chestnut Hill and Newton campuses.

In our efforts to improve campus sustainability, measurable success has been achieved in recent years by members of the BC community, yet significant progress has been impeded by the lack of a university-wide commitment to this objective. A collective effort from all members of the university community is needed, as is leadership from our institutions administration. The latest appointment of a University Director of Sustainability is a great step forward for Boston College. Considering the urgency of our global climate crisis, the university must continue to move forward to implement necessary efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and enhance our environmental performance.



Petition for Sustainability at Boston College

I, the undersigned, as a member of the BC community concerned about the effects of our university on the global environment, ask the Boston College administration to create an Environmental Sustainability Assessment Report and outline specific goals for environmental sustainability at Boston College over the next ten years.

In making this request, I acknowledge that I, too, have a responsibility to reduce my personal ecological footprint and to take part in my universitys efforts to improve sustainability on campus. In signing this petition, I also hereby pledge to decrease my environmental impact by making changes in my everyday life in an effort to reduce my production of waste and use of water, plastic, paper, energy, and other consumables.