University of San Diego
PA-2: Sustainability Planning

Sustainability in curriculum and academics is addressed by both the Envisioning 2024 Strategic Plan and the Climate Action Plan cross-cutting initiatives. We measure the number of courses that are sustainability focused and sustainability related. The percentage of curriculum that has been devoted towards sustainability is tracked regularly to help sustainability related initiatives and research among faculty and students.

USD has developed the general theme of "Elevating Faculty and Staff Engagement" as part of the Envisioning 2024.

Energy reduction targets are set forth in the Climate Action Plan. The targets are created from a 2010 baseline emissions per student with targeted reductions from our projected growth of 25% by 2020 and 35% by 2035. However, in October 2019, USD President James Harris announced a new goal of climate neutrality by 2035, so the CAP will be revised in 2021 to create strategies to achieve that goal. Further, USD completed an Energy Master Plan to eliminate emissions from our campus energy infrastructure by 2035, with a timeline of projects and their accompanying GHG emission reductions to achieve this goal. This Plan will serve as the cornerstone of the revised CAP to be developed this year.

In early 2021, recognizing the challenges to create a more diverse, multicultural and global campus, the university announced the creation of the Horizon Project. The objective of this program is to dedicate the time, energy and resources necessary to build a more inclusive campus community by achieving one of the key pathways in our strategic plan: Strengthening Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice. The Horizon Project has specific, quantifiable goals for USD to achieve by 2026, including being officially recognized as a Hispanic Serving Institution; increasing the number of full-time Black faculty within each of the Professional Schools and the College of Arts and Sciences; becoming one of the 100 most diverse, independent universities in the country. Please see https://www.sandiego.edu/horizon-project/ for details of this program.

A Strategic Plan for Diversity and Inclusive Excellence was developed in 2020. There are broadly measurable objectives focused on data collection and gap analyses. Please see https://www.sandiego.edu/inclusion/documents/SIX%20TERRAINS.pdf

In December 2020, the university convened a task force to focus on socially responsible investing, including incorporation of DEI criteria for investment options. Measurable objectives will be a product of this task force.

As a Catholic institution, Pope Francis' encyclical entitled Laudato si’, or “On Care of Our Common Home,” is essential to the structure and importance of sustainability at USD. Pope Francis emphasizes the need to protect nature with a “courageous and responsible effort to redirect our steps and to avert the most serious effects of environmental deterioration caused by human activity.” Regarding this, he is “confident that America’s outstanding academic and research institutions can make a vital contribution in the years ahead.”

USD's Envisioning 2024 Strategic Plan, approved by the President and the Board of Trustees, includes Care for a Common home as one of the six pathways. The formal statement as listed on the Envisioning 2024 website states:

"The message of Laudato si' tells us we must not only speak the words, but also take immediate action in concrete ways at all levels of the university to care for our common home. From messaging on campus for our visitors and our community, to policies affecting how we do business, to facilitating engagement from our staff, students, faculty and administrators, creating and supporting curricular efforts at all levels, we identify areas of opportunity to create a truly shared and lived vision for Care for Our Common Home."

Signatory to the Catholic Climate Declaration

https://www.sandiego.edu/inclusion/documents/SIX%20TERRAINS.pdf