Caring for God's Creation

Villanova's Sustainability Plan lays out road map for efforts to support the planet and its people

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Leaving an inhabitable planet to future generations is, first and foremost, up to us. The issue is one which dramatically affects us, for it has to do with the ultimate meaning of our earthly sojourn.”

—Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical, Laudato si’:
On Care for Our Common Home 

In fall 2020, Villanova adopted a 10-year Sustainability Plan, the culmination of two years of work by the Villanova Sustainability Leadership Council to develop an actionable and measurable plan to guide the University’s sustainability efforts through 2030.

The plan will unfold alongside the University’s 2020–2030 strategic plan, Rooted. Restless., and adopts an expansive definition for sustainability, encompassing environmental stewardship, inclusiveness and economic prosperity for all. The plan is based in the University’s Augustinian Catholic tradition and in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals laid out by the United Nations in 2015. 

“As Catholics, as Villanovans and as human beings, we must come together to take substantive, transformative action to foster the health and prosperity of God’s creation,” University President the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, ’75 CLAS said in announcing the plan. “The responsibility lies with each and every one of us.”