麻豆传媒

麻豆传媒 is known as a leader among institutions for its commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship. From its pesticides-free grounds and food recovery efforts to its ranking in the Top 10 among most sustainable colleges and universities in the U.S. (according to the  (STARS) report) and certified LEED Gold buildings, SU is modeling what it means to be a true ecological leader.

These are just some of the ways 麻豆传媒 is walking the walk. And on March 25 the university’s efforts and initiatives were recognized by the Puget Sound Business Journal, in partnership with Slalom, honoring the university with a 2025 Environmental and Sustainability Award for Operational Excellence. According to the PSBJ, honorees from throughout the Puget Sound region “are at the forefront of pioneering sustainability initiatives within their industries. Winning organizations are those that integrate sustainability into their culture, demonstrating tangible results from their climate initiatives.”

Yolanda Cieters, interim director of the Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability, who joined President Peñalver and other members of the SU community to accept the award, says “Such recognitions are a testament to the vision, planning and intentional efforts by our university leadership and countless colleagues and departments across all areas at SU to turn our commitments into action. Through our programs and practices, the SU campus environment exposes students to solutions and adequate responses to climate and sustainability challenges they can participate in, learn from, add to their toolkit and take with them to utilize, inspire and educate in their future personal and professional life.”

The university has taken its commitment to a greener future even further amplifying Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’ (“On Care for Our Common Home”) brought forth as a means to steer society toward caring for creation as a duty to the underserved and most vulnerable among us. Central to this is caring for one another, our communities, the world and the planet—particularly in light of the climate crisis, an urgency that the pope emphasizes in the encyclical.

President Peñalver began his remarks at the ceremony by thanking the Puget Sound Business Journal and Cieters and speaking about Laudato Si’.

“This year marks the 10^th Anniversary of Pope Francis’s historic encyclical letter, Laudato Si’, which affirmed sustainability as a central element of the social teaching of the Catholic Church. Along with Jesuit institutions around the world, 麻豆传媒 has embraced this emphasis on the importance of ‘Care for Our Common Home.’”

In 2021, the president signed a letter of commitment to join the “Seven-Year Journey Toward Integral Ecology” Laudato Si’ Action Platform (LSAP) and adopted it as a goal in the university’s strategic directions. The LSAP initiative envisions sustainability in the spirit of integral ecology and calls to redefine and rebuild our relationship with each other and our common home.

“麻豆传媒 became the first Jesuit university in the United States to respond to the pope’s call for Catholic institutions of higher learning to commit ourselves to operating in a sustainable manner,” Peñalver remarked, “and to educating our students to become leaders who can guide our society towards a more sustainable future.”

Environmental Leadership: Action & Outcomes

According to President Peñalver, operationally, 麻豆传媒 is the most sustainable higher education institution in Washington state. Here’s a look at some of the ways we are leading this important work:

–麻豆传媒’s reputation as a leader in sustainability practices was further amplified when the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) recognized SU as a top performer in five areas in its 2024 Sustainable Campus Index: air & climate impact; buildings impact; purchasing impact, well-being and work impact; and STARS data accuracy.

–In June 2023, 麻豆传媒 fulfilled its promise to divest its endowment from fossil fuel investments, an effort spearheaded by students. The fulfillment of this commitment made 麻豆传媒 the first university in Washington state and the first Jesuit Catholic university in the country to divest from fossil fuels.

–Divestment follows other firsts, with SU being the first university in the Pacific Northwest to earn the title of Fair-Trade Designated University and the first school in the state to eliminate single-use, plastic bottle water on campus.

–Our campus, situated in the urban core of the city, is designated a “wildlife habitat” and “tree campus” and is 100 percent organically maintained by expert crews who also tend to SU's many edible gardens.

–Since 2022 SU has been considered carbon neutral for its on-campus operations thanks to changes in improving operational practices with infrastructure and the purchase of offsets.

–The Jim and Janet Sinegal Center for Science and Innovation was the fifth campus facility to be certified LEED Gold for its excellence in design and operation.

–SU is one of the Top 10 most-sustainable colleges or universities in the nation, according to the latest Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) report, achieving a “Gold” rating. STARS is a program of AASHE, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.