Climate Action Planning at Loyola University Chicago

Loyola is currently in the process of developing its next Climate Action Plan. Loyola committed to work on climate change in 2012 by signing onto Second Nature’s American College and University President’s Climate Commitment. This committed Loyola to taking specific actions on climate change across the curriculum and operations of the university, annual greenhouse gas emissions inventories, and developing a climate action plan to neutrality.

Climate Action Plan 1.0

A Just Future; A Climate Action Plan for Loyola University Chicago was developed in 2014 and adopted in 2015, during a celebration of Pope Francis’ seminal Encyclical on Ecology Laudato si’. These are resources that provide a background for that process as well as many of the implementation challenges and accomplishments. Please note, most of these documents are only available to those with an @luc.edu email and you must login to access these. If you are not a member of the Loyola community but would like to review one of these resources, please contact the Office of Sustainability and we would be glad to discuss your request.

• A Just Future; A Climate Action Plan for Loyola University Chicago (PDF)
• One-page summary of A Just Future, 2023 version (PDF)
• How Loyola developed Climate Action Plan 1.0 (recorded Zoom workshop)
• Path to Carbon Neutrality – 2023 student project to document the implementation steps of A Just Future (PDF)
• LUC Climate Adaptation Summary (PDF)
• 2018 Student Project on LUC Adaptation (PDF)
• The Climate on Campus – Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities Carbon Pollution Summary (PDF)
• Loyola’s annual Greenhouse Gas Inventory – SIMAP (interactive website)

Case-studies on specific CAP 1.0 projects:

• Double Black Diamond Solar Farm (Slides and one-page summary)
• Tradewater Carbon Credit Procurement (Purchasing Guideline and one-page summary)
• Campus refrigerant project (One-page summary)
• Renewable Natural Gas study – 2019 student project to consider RNG (PDF)
• On-campus biogas student study (PDF)
• On-campus photovoltaic assessment – 2016 student project to consider campus PV (PDF)
• On-campus solar thermal assessment – 2014 student project to consider solar thermal on LUC residence halls (PDF)
• Carbon sequestration at Loyola Campuses – Summary of assorted class projects on Lake Shore and Retreat and Ecology Campus soil and vegetation sequestration (PDF)
• Study Abroad Air Travel Offsets project proposal (PDF)
• Student project on Loyola Climate Resilience 2018 (PDF)
• LUREC Net-Zero Campus Study summary – Engineering study to consider net-zero strategy for Loyola’s Retreat and Ecology Campus (PDF)
• Lake Shore Campus Hydrology & Climate Project (PDF)
• Embodied Carbon study 2023 (PDF)
• Jesuit Community Climate Study (PDF)

 

Climate Action Plan 2.0

As Loyola is creating our next Climate Action Plan we are reviewing the progress that has been made and areas for improvement and increased ambition. The following resources provide background on this process and specific areas of deeper study.

• Background on Climate Action Plan 2.0 PDF slide deck, and zoom recording- password: &wa10!RK 
• Presentation to Community Members with Department of Neighborhood Initiatives (YouTube video)

 

White Papers on specific areas of importance (not all of these are available for viewing yet but will be shared asap)

• Resetting LUC’s baseline and future forecast (working document)
• Values-aligned climate commitment (working document)
• Academic-aligned climate action (working document)
• Scope 1 & 2 – Decarbonization Plan (working document)
• Scope 1 & 3, Category 6 – Ground Transportation (working document)
• Scope 3, Category 1 – Purchased Goods & Services (working document)
• Scope 3, Category 2 – Capital Goods / Embodied Carbon (working document)
• Scope 3, Category 3 – Fuel and Energy Related Activities including T&D losses (working document)
• Scope 3, Category 5 – Waste Generated in Operations (working document)
• Scope 3, Category 6 – Air Travel including study abroad and other student travel (working document)
• Scope 3, Category 13 – Leased Properties / Lakeside Management (working document)
• Scope 3, Category 15 – Investments / LUC Endowment (working document)

 

Help us shape Loyola’s next Climate Action Plan

As Loyola’s Sustainability Committee we oversee the implementation of Loyola’s Climate Action Plan and do our best to reflect the many stakeholders across our campuses, schools, and community. However, we need your feedback on what climate action should look like from your perspective. Please take a few minutes to complete this brief survey on areas Loyola should prioritize. A brief background zoom recording- (password: &wa10!RK) is available and may be helpful context before completing the survey but is optional.

CAP 2.0 Survey

If you would like to host a discussion on Loyola’s Climate Action Planning process we are actively seeking opportunities to learn from our community, please email the Office of Sustainability at sustainability@luc.edu.

For more information on Loyola’s sustainability efforts, visit LUC.edu/sustainloyola.