Loyola Hosts Meeting to Follow-up on the Climate Action Plan 2.0

Loyola’s Office of Sustainability co-hosted a virtual meeting with the Office of Neighborhood Initiatives Sept. 17 about the progress and direction of Loyola’s current Climate Action Plan 1.0, and the beginning stages of Climate Action Plan 2.0.

The meeting was held virtually and included speakers Aaron Durnbaugh, the director of the Office of Sustainability, and Jennifer Clark, associate vice president of Neighborhood Initiatives. Members of the Loyola community and the broader Rogers Park area were invited to listen.

During the meeting, Clark emphasized the importance of getting community feedback to foster involvement in the plan by those who may be affected by it. She said her team recently held pop-up events and conducted surveys to engage within the community, hoping to find out what their priorities are when it comes to creating, what Clark calls, a “healthy urban community.”

“I will tell you that environmental sustainability, climate change, parks and green space have come up as one of the top three priorities at five out of the eight events where we collected information,” Clark said to the meeting attendees.

Loyola’s first Climate Plan was adopted in 2015 with the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by the year 2025, according to the Sustainability Committee website. As the 10-year plan nears its end, Durnbaugh said he and his team have begun the process of creating the second climate plan, which will expand on the progress made in the previous one.

The initial plan focused mainly on emissions generated by Loyola’s buildings and the importance of efficient buildings. Both the School of Environmental Sustainability and the Schreiber Center were cited by Durnbaugh as “high performing” buildings and committed to sustainability goals.

Loyola has implemented various stormwater projects including permeable pavements, green roofs, rain gardens and a full stormwater treatment system, according to Durnbaugh. 

The most recent plan, Durnbaugh said, was the Double Black Diamond solar farm project. Starting Jan. 1, 2025 Loyola will source its energy from the central Illinois solar farm, The Phoenix previously reported. 

Loyola is also looking to further reduce its use of natural gas, which will be a part of Climate Action Plan 2.0.

In an effort to work towards carbon neutrality, Loyola has also partnered with a company called Trade Water who assists in identifying where the most harmful greenhouse gasses still exist on campus and destroying them. The main targets are refrigerants, fluorocarbons and halons, also known as halocarbons, according to Durnbaugh. 

Halocarbons are considered to be the “world’s most potent greenhouse and ozone-depleting gasses,” according to the Trade Water website.

Durnbaugh also said Loyola’s sustainability efforts aren’t limited to direct energy efficiency through large projects, but there are also indirect ways the university works to meet their climate goals.

“It includes the things we buy, the things we throw away,” Durnbaugh said. “It includes business travel, or for our students, study abroad travel. It includes the commuting of our students or our faculty, our staff. It includes the buildings we operate, not as Loyola, but for property management purposes. It includes our endowment.”

Loyola’s next climate action plan will draw on the previous work, based on “progress that has been made and areas for improvement,” according to the Sustainability Committee website.

The new plan will most likely be adopted in the spring of 2025, and will once again be a 10-year plan working towards climate action, Durnbaugh said.

Loyola’s commitment to environmental sustainability is drawn from two factors: The Jesuit universal apostolic preferences, the mission of the Jesuits which includes caring for our common home, and the importance of sustainability to the students, Durnbaugh said. 

57% of first-year students said sustainability efforts were important to them when deciding on a college, according to a survey conducted by the university.

“So that’s why it’s really important to us these two values, the Jesuit value of care for home and the significance of it to our students,” Durnbaugh said. “And so we really need to meet them where they’re at and make sure we’re not just talking about it, but we’re doing it.”