USD becomes a Laudato Si university
USD makes a statement by committing to sustainability
Maria Simpson / Assistant Opinion Editor / The USD Vista
USD recently announced that a plan is in motion to fully divest from all investments in fossil fuels in order to follow university values and Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si, a letter addressed to the Catholic church calling for Care for Our Common Home. On Aug. 4, 2021. President James Harris, USD’s Vice President for Finance & Chief Financial Officer, Katy Roig, and USD professor and chair of the department of the university’s Sustainability Task Force, Michel Boudrias, all sat down to discuss what this announcement means for USD.
Currently, just 3% of all the university’s investments are in fossil fuels. These investments are split into two groups: direct investments and commingled funds. The direct investments partner with the school in a cycle, so those are expected to naturally phase out within the next three to five years.
Roig shared insights on the direction these investments are headed in.
“We haven’t made any of those investments since 2016,” Roig shared. “So the investment committee had already started down this path, but we’ve formalized that through the policy changes that were just approved.”
The commingled funds are a little more complicated. They are mutual funds that are invested with a manager. USD’s investment committee is working on looking into these investments and finding the best way to reduce them, with the overall goal being zero by 2035.
USD has been on the path to creating a more sustainable and environmentally friendly campus for many years now.
President Harris explained the slow but steady process of moving the university to think and act more sustainably.
“This work has been going on at the university and we’ve been moving in this direction for well over a decade. And I think it gained momentum with the publication of the encyclical by Pope Francis. And in 2015-16, we engaged in a strategic planning process. And that process said that this pathway of Care for Our Common Home was critical,” stated Harris.
As a Catholic institution, the words of the Pope have a big impact on the university’s values. The statement made by the Pope was the next step in that direction as Harris clarified.
“The statement that came out is an affirmation and a full incorporation of Laudato Si into our investment policies, but we’ve been moving in this direction for at least five years now in terms of the board level of investment.”
The announcement in August was more of a formality for USD to stand up and officially say that the university is committed to doing their part for the planet.
Interestingly, and to the pride of many members of the community, USD is one of the first universities in the world to take this major step.
Boudrias has been one of the forefront members in strengthening sustainability at USD.
“You may find a lot of statements where universities are ‘saying, we’re going to divest from fossil fuels…’ but it’s presented as an economic and environmental decision, and I think we’ve added that social justice piece,” Boudrias stated. “We’ve added the part that I think distinguished USD by connecting it to Laudato Si and a more comprehensive care.”
Lots of schools across the country, particularly big name schools, claim to be dedicated to sustainability, but few have displayed real affirmative action and passion for the topic like USD has, as Boudrias reflected.
“When you look at Care for Our Common Home it focuses on climate change, sustainability and environmental justice, and it’s really at the core of what USD does and what USD is. It’s not just our mission and our vision in words, but it’s who we want to be as a university,” observed Boudrias.
Unsurprisingly, this decision came with a little apprehension from some board members. President Harris shared his experience working with the board to arrive at the decision to take action and make this statement.
“It’s not so much that they’re opposed to the best thing for fossil fuels,” Harris explained. “They were worried about the most vulnerable of USD students and that we have the best possible return on our dollar so that that money can be used to help our students.”
However, he shared that rather than creating tension this concern “led to a really healthy conversation” allowing the school to explore the intersectionality of their values.
President Harris and Dr. Boudrias shared the importance of USD’s traditional Catholic values and how those affect environmental decisions. The result of taking these values into careful account was the adoption of an ESG policy.
“We focus so much on the fossil fuel element and the environment, but what the board really adopted was an ESG policy,” Harris said. “The ESG is around environment, social, and governance…We’re looking at how organizations are run and are they adopting policies of ethical behavior around the environment, but also who sits on the board, so it reinforces another pathway, which is our diversity equity inclusion.”
The commitment that USD made is much bigger than simply phasing out fossil fuels.
Boudrias explained that the university is looking beyond, to make sure they are uniting with companies that go hand in hand with a changemaking mindset.
“We’re trying to find the right companies that reflect our values… It’s very powerful to say that divestment is a big deal. And it is, but it’s really not the only thing that we’re doing in investment policy,” Boundrias said. “I think it’s more important to many of us that we’re going to actively look for positive impact investment, than actually letting our fossil fuels go away, because I think that means that we’re making a better, bigger change in the world.”
The steps that the university is taking to truly make a difference for the environment is incredible, but at the end of the day, Boudrias shared that the students remain at the core of their work.
“The passion of the students for us is what helps us stay motivated,” Boundrias said.
President Harris made a similar statement, reminding students that this task will one day fall onto their shoulders.
“We’re trying to find a way forward. We’re trying to hand this along. So the next generation of leaders on this campus will continue this good work because there’ll be another step we always have,” Harris said.
The current board at USD has set this in motion and given students the opportunity to become educated and involved in sustainability, but in the not-so-distant future, it will be these same students who will face the responsibility to continue to create change.
The Laudato Si initiative worldwide will hopefully begin to make a lasting effect on the serious issue of climate change.