Engagement

Engaging Our Local and Global Communities on Sustainability

As a Catholic and Jesuit university, we are called to powerfully engage the world, human culture, and the environment—bringing to bear the intellectual and spiritual resources upon which our community is built. In this capacity, Georgetown’s faculty, students, staff and other members of our campus community lead and facilitate a broad variety of engagement initiatives in our local and global communities to address the critical challenges of sustainability. An overview of many of these initiatives is described below.

Student-Led Initiatives

There are many student-led initiatives supporting sustainability throughout the university. Read more about these student organizations.

Earth Commons Institute

Georgetown’s Earth Commons Institute (new window) is a hub for environmental and sustainability innovation, research and education to accelerate action on the most pressing issues of our earth. Assembling a team of interdisciplinary experts, researchers, leaders and students, the Earth Commons is transforming the university into a living laboratory to develop scalable solutions for a greener, more sustainable world.

Global Futures Initiative

Georgetown University’s Global Futures Initiative (new window) is a university-wide exploration of pressing global issues through teaching, research, and dialogue with world leaders in the public sector, business, and civil society. Over the course of 2015 and 2016 the Initiative is inviting faculty and students to address four issues critical to the future of humanity: development, governance, security, and the environment.

Sustainability Collaborations with the District of Columbia

Through our participation in the District of Columbia College and University Sustainability Pledge, Georgetown is committed to helping advance the sustainability goals of Washington, D.C. Under this framework, the university has ongoing, active collaborations with local organizations such as the District of Columbia Sustainable Energy Utility (DC SEU) and DC Water’s DC Clean Rivers Project to advance mutual sustainability goals such as energy conservation and a healthy watershed.