Photo Courtesy of Jenny Yu ‘24
By Catelyn Fitzgerald ’23
Science and Environment Editor
In an email shared with the Mount Holyoke community on Oct. 18, President Sonya Stephens announced several plans to increase progress towards the College’s sustainability goals. The letter featured updates to the goals previously outlined in the College’s Sustainability Task Report in 2018, while also introducing new commitments. Stephens discussed the College’s plan to “eliminate holdings in fossil fuel investment funds” in the next 10 years, a commitment that was announced by the Board of Trustees in March, adding that no new investments in fossil fuels have been made since 2017.
Investments in fossil fuels currently make up two percent of the College’s endowment. The letter also addressed the College’s goal to be carbon neutral by 2037, announcing that recommendations for reforming the current heating and electricity systems to achieve this target will be brought to the Board of Trustees in Spring 2022. The letter cited several ongoing efforts to bring the College closer to carbon neutrality, including the replacement of 30 percent of College-owned vehicles with hybrids and efforts to increase energy efficiency in several buildings and residential halls on campus.
Climate justice was also addressed in Stephens’ letter, which announced the formation of a Community Commitment to Climate Justice. The initiative will make its debut in early November. The CC2CJ will facilitate campus-wide conversations about the climate justice movement through a “local approach.” More information about the CC2CJ will be released by the Miller Worley Center for the Environment in the coming weeks.
The letter ended with a statement on the recent Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education, which was hosted by the College on October 12-14, saying that it was a reminder of the need to “build a future that is sustainable, equitable and resilient for all.”