Driven by a myriad of factors, Union Theological Seminary’s campus is amid a dramatic revitalization. For one, the planet is facing a climate crisis – one that requires swift and significant action from every institution. Simultaneously, UTS’ campus needs significant upgrades to properly accommodate all community members – and reduce overall costs.
As such, UTS is embarking on a major journey to ensure every corner of the campus is as environmentally friendly and cost-effective as possible.
The current aggressive climate plan at UTS was catalyzed by students and strongly supported by Karenna Gore, founder and executive director of the Center for Earth Ethics (CEE) and visiting professor of Practice of Earth Ethics at UTS. Starting in 2019, students from the Eco-Justice Caucus and beyond – resourced by the CEE and Gore – began advocating for UTS to declare a climate emergency and take proactive steps to address it. In December 2020, students formally submitted a resolution to UTS’ Board of Trustees with these demands. The Board approved the resolution, and in February 2021, UTS officially declared a climate emergency and announced its intention to form a 10-year Climate Mobilization Action Plan (CMAP).
UTS knew that the plan would be stronger if it included the voices of members from all parts of the UTS community. So, students, the administration, and community experts worked collaboratively and democratically to develop CMAP. “There was an equal playing field, and everybody had a voice at the table,” said Liam Myers, co-chair of the Eco-Justice Caucus.
The final plan was incredibly comprehensive. It included three key areas: 1) Education and community programming; 2) Facilities and sustainability; and 3) Eco-justice, engagement, and resilience. In sum, the plan aims to reduce UTS’ carbon emissions to zero, make climate change a core piece of UTS’ education, and critically engage the full ramifications of the climate crisis at UTS and beyond.
CMAP aligns strongly with UTS’ core social justice values. Marisa Hulstine, co-chair of the Eco-Justice Caucus, noted that faith leaders have an “ethical responsibility” to the planet that corresponds to “Jesus’ ministry of caring for the most marginalized people, and that’s who is affected most by the climate crisis.”
The Rev. Fred Davie, a strong advocate for CMAP and Senior Strategic Advisor to the President at Union Theological Seminary, stated, “Most faith communities acknowledge the creation as being a divine gift. We should nurture it and take care of it, and we haven’t done that… So faith communities have an obligation to call out how we’ve missed the mark on caring for the environment and then to provide direction and inspiration on how we can correct our ways.”
As such, environmental sustainability is at the heart of UTS’ campus development. A few years ago, UTS completed a major review of the campus and its many maintenance issues. It was clear that the UTS campus would need a significant overhaul. UTS leaders developed a plan to address the issues and began to execute it. Then, in 2022, William Peabody joined the UTS team as Chief Operating Officer to complete the charge to revitalize the campus, reduce costs, curtail emissions, and critically set UTS up to thrive for the long haul.
“When you look at it from a thousand-foot elevation, it’s about being stewards of the facilities and the institution,” said Peabody. “We want to ensure UTS is in the best shape it can be for the next 100 years… Nothing is a short-term situation here.” According to Peabody, that means capitalizing on every possible opportunity to make operations more efficient, higher quality, and less costly.
Already, due to a series of changes and collaboration with partners, 100 percent of UTS’ electricity now comes from a green power source. Additionally, Hastings Hall, a residential building, has been renovated with more efficient heating and cooling systems – reducing costs and emissions.
UTS also wrapped up construction on Claremont Hall, a new building that will provide housing and other spaces for the UTS community and apartments for other New Yorkers. The entire building is LEED-certified – a designation given to healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings.
According to Rev. Davie, thanks to the renovations, students “have a school that they can be proud of in its environmental sensitivity and sustainability and efforts toward being a LEED-campus. We’re creating a campus that is more up to date and equipped to meet students’ residential and academic needs – from improved residential living to improved classrooms to improved technology.”
Moving forward, UTS will continue to build a campus that meets the needs of the community and the planet.