Earlier this semester, the Board of Trustees, alongside the student and faculty senates, revised the university’s Statement on Sustainability to more clearly reflect the university’s long held, faith-based commitment to environmental stewardship.
According to the university’s website, the updated statement aims to “describe Calvin’s decades-long history of innovative sustainability work, offer a compelling theological rationale for this work, and outline the implications of these commitments for all aspects of campus life.”
Calvin’s Statement on Sustainability was introduced in 2007, thanks to the efforts of the Environmental Sustainability Committee (ESC). The statement reflects the university’s ideals and commitments to sustainable living, learning and action through faith in the Lord. Dave Warners, professor of biology and a founding member, recalls that it took nearly two years to finalize and get approval from the Board.
The statement aimed to “promote discussion of environmental issues” and encourage the wise and compassionate use of resources. Warners explained, “if we don’t live sustainably, creation is gonna continue to degrade.”
“Extinction isn’t stewardship, and polluted creeks that are too hazardous for kids to play in aren’t stewardship. Stewardship looks like sustainable living, and it looks like organizations that are committed to doing what they do in a sustainable way,” said Warners.
Warners and his coauthors in the ESC formed the statement to challenge the university to do more in stewardship and laid the groundwork for multiple Calvin led organizations such as the Plaster Creek Stewards and the Environmental and Energy Sustainability Committee (EESC) to be formed.
Building on this foundation, Calvin has continued to evolve its sustainability efforts over the years, guided by both faith and innovation. Today, the revised Statement on Sustainability reflects the university’s ongoing commitment to creating a future that honors God’s creation — as well as research on how the university is doing with regard to sustainability.
Debra Rienstra, professor of English, who led the effort to revise the statement, explains that the changes were not made without careful consideration. She conducted extensive research on sustainability, which included “interviews with VPs, administrators, staff and faculty from over 18 universities, as well as sustainability directors from Auburn and Worcester.”
This research helped Rienstra assess what Calvin is doing well and identify areas for improvement. Rienstra said that the goals of the statement are to “encourage the university to take accountability for further sustainable actions as well as laying out a clearer definition of sustainability and including stronger language on the issue of climate change.”
Another motive behind the changes was addressing skepticism within the community. “We wanted to be very frank because there are people in our constituency who are climate skeptics or doubters,” said Rienstra. “And we wanted to make sure that we said very, very clearly we’re doing this because this comes from our faith and our faith commitments and our mission commitments. It’s about loving God and loving neighbors, and this is the right thing to do.”
The vision is clear: sustainability at Calvin will not be a passing trend but rather a vital part of its faith-based mission. Dr. Matthew Heun, who is the chair for the EESC and helped revise the statement, shared his insight on the statement’s revisions, saying that “environmental sustainability is a grand challenge … I’m grateful that Calvin administration and my department have sustainability as one of their core values … It’s going to be one of the defining challenges that we face in the next generation.”
