Files
Download Full Text (2.9 MB)
Publication Date
Spring 2025
Description
In the fall of 2021, St. Mary’s University became one of the first universities in Texas to commit to Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ Action Platform (LSAP). With this seven-year commitment to the principles of Laudato Si’, the St. Mary’s community is now taking steps to become a more environmentally sustainable campus. An important part of this effort is to establish baseline conditions from which to measure progress in sustainability with respect to specific university systems. With extensive grounds, dozens of buildings, and thousands of students, staff, and faculty, however, the complexities of a college campus can make it difficult to gather this information and explore more sustainable options in a systematic way. For the Spring 2025 semester, students in the StMU Honors Program are working with the Marianists to evaluate environmental sustainability for the Casa Maria Community located on the St. Mary’s campus. This type of smaller, ‘proof-of-concept’ project provides a more controlled way to explore current practices, establish baseline conditions, and develop customized recommendations for a more sustainable Casa Maria Community. For this presentation, students focused on understanding energy consumption for the community through the use of electrical appliances, lighting, heating and cooling, and hot water. Baseline data were gathered through observation, anonymous surveys of the community residents, and through optional one on one interviews. The results of this focused project include recommendations for changes in energy habits that can lead to reduced energy usage and cost savings from a more sustainable Casa Maria Community, with a potential for application across the broader St. Mary’s campus.
Keywords
Sustainability, Sustainable energy, Student housing; Laudato Si'
Digital Publisher
Digital Commons at St. Mary's University
Collection
Research Showcase Presentations -2025
Format
Medium
Presentation
City
San Antonio, Texas
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
