Note: this letter originally appeared as an email sent to the Hopkins community on March 10, 2022.
Dear Johns Hopkins community:
Over the past several months, many of you have given input to shape and inform the emerging JHU Sustainability Plan priorities, and we are now seeking your feedback on the Plan’s draft vision statement and guiding principles. This comment period is open to all university affiliates and community partners through April 1, and we hope you will take this opportunity to respond.
The draft vision and principles were developed through broad stakeholder feedback and from a universitywide survey and virtual town hall event in late fall. In total, over a thousand JHU students, faculty, staff, and community partners shared their feedback, and through this participatory process, one comprehensive vision statement and seven guiding principles emerged. These include a focus around areas such as urgency for climate action, environmental justice and equity, research and innovation, and more.
The 2030 JHU Sustainability Plan is intended to serve as a guiding roadmap for the university’s sustainability priorities throughout the next decade and will build on existing efforts to address climate change, establish lasting community partnerships, and set an ambitious course for university commitments in operations, teaching, and research.
The planning process is overseen by a steering committee chaired by Ben Zaitchik, a professor of Earth and planetary sciences in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences; Megan Latshaw, an associate scientist in Environmental Health and Engineering, a department shared by the Bloomberg School of Public Health and Whiting School of Engineering; and Julian Goresko, JHU’s director of sustainability. The steering committee is supported by several advisory groups as well as various technical working groups representing a myriad of topics.
As the Sustainability Plan is developed, input from stakeholders in divisions throughout the university, as well as feedback from community partners in Baltimore and beyond, will be essential. We encourage you to look for opportunities to participate and stay engaged throughout the process—including a series of topical workshops being planned from mid-March to May—and to stay informed through the Office of Sustainability website.
We look forward to your comments, insights, and continued participation.
Sincerely,
Sunil Kumar
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Laurent Heller
Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration