Ateneo de Manila forges path to climate action

In its continuing pursuit of sustainability and environmental stewardship, Ateneo de Manila University is taking a significant step forward with the development of the Climate Action Plan (CAP). The CAP represents just one commitment as the University embarks on its Laudato Si’ journey. With its Core Working Group (CWG) first convened in 2024, the document will codify the University’s commitment to addressing the drivers and impacts — the causes and effects — of climate change, and contains principles, activities, and targets for climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, and climate-positive behavior.

Consistent with the Lux Domino 2030 (LID), the CAP calls on us to respond innovatively to our complex problems, and positions the University as a key player in sustainability and climate action, developing strategies that can inspire and guide other institutions in their own environmental commitments.

One of LID 2030’s four major strategic priority areas is Integral Ecology, a concept highlighted in Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, which takes on a holistic and systemic approach to the environmental crises affecting our planet. With CAP as a key project under Laudato Si’ Goal 1 (Response to the Cry of the Earth), it reflects on the university’s vision to be a “force for good in seeking innovative and sustainable solutions to society’s most pressing challenges.” Furthermore, the CAP aligns seamlessly with Ateneo de Manila’s Sustainable University Master Plan, another plan in development, which outlines how we operationalize sustainability in all campuses, how we define a sustainable Ateneo de Manila, and how we will measure our growth in this commitment.

The Core Working Group is composed of experts from various fields within and across the University, under the leadership of former University President Fr Jose Ramon T Villarin SJ, who currently serves as the Executive Director of the Manila Observatory. The Ateneo Institute of Sustainability serves as the Secretariat for the CAP-CWG. Since it was first convened, the CWG has identified thematic areas of climate action that will serve as the outline of the document and is in the process of writing the plan. Part of the development process will be to schedule consultations with different stakeholders of the University.

As a Filipino, Catholic, and Jesuit University, Ateneo de Manila views the CAP as more than just a policy document — it is an affirmation of climate action rooted in and guided by our moral and social responsibility. The plan serves as a roadmap for both systemic actions and individual formation and ecological conversion. This is  consistent with our aims to form individuals who embody the values of being persons-for-and-with-others, while ensuring that the University contributes meaningfully to climate action efforts.

The CWG is set to launch the Climate Action Plan, alongside the related Biodiversity Action Plan, by the Intersession of 2025.