The Earth Commons

Launched just weeks ago on February 15, 2022, the Earth Commons, Georgetown University’s Institute for the Environment & Sustainability (new window) is just another way Georgetown is adding to the work of our community over many years to expand and deepen our engagement with the environment. Formerly the Georgetown Environment Initiative (GEI), the Earth Commons helped launch the MS-ESM program and is an integral partner in making our interdisciplinary degree possible.

The Earth Commons will seek to build, support, and infuse a focus on the environment and sustainability across our University (new window). It will support faculty research within and across disciplines, develop new partnerships, convene leaders, advance dialogue, and provide opportunities for students to engage in hands-on projects and research, in areas such as environmental justice, climate change and energy transitions, environmental health, food and water security, and biodiversity conservation.

While the Institute will be focused on education, generating research, action, and responses to global environmental issues, it will also enable us to deepen our work on sustainability here at Georgetown, working with our Office of Sustainability, led by our Vice President for Sustainability, Meghan Chapple, who joined us this past August. Over the next few months, the Office of Sustainability will facilitate conversations and engagement in our community on the goals and plans we have for sustainability on our campuses; and together, the Earth Commons and the Office of Sustainability will foster experiential learning opportunities on our campuses.

Visit the Earth Commons website (new window) to learn more about the goals and activities of the Institute and its new student-edited magazine Common Home (new window).