According to Dr. David Rhoads, Professor of New Testament at Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago and one of the organizers of the national Green Seminary Initiative, SFTS is believed to be the first seminary to produce a substantial carbon footprint report. The baseline provides the starting point against which to measure whether SFTS is moving toward reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.

Already a key member of the Green Seminary Initiative, SFTS has been asked by Rhoads to share its findings so other seminaries can analyze their carbon footprints as well. The Green Seminary Initiative, which boasts 38 member seminaries in the U.S., Canada and Sweden, is devoted to equipping graduates to lead congregations and communities in creation care, foster seminaries as models of creation care, and serve as a clearinghouse for information, ideas and resources.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy also supports action to reduce greenhouse emissions. In its policy that was ratified during the 2008 General Assembly, Presbyterian-related seminaries and conference centers were urged to make environmental education on global climate change and energy a part of their curricula, take measures to reduce energy consumption, and encourage holistic thinking about the relationships between technology and nature.

The SFTS Green Seminary Initiative Group took roots after Chaplain Charles Marks invited students and faculty to explore what it would mean for SFTS to address climate change. With the support of Dr. Carol Robb, the Margaret Dollar Professor of Christian Social Ethics, SFTS senior Doug Olds headed the research and writing team that studied 2008 as the baseline for SFTS's carbon footprint. Olds produced a smaller scale study at First Presbyterian Church in San Anselmo when he served there as an intern. SFTS intern Evans Presley-McGowan also provided key contributions, including logging airline itineraries and tracking student and staff commuter miles and gas mileage for the report.

Now that the SFTS Green Seminary Initiative Group has determined the Seminary’s carbon footprint, the intention is for SFTS to reduce carbon emissions over time until reaching carbon neutrality.

To read a summary of the report, click here:

http://sfts.edu/docs/resources/carbonFootprint/2009 _Carbon_Footprint_Summary.pdf

To read the complete report, click here:

http://sfts.edu/docs/resources/carbonFootprint/2009_Carbon_Footprint_Complete_Report.pdf