Celebrating Earth Month at Creighton University
Since the first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970, the month of April has been recognized as a time to reflect on the health of our planet and to inspire collaboration in caring for our common home.
As a Jesuit, Catholic university dedicated to the well-being of all God’s creation, Creighton is committed to the care and concern of the environment, while serving as an authentic source of hope for our students.
“Sustainability at Creighton isn’t just about saving energy or reducing waste,” says Andrew Baruth, PhD, director of sustainability and professor of physics. “It’s about inspiring our students, faculty, staff and alumni toward a hope-filled future.”
Through the Office of Sustainability Programs, and with guidance from our Sustainable Creighton Initiative, Earth Month 2026 offers a time to reflect, rejoice and recommit to building a healthier, more hopeful world for all.
New Clean-Energy Solution
Creighton University has been working with Cordia, one of its energy partners in Omaha, to provide a new, seamless clean-energy solution for its downtown campus. Through Cordia’s new CordiaClean product, chilled water for cooling buildings is being delivered across Creighton’s nearly 130-acre Omaha campus using electricity sourced 100% from renewable energy.
Chilled water accounts for about 21% of Creighton’s operational footprint.
“This shift to the CordiaClean product drastically reduces our Scope 2 emissions and aligns with our values as a Jesuit, Catholic university committed to environmental stewardship,” Baruth says.
Learn more about Creighton’s partnership with Cordia.
Keeping Our Cool
On the Creighton University Health Sciences Campus – Phoenix, 126 eco-friendly water-source heat pumps provide cooling (and heating) for our Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Health Sciences Building. On Creighton’s Omaha campus, chilled water and steam are cycled through 7,300 feet of buried and tunneled piping to cool and heat our facilities.
Learn more about this hidden energy network that keeps Creighton cool.
Creighton Blue Honored as Green
While celebrating Campus Sustainability Month last October, Creighton learned it had been recognized in The Princeton Review’s 2026 Guide to Green Colleges, achieving an outstanding green rating score of 86 for our commitment to a healthy and sustainable campus environment.
Read more about this accolade.
Earth Month 2026 Events Include a Public Lecture
The public is invited to a lecture on Thursday, April 30, titled “Public Health and Justice: The Environmental and Social Costs of Fossil Fuels.” The event will be from 6:30-8 p.m. in the Harper Center, Hixson-Lied Auditorium, on Creighton’s Omaha campus, and will also be available via livestream.
The lecture will highlight the benefits and trade-offs of energy policy choices, with a focus on health-related impacts. It will specifically look at Omaha’s energy policy decisions from a national perspective and compare our benefits/costs with others. Featured speakers are:
- Jonathan Buonocore, ScD, assistant professor, Boston University School of Public Health, a national expert in evaluating the impacts, benefits and tradeoffs of technology and policy choices in energy and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
- Ryan Wishart, PhD, environmental sociologist, Creighton University, the lead author of the chapter “Climate Justice and Equity” in the 2024 Nebraska Climate Assessment.
