Overseeing success under his leadership in sustainability, Director of Campus Sustainability Dr. Victor Udo’s passion and extensive knowledge has landed him a key role at Bucknell University.

Udo says the process for creating a plan is a “shared vision” – in his case, this centers on taking the principal objective from their 5-year-plan and implementing it in their successive 10-year–plan. Governance is a central process with his involvement in the President’s Sustainability Council, where he serves as a chairman and leader to 4 different sustainability-based groups.

The council helps with the governance process; it gives sustainability at Bucknell its primary structure. Udo even compares it to what happens in D.C. with the president, following up with: “What we have at Bucknell,” he says, “a lot of schools want.”

He also touches on sustainable development goals, or SDGs, of which there are 17 (from the United Nations). However, despite the nearly 200 participating countries trying to reach these goals by 2030, the U.S. is not engaged with it.

Udo explains his disapproval on the country’s lack of involvement: “It is in our hands to educate the uneducated” (in reference to third-world countries), because “we are sharing one Earth.”

For Bucknell, the plan for sustainability spans from 2020-2030. The plan focuses on environmental sustainability through social sustainability, using the solution of technology. 

An example of this technology is the 1.7 megawatts of solar panels on campus, so as to not emit carbon dioxide. The social sustainability aspect involves progressing things reducing carbon emission, but Udo and his colleagues ask inclusive questions like: Can we afford to spend $17 million on this, or could it be used to discount fees for those who want to come to Bucknell?

Udo continues to vouch for the well-being of the environment through a local and global lense, encouraging others to look beyond Lewisburg or even the United States. “You as a generation are more globalized,” he says to a class of college students. “Look at the big picture.”