Integral Ecology is a concept derived from the observation of the interconnectedness between humans and the natural world. This interdependence touches every aspects of human life, from political and economic to cultural, social and theological. Values and decisions based on these different aspects therefore have direct consequences on how humans live with each other and share the planet’s resources.

“Recognising the reasons why a given area is polluted requires a study of the workings of society, its economy, its behaviour patterns, and the way it grasps reality.”
-- Pope Francis, Laudato Si’: On Care for our Common Home

The global issues we see today are a reflection of the interrelationship between humans and the planet. Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’ encyclical proposes that the social and environmental issues we are facing are not two separate crises, but one complex crisis with both social and environmental dimensions. Addressing these issues therefore requires the development of an integral ecology – an integrated holistic approach that considers the interactions between both natural and social systems.

Campion Hall’s academic response to developing an integral ecology is the establishment of the Laudato Si’ Research Institute in 2019.

Led by Director Celia Deane-Drummond, the Institute’s mission is to conduct research that can promote change and address the most pressing ecological and social issues of our day.

Today, academic disciplines are often treated in isolation of each other. The Institute’s unique approach is to pursue multidisciplinary research at the intersections of theology, ecology, and the social and natural sciences to develop an alternative framework, informed by theological and philosophical wisdom, that will enrich scholarship on environmental issues, inform policy, and influence practices.