Twenty years of advancing sustainability – that’s how long we have been at it. And the 2013/14 Annual Sustainability Report for UBC’s Vancouver and Okanagan campuses highlights our continued commitment as reflected in our achievements from the past year. In addition, as part of our ongoing planning for the next generation of sustainability at UBC, we have approved a 20-year sustainability strategy for UBC’s Vancouver campus.
Annual Sustainability Report
Our report is part of continued efforts to foster dialogue and engage with our community and communicate progress towards our sustainability aspirations. The Annual Sustainability Report is a result of campus-wide engagement with key stakeholders that advance sustainability on a daily basis, whether in an academic, operational, or community setting.
2013/2014 Achievements
- Supported UBC’s academic mandate by continuing to embed sustainability across the curriculum and providing applied research, work and leadership opportunities to students.
- Operated five Campus as a Living Lab projects that provide teaching, learning and research opportunities for students, faculty and staff while meeting operational requirements.
- Made significant progress towards implementing our Vancouver Campus Climate Action Plan and achieving our greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets, reducing emissions 14 per cent from 2007 levels despite significant campus growth; we are on track to meet our 2015 targets.
- Engaged hundreds of students, staff, faculty and residents across our campuses to promote sustainable behaviours in an effort to enable individuals to take action and make change.
- Expanded faculty and student housing options, and worked with key partners on advancing the rapid transit connection to UBC’s Vancouver campus. All part of our efforts to model a vibrant, complete and sustainable community at an urban neighbourhood scale.
- Completed the development of a 20-year Sustainability Strategy for our Vancouver campus.
Read the full report.
Next Generation Sustainability Strategy
Following extensive consultation and approval by the UBC Sustainability Initiative Steering Committee, the 20-year Sustainability Strategy for UBC's Vancouver Campus was completed and presented to the UBC Board of Governors on December 2, 2014.
Q: What does this mean for UBC?
A: The Strategy is a framework enabling UBC to further integrate sustainability efforts through the lens of regenerative sustainability, leveraging the campus as a societal test-bed and creating academic, operational and community collaborations and connections.
Integration of sustainability supports student, faculty and staff recruitment and helps ensure our graduates will be prepared as agents of change to influence sustainability in other communities and contribute to global citizenship. Moreover, as a university that operates at a scale of a small municipality, our sustainability activities are of interest to cities and have potential to inspire change beyond the campus.
Q: How was the strategy developed?
A: The strategy was developed by the 20-year Sustainability Strategy Steering Committee comprised of faculty, students, staff, external community partners, the University Neighbourhood Association and the Musqueam First Nations. Feedback was sought widely from campus constituents online and through in-person workshop sessions.
The engagement process was staged in two phases:
- Phase 1 engaged the community in the development of a vision.
- Phase 2 engaged the community in the development of strategic goals across the three pillars of teaching, learning and research, operations and infrastructure and community.
Q: What’s next?
A: Many activities are already underway that directly support the strategy overall. In addition to those, we will be focusing on the development of a roadmap towards implementation, developing additional metrics as required, and creating opportunities to bring together stakeholders to collaborate on addressing any new opportunities.
Read the full strategy.