This year’s round of funding has been awarded to a range of initiatives that continue to push forward CAP2030 goals, employ sustainable practices, and highlight the sheer dedication of units across campus. With some projects building on the momentum of earlier WSF initiatives - expanding successful pilots or improving on earlier models to increase impacts, other projects represent new approaches to advancing sustainability in the workplace. Highlights of this year’s funding cycle include:
- A total of 13 projects funded, representing 12 distinct faculties and departments across UBC Vancouver.
- Adjudication panel including members from C+CP, the Sustainability Hub, and Centre for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL).
- Key thematic areas include climate action, waste reduction, education and engagement.
Examples of some of the newly approved projects driving impact:
Museum of Anthropology: Faculty of Arts Waste Diversion Network
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Inspired by the frequent use of unstamped plastics (such as ceroplastic) that are often excluded from UBC’s standard recycling programs, this project aims to pilot a Faculty of Arts-wide waste diversion system to recycle these synthetic materials and prevent stockpiles of unusable scraps and waste. Through coordinated partnerships with local recycling companies and shared collection areas for such plastics, the team at MOA seek to reduce landfill waste, implement emission-cutting practices, build institutional recycling knowledge, and foster collaboration within and across departments that frequently use fabrication and exhibit materials.
Land and Food Systems: Glove Recycling Program for LFS
- With the reliance on disposable plastic materials such as Nitrile Gloves for conducting research, the department of LFS aims to launch a glove recycling initiative in the Sustainable Agricultural Landscapes Lab and expand access to other labs in the MacMillan building. Inspired by previous success in the work spearheaded by Natalia Bercovich at the Biodiversity Research Centre and Joanne Denny at the Biological Sciences Building, this project will use the recycling service of TerraCycle, which provides boxes to collect glove waste. Distributing TerraCycle boxes and removing the entrance barrier of starting such a program, the team hopes to enable and inspire collective action across their research community.
Applied Science Co-op Program: Sustainable Office Challenge
- This unique project held by the Applied Science Co-op program introduces a unit-wide, two-week Sustainable Office challenge that includes sustainable commuting (travelling to work using either public transit, walking or biking), encouraging plant-based meals, and implementing energy saving office practices. The challenge is made more engaging through team-splitting within staff, with each participant recording their sustainable actions throughout the challenge period. This project also gives room to educational workshops and presentations that focus on key sustainability topics such as waste sorting and energy efficiency, promoting lasting environmental change and aligning with the WSF’s educational and engagement goals.
Department of Sociology: Sustainable Staff Student Program
- Building on a previous WSF initiative, the department of Sociology continues its commitment to unit-level climate action by implementing a student staff member to implement three sustainability initiatives. These include a waste audit to inform sustainable purchasing ahead of department’s upcoming relocation, a Sustainability Guide to support climate-conscious decisions across operations, and a community event addressing climate anxiety and wellness for Arts students. In addition, the project also explores business air travel reduction guidelines and all in all aims to catalyze long-term sustainability change within the department and beyond.
Previous cycle of awarded projects: 2024-2025
In the 2024 cycle, Sustainability and Engineering team worked to redesign the fund by aligning criteria with CAP2030, increasing the available funding, and establish a formal adjudication process. On the right are snapshots of some of the many projects that were awarded with the fund:
Department of Geography: GeoGarden Collective
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This initiative expanded its activities with a focus on fostering sustainable garden practices. The project emphasized knowledge-sharing by allowing staff to learn about agroecology principles to apply to food gardens, exchange gardening tips, and repurposing fabric scraps into resusable food wraps. Some of their key achievements included increased education on sustainable food practices, better collaboration among staff and introduction of plant species, which fostered a biodiverse environment within the Geography community.
Dean’s Office, Faculty of Science: Sustainability Lunch and Learns
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The faculty of science organized a series of successful Sustainability Lunch and Learns, aimed at raising awareness and inspiring sustainable practices within the faculty. One of the sessions focused on reducing single-use item waste, partnering with Ocean Ambassadors Canada, and sparking meaningful discussion among attendees who learned about the impact of plastic waste disposed in oceans and how they can prevent it. Another key session, Happy Climate, brought together participants to develop a personal “Happy Climate Action Plan” outlining concrete commitments to sustainability in everyday practices. The session focused on low-carbon emission foods, sustainable snacking and broader climate-conscious actions. Both Lunch and Learns were a key step towards building a more engaging and interactive, sustainability-minded workplace culture.
The Workplace Sustainability Fund provides up to $3,000 per project to support faculty and staff in turning sustainability ideas into action. With each funding cycle, the program strengthens UBC’s vision of a resilient, climate-action oriented campus where sustainability is woven into the decision making of various faculty, staff, and student initiatives.
Workplace Sustainability Fund applications for 2025 reopen next year, below is the funding application process:
- Review the funding criteria and complete the application form
- Submit applications via email to sc.program@ubc.ca
If you have any questions about eligibility, project suitability, or would like to learn more about the fund, please contact sc.program@ubc.ca.