Sustainability Scholars Program

This study identifies the major challenges and opportunities for the implementation of on-street electric vehicle charging from light poles in the City of Vancouver, aiming to address homes without access to off-street parking. It includes a review of the programs and projects of other jurisdictions; an assessment of the existing streetlight poles electrical infrastructure; and a recommendation of possible locations for pilot projects.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: green economy, green transportation, healthy city

This project focuses on improving our understanding of the health and environmental impacts of street dirt and establishing a benchmarking of Vancouver's street sweeping operations. It consists of a literature review of street dirt analysis, including chemicals of concern and potential chemical concentrations, as well as and a benchmarking study which gathers street sweeping operational and fleet data from various cities to compare with Vancouver's street sweeping operations. 

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: clean water, healthy city, lighter footprint

This report synthesizes the outcomes of the various elements of the Lower Fraser Valley visual air quality pilot study and, where possible, identifies the key features of the study that could be relevant to developing recommendations for a visual air quality program. Regional work on visual air quality has been coordinated by the BC Visibility Coordinating Committee. Results, findings and recommendations arising from the pilot study inform the development of actions for improving visual air quality.

Partner: Metro Vancouver
Keywords: sustainable development, green economy

This project aims to gain a better understanding of the relationship between N₂O emissions and wastewater treatment plant processes in Metro Vancouver. A literature review was conducted to investigate the potential sources of N₂O emissions in Annacis Island Wastewater Treatment Plant, potential measurement methods and measures to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from Metro Vancouver wastewater treatment plants.

Partner: Metro Vancouver
Keywords: water

The goal of this project is to increase BC Energy Step Code adoption in small and medium communities by optimizing the Community Energy Association's support efforts. This report focuses specifically on the unique challenges and opportunities of implementing the BC Energy Step Code in smaller communities by identifying common barriers and determining actions for the Community Energy Association moving forward. This research is largely informed by interviews conducted with planners and building officials.

Partner: Community Energy Association
Keywords: green buildings, leadership & behaviour change

The purpose of this report is to understand the current ability to implement renewable energy for backup power solutions. A review of current technologies in energy storage, and alternative fuels was analyzed to recommend a final hybrid based solution that would be best suited for residential buildings.

Partner: BC Housing
Keywords: green buildings, sustainable development & green economy, resilience

In the new era of sustainable mobility, the focus is mostly on the environmental impacts of electric, autonomous and shared vehicles, yet they will also have other meaningful impacts on regional economies. Not warranting enough attention to the economic aspect would not give us a complete picture of the impacts of these new modes of transportation. To this end, we estimated the regional economic impacts of SAVEs in Metro Vancouver.

Partner: TransLink
Keywords: sustainable development & green economy, transportation, economic impact

This report investigates research collaborations between the University of British Columbia and the City of Vancouver or other municipalities in Greater Vancouver on sustainability and liveability issues since 2010. The study's objective is to better understand how to increase and improve such research collaborations. The report includes recommendations to inform the development and implementation of city-university partnerships in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

This project informed a peer-reviewed article in the International Journal of Sustainability in Education: Strengthening city–university partnerships to advance sustainability solutions: A study of research collaborations between the University of British Columbia and City of Vancouver

Partner: UBC Sustainability Initiative (Urban Innovation Research)
Keywords: leadership & behaviour change, sustainability in education

This project aims to identify and evaluate beneficial opportunities to repurpose excavated disposed soils to reach the goals highlighted in the City of Vancouver's Zero Waste 2040 plan. This project includes amount and composition of incoming soils to the Vancouver Landfill, a forecast of future inflow soils tonnage to the Vancouver Landfill, possible soil repurposing options and highlighted viable options for the City of Vancouver.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: lighter footprint, zero waste