Sustainability Scholars Program

The objective of this project is to facilitate energy retrofits of multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs) by documenting case studies of heat pump retrofit examples in the Lower Mainland. The case studies are meant to instruct building owners and encourage technology uptake as well as inform updates to the City of Vancouver’s Energy Retrofit Strategy for Existing Buildings.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: green buildings, sustainable development & green economy

Implementing fleet vehicle sharing programs can reduce GHG emissions by removing old, inefficient vehicles and replacing them with new vehicles with new technologies that reduce GHG emissions. The purpose of this study was to assess the viability of vehicle sharing in the False Creek Flats area of Vancouver. The report includes recommendations for implementation of a pilot project including a feasibility study, implementation plan, summary of business engagement insights, and identification of potential impacts.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: lighter footprint, sustainable development & green economy, transportation

Olympic Village in Vancouver employs a number of methods to manage rainwater including intensive and extensive green roofs, rainwater harvesting systems, soil cells, infiltration galleries, a constructed wetland, a bioswale, and permeable pavers. The objective of this research project was to investigate, evaluate and document the successes, challenges and lessons learned from the deployment of these green rainwater infrastructure strategies.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: green buildings, sustainable development & green economy, water

Through this study, the Park Board is exploring the feasibility of replacing or augmenting the existing vehicle fleet with cargo bicycles. The objectives are to identify parks and golf courses where cargo bicycles can be used, review the available types, technology, and manufacturers of cargo bicycles, review worldwide case studies demonstrating cargo bicycle use for similar operational activities, conduct a survey of relevant staff in selected parks and golf courses, and provide recommendations and considerations for the Park Board.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: lighter footprint, sustainable development & green economy

The purpose of this report is to dig deeper into the roots of community engagement and the benefits of spaces such as parklets. Built upon feedback from individuals and groups, the report outlines ways the City can address the big questions parklets may face. Part of the study is to understand how to expand the program to be more accessible to a wider audience and how to increase community engagement. 

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: healthy city, social sustainability

The Solutions Lab is a new approach to seeking breakthrough, transformative solutions to some of the City of Vancouver’s most complex problems. It is currently in a soft launch stage (phase 2), with core methods, operating model, and appropriate types of Lab challenges and teams all being developed by working on four complex challenges in the Lab context.

The purpose of this report is to share what the Solutions Lab has been doing and why, how we’ve been evaluating our activities, and what kinds of questions could we be asking for the next iteration of the Lab. The hope is that the Solutions Lab will offer City staff and community partners viable ways to reach different kinds of solutions to the sustainability challenges we all face.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: green economy, sustainable development & green economy

The intent of this research is to better understand how the learnings and successes of other cities can help inform the development of Vancouver’s Poverty Reduction Plan and how existing city- and community-level initiatives in Vancouver can create the necessary foundation for a robust and effective Poverty Reduction Strategy. This report provides preliminary considerations to the City of Vancouver as it prepares to engage communities and move forward on poverty reduction work. 

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: healthy city, social sustainability

This project is about continuing the momentum in collaboratively building social connections across the Vancouver region. The goal was to explore how to build an enduring platform for sustaining and strengthening linkages between various change-makers to create a larger combined impact. The project was sparked by an event called CONNECT: Catalyzing a Social Movement. This report provides a summary of the process, findings, and outcomes of this project. 

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: healthy city, social sustainability

The Vancouver Economic Commission (VEC), aims to create a formal program to facilitate partnerships between Vancouver’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and local post-secondary institutions. This report summarizes research completed to date and presents three potential skills-matching programs for VEC to pursue. The trajectory, required resources, business model, and risks are outlined for each option. Recommendations for implementing a more formal VEC Environmental and Social Impact (EASI) Partnerships program are also included.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: green economy, sustainable development & green economy