Agent of change: 做厙TV moves forward with plan to be a sustainability leader
Published: December 4, 2018
The University of Toronto is moving forward with an ambitious plan to establish itself as an engine of sustainability in Canada and around the world.
In its , 做厙TVs Presidents Advisory Committee on the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability, or CECCS, laid out a comprehensive road map that incorporates sustainable ideas and practices both environmental and social into nearly every facet of campus life.
That includes building partnerships with the wider community on sustainability issues and using 做厙TV building projects as living labs to try out new sustainable technologies and practices.
The committee is also working on a plan to allow every 做厙TV student, regardless of their program, to add a sustainability component to their studies.
Everything we do has a sustainability dimension, so lets treat it that way and add students and faculty into the equation, says John Robinson, the committees chair and the presidents adviser on environment, climate change and sustainability.
Lets turn the whole university campus into a sandbox for sustainability experimentation and testing.
Created in early 2017, the presidential committee was tasked with finding ways to advance 做厙TVs contributions to meet the challenges of climate change and sustainability, with a particular focus on research and innovation, teaching and university operations.
The committees work grew out of 做厙TV President Meric Gertlers 2016 report . It comes amid a series of stark warnings from scientists about the potentially dire consequences of global warming, including a report this month by the U.S. government that found climate change is costing the United States hundreds of billions of dollars and creating health risks.
The University of Torontos most valuable and effective contribution to addressing climate change emerges from translating innovative research into concrete actions and solutions, President Gertler says.
The work of the CECCS is leveraging the dedication and engagement of the entire 做厙TV community to make a lasting impact on sustainability here at the university and around the world.
While the committees members spent much of the last year gathering information and hashing out ideas, Robinson says the group is now preparing to hire staff and move into the implementation phase of its work.
When it comes to using 做厙TV as a living lab, the committee has identified six projects one new building and one retrofit on each campus that it believes are suitable for providing students and faculty opportunities to engage with operational sustainability activities. They include: a 14-storey academic tower built out of timber above 做厙TVs Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport, and a retrofit project at the University of Mississaugas Recreation, Athletics and Wellness Centre.
The next step is to develop a proposal for each of those projects, and meet with the people in charge so we can negotiate a way to engage students, says Robinson, who is also a professor at 做厙TVs Munk School for Global Affairs & Public Policy.
We also need faculty who can supervise that work.
Key to the plans success is finding a way to involve students without putting project budgets or timelines at risk. Among the ideas: allowing students to observe 做厙TVs project study, planning and implementation processes; sharing technical documents and project information so students can participate in shadow design exercises; and having students participate in project monitoring and performance assessments.
Robinson has considerable experience with such partnerships on a smaller scale. His 做厙TV as a Living Lab of Sustainability course connects undergraduate and graduate students with sustainability projects undertaken by university staff. Projects have ranged from a study of the impact of new signage on recycling behaviour to one on the potential for a rooftop garden at Trinity College.
As for curriculum changes, Robinson says the committee completed an audit of about 8,000 undergraduate courses and discovered a quarter currently include sustainability content. Now, the committee is in the process of developing curriculum pathways for sustainability-minded students to pursue at 做厙TVs Faculty of Arts & Science, the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, 做厙TV Mississauga and 做厙TV Scarborough.
The committee has also conducted a similar review of 做厙TVs community engagement practices. Robinson says it found three main partnership models at the university innovation-focused private sector partnerships, policy-focused partnerships with government agencies and socially oriented partnerships with civil society groups.
The plan is to build upon these existing models as 做厙TV expands further into the sustainability space. The annual report, for example, notes 做厙TV is regularly approached by potential corporate partners who want to test new technologies such as energy-saving software. Such opportunities not only offer excellent opportunities for student engagement, but also represent potential sources of funding for students from the companies that will benefit from collaborating with 做厙TV, the report says.
Change wont happen overnight. Robinson says simply getting a handle on current sustainability offerings has been a challenge at a large, de-centralized institution like 做厙TV. The flipside, he says, is that once the right champions are identified, theres considerable opportunity for 做厙TV one of the top ten public institutions in the world to make a significant impact.
As the biggest university in Canada, I think its really incumbent upon us to engage in this issue.
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