重口味SM

Agent of change: U of T moves forward with plan to be a sustainability leader

photo of people tending to a rooftop garden
A U of T presidential committee's report on the environment, climate change and sustainability recommends, among other things, using the campus as a "living lab" for sustainability projects (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

The 重口味SM is moving forward with an ambitious plan to establish itself as an engine of sustainability in Canada and around the world. 

In its , U of T鈥檚 President鈥檚 Advisory Committee on the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability, or CECCS, laid out a comprehensive road map that incorporates sustainable ideas and practices 鈥 both environmental and social 鈥 into nearly every facet of campus life.

That includes building partnerships with the wider community on sustainability issues and using U of T building projects as 鈥渓iving labs鈥 to try out new sustainable technologies and practices.

The committee is also working on a plan to allow every U of T student, regardless of their program, to add a sustainability component to their studies. 

鈥淓verything we do has a sustainability dimension, so let鈥檚 treat it that way and add students and faculty into the equation,鈥 says John Robinson, the committee鈥檚 chair and the president鈥檚 adviser on environment, climate change and sustainability. 

鈥淟et鈥檚 turn the whole university campus into a sandbox for sustainability experimentation and testing.鈥

Created in early 2017, the presidential committee was tasked with finding ways to advance U of T鈥檚 contributions to meet the challenges of climate change and sustainability, with a particular focus on research and innovation, teaching and university operations. 

The committee鈥檚 work grew out of U of T President Meric Gertler鈥檚 2016 report 鈥溾. 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.

鈥淭he 重口味SM鈥檚 most valuable and effective contribution to addressing climate change emerges from translating innovative research into concrete actions and solutions,鈥 President Gertler says. 

鈥淭he work of the CECCS is leveraging the dedication and engagement of the entire U of T community to make a lasting impact on sustainability here at the university and around the world.鈥

While the committee鈥檚 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 U of T as a living lab, the committee has identified six projects 鈥 one new building and one retrofit on each campus 鈥 that it believes are suitable for providing students and faculty opportunities to 鈥渆ngage with operational sustainability activities.鈥 They include: a 14-storey academic tower built out of timber above U of T鈥檚 Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport, and a retrofit project at the University of Mississauga鈥檚 Recreation, Athletics and Wellness Centre.

鈥淭he 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,鈥 says Robinson, who is also a professor at U of T鈥檚 Munk School for Global Affairs & Public Policy. 

鈥淲e also need faculty who can supervise that work.鈥

Key to the plan鈥檚 success is finding a way to involve students without putting project budgets or timelines at risk. Among the ideas: allowing students to observe U of T鈥檚 project study, planning and implementation processes; sharing technical documents and project information so students can participate in 鈥渟hadow鈥 design exercises; and having students participate in project monitoring and performance assessments.

Robinson has considerable experience with such partnerships on a smaller scale. His 鈥淯 of T as a Living Lab of Sustainability鈥 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 鈥減athways鈥 for sustainability-minded students to pursue at U of T鈥檚 Faculty of Arts & Science, the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, U of T Mississauga and U of T Scarborough.

The committee has also conducted a similar review of U of T鈥檚 community engagement practices. Robinson says it found three main partnership models at the university 鈥 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 U of T expands further into the sustainability space. The annual report, for example, notes U of T is regularly approached by potential corporate partners who want to test new technologies such as energy-saving software. 鈥淪uch 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 U of T,鈥 the report says. 

Change won鈥檛 happen overnight. Robinson says simply getting a handle on current sustainability offerings has been a challenge at a large, de-centralized institution like U of T. The flipside, he says, is that once the right 鈥渃hampions鈥 are identified, there鈥檚 considerable opportunity for U of T 鈥 one of the top ten public institutions in the world 鈥 to make a significant impact. 

鈥淎s the biggest university in Canada, I think it鈥檚 really incumbent upon us to engage in this issue.鈥 

 

UTC