McGill University 2008 Campus Sustainability Leadership Award Application

Category

Four-year and Graduate Institutions over 7,500 FTE

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A pedestrian strolls past the James McGill memorial at the heart of the campus green on Car Free Day (view of Montreal's skyscrapers in the background).
Photographer: Kathleen Ng

Contact

Kathleen Ng
Environmental Officer
Planning and Institutional Analysis
McGill University
Montreal, Quebec
(514) 398-6247
kathleen.ng@mcgill.ca

Governance & Administration

 

Preamble.The University has long been a signatory of both the Halifax and Talloires declarations. The University's environmental policies and associated strategy for action were approved by Senate in 2001 and 2002 respectively, and a paper-use policy was passed by the Board Executive in 2005. The University has two full-time staff members who work with members of the community on environmental projects, and it is anticipated that a Sustainability Office would be open by Fall 2008. The Sub-Committee on Environment (SCE) - a multistakeholder working group of the Senate Committee on Physical Development composed of student, staff and faculty - meets monthly, providing a forum for all members of the McGill community to advance projects on all fronts of the sustainability movement on campus.

Policies.A proposed amendment to include principles of sustainable building practices in the existing environmental policy was approved in January 2006. At the 6th annual Rethink conference in March 2007, the Provost publicly committed to presenting an over-arching University sustainability policy, and as a result sustainability was the topic for discussion at the 2007 Joint Senate/Board of Governors' annual meeting. A multistakeholder group was subsequently formed to develop a sustainability policy (and associated principles) for the University.

Strategic Plan. The University Physical Master Plan involved the environmentally-minded community - staff, students and faculty alike from the very beginning. The Master Plan's Guiding Principles, approved in 2008, specifically include clauses towards sustainable development, including aspects from circulation and transportation to building design and construction. The Associate Vice-Principal (University Services) is now working on development of a strategic sustainability plan.

Organizational memberships. In 2005, McGill became an institutional member of Reseau environnement, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of science, promotion of expertise and support of environmental activities. The University is also a member institution of AASHE, and it is actively represented at the CREPUQ (Conférence des recteurs et principaux des universités québecois -i.e. association of Quebec universities).

Other institutional commitments to sustainability. The University has publicly supported the sustainable development plans of the province of Quebec and the city of Montreal. The University is a partner in the implementation of the municipal sustainable development strategy, reiterating its commitment to specific actions on various issues ranging from operations to education. McGill had also expressed support for sustainable transportation and development in briefs regarding the municipal master plan and transportation plan respectively.

Capital campaign.Of the five goals and priorities of the University's $750M capital campaign, sustainability is stated explicitly, so that Campaign McGill could focus a broad range of expertise on the sobering realities of environmental degradation and shape the next generation of solutions to the problems facing our planet.

Operations

 

Energy.The University was previously recognized by Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency for its efforts and continues to move forward on this issue, low energy prices and funding structure notwithstanding. The University also has an energy efficiency plan, with a goal to reduce energy consumption by 14% by 2010.

Food and Dining. Dining Services continues its commitment to reduced or more sustainable packaging (ex. condiments in bulk dispensers, wooden vs. plastic stir sticks, 100% post-consumer unbleached, compostable napkins, compostable coffee cups) , fair trade/organic goods where available, in addition to the usual commitments to quality, nutrition and client needs, with cage-free eggs and sustainable seafood being most recent initiatives. Vegetarian/vegan menu items are prepared using pans and utensils exclusively designated for vegetarian use only. Dining services purchase from fourteen local producers, and approximately 90% of produce is local when in season. The residences dining hall offers china services, polystyrene cups have been phased out across campus, aluminum takeout containers replaced polystyrene containers, reusable corn plastic mugs are offered for sale at cost, and a $0.20 discount provided as incentive for clients to bring their own mugs.

Transportation. McGill is a partner in the allégo transportation demand management project to discourage commute via single-occupancy vehicles (SOVs) in favor of alternative transportation methods. In this light, the University decided not to add more parking spaces despite the addition of new buildings. The majority of University staff and students take public transit or other non-SOV measures. Fleet management, vehicle acquisition policies and green driving programs are other projects ongoing. McGill has also made International Car Free Day one of its annual events, closing its downtown campus green to parking and vehicular circulation for a sustainability fair organized by students on the roadway.

Waste. McGill members may request pick-up for proper disposal of superfluous equipment such as electronics, batteries, toner cartridges, and office appliances through the Waste Management Program. McGill Purchasing has contracts for ecologically friendly products, including cleaning products, fibres (office/toilet paper) and remanufactured (recycled) toner cartridges. The University also dramatically expanded its recycling programme, with the addition of bins on the campus green as well as three hundred interior recycling bins. Green waste (trimmings from campus maintenance) is collected by Buildings and Grounds services in compostable bags and composted at a local facility.  

Paper use. All course material and exam booklets printed by Printing Services (approximately 20M sheets p.a.) is printed on EcoLogo certified paper. EcoLogo paper is now used on all public University photocopy machines. The McGill Copy Service is now using 80% Post-Consumer recycled paper for all its black and white prints and copies. McGill Libraries is working to digitize course material on WebCT so that course pack printing could be dramatically reduced. Finally, the University no longer prints and distributes telephone directories, pay stubs, nor invoices.

Alternative fuels. Security Services on both campuses have agents on bike patrol in lieu of car patrol, and was the first department to purchase a hybrid vehicle.

 

Curriculum & Research

 

Preamble. McGill University's Faculties of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Arts, and Science pooled their resources to create the School of Environment in 2002. The Sub-Committee on Environment continues to work with the School of Environment to provide students with opportunities to advance their studies by conducting research that could be of practical use to University operations.

The Brace Centre for Water Resources Management brings together staff from several McGill faculties, to undertake research, teaching, specialized training, and policy and strategic studies in water resources management, both in Canada and internationally.

McGill researchers also work as part of the ArcticNet research consortium that evaluates the impact of climate change on northern communities. With funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), ArcticNet is developing models to predict the amount of erosion and better understand the impact of climate change on northern people.

New degree programme. McGill University's Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences launched a new M.Sc. in Environmental Assessment.  This one-year, non-thesis program, offered by the Department of Natural Resource Sciences, is an initiative of the McGill-UNEP Environmental Assessment Collaborating Centre.

The Global Environmental and Climate Change Centre (GEC3)is a new cross-disciplinary, multi-university research centre bringing together more than 40 researchers from five Quebec universities to study processes, modelling and impact of environmental and climate change. The GEC3's mission is to:

  • To promote an outstanding research program at all levels focusing on the integration among physical, biological and chemical processes that regulate the climate system, and their socio-economic impact.
  • To facilitate scientific cooperation among a cross-disciplinary group of Québec researchers in climate and global change science and impact assessment, and to promote Québec research at the national and international levels.
  • To assume a lead role in global change issues and to provide input to the academic and public debate on environmental and climate change in Québec, Canada and internationally.

The VERT group, a consortium including professors from Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, focuses on research on alternative (fuel) vehicles. This includes the solar car and electric snowmobile projects, as well as work with the Quebec electric vehicle association (CEVEQ).

In addition to research centres, individual faculties and departments have courses that include sustainability themes, such as the Social Context of Business course in Management, an Environmental Law stream in the Faculty of Law, and civil engineering courses with a focus on sustainability and life cycle costing.

Most recently, McGill Teaching and Learning Services sent representatives to AASHE's Sustainability in the curriculum workshops, and are now working on a project proposal for implementation on campus.

As one of its commitments to the City of Montreal strategic sustainable development plan, McGill is actively represented on group of partners composing the Regional Centre of Expertise on Education in view of Sustainable Development of the United Nations University (Montreal).

 

Campus Culture

Peer to peer sustainability outreach campaigns. The Environmental Residences Council consists of a student residing in each of the University residence buildings, led by a student coordinator paid by University Residences. The students are encouraged to work on projects to advance the sustainability in their residences. The University also won a grant from Recyc-Quebec in 2006 to organize the innovative "Get Caught Recycling" campaign, which used a viral marketing campaign to increase recycling awareness on campus, reducing contamination levels in recycled material collected.

Openness and transparency. The University encourages dialogue from all members of the community to advance sustainability projects on campus. These include an open invitation to meetings of the Sub-Committee on Environment as well as annual forums, called "Rethink conferences". These forums help disseminate information on past, present and anticipated activities related to campus environmental issues - the 2007 edition was called "BackCast: Sustainability, Student Life and Learning". Campus sustainability was also a topic for discussion for the winter edition of the Principal's Town Hall in 2007.

Sustainability pledges. The University reached the goal of having over one thousand pledges from individuals and departments to take action to reduce the environmental footprint on campus and/or in their residences. The initiative was repeated 2007-2008, with the addition of Defi-Climat (a similar initiative organized by local community groups in collaboration with the City of Montreal).

Informal learning opportunities. The Environmental Office coordinates informal workshops during the year open to all. This included "Chill Out: Campus Solutions to Global Warming": In collaboration with the National Wildlife Fund, McGill hosted a live broadcast featuring positive, practical solutions to global warming being implemented by higher education campuses around the country. The Environmental Office also has outreach days wherein an information kiosk is set up in a high-traffic area (such as a cafeteria) and promotional material is disseminated to passersby not otherwise exposed to the issue. There are more than seventeen student groups that focus on various aspects of sustainability, including Education students in "When You Teach You Learn" whose focus lies on visiting local schools to educate youth on sustainability principles.

 

Community Service and Outreach

 

The University continually holds a variety of events for outreach to both its internal and external community. Over the past two year, these included (but are not limited to) the following:

  • World Water Day - "Coping with Water Scarcity" Keynote speakers were invited to present lectures related to water issues, with attendance welcome to everyone.
  • A symposium on water, agriculture and climate was held by the Brace Centre to present research on climate and its effect on water for agriculture and how a changing climate might alter agriculture in Canada;
  • The Pan-American Green Chemistry Summer School;
  • A community clean-up, involving meeting citizens in the Milton-Parc community (the McGill Ghetto) so as to hear their perspective on how students affect their neighbourhood. The outreach effort was an opportunity to publicize the many ways in which McGill students contribute to civic life, and to encourage new students to participate in the community around them.
  • The 2006 School of Environment Public Lecture featured Bruce Mau's presentation "The Future of Environmental Design", and the 2007 edition featured David Orr.
  • A groundbreaking conference of experts (McGill Conference on Global Food Security) will be held this fall (September 24-26) to stimulate an important exchange of ideas about how the world can find ways to better cope with the global food crisis.

Most recently, the University engaged in partnership with a local NGO, Santropol Roulant and Alternatives, to install a greenroof on the campus. The container garden is installed on the roof of an underground garage, reducing the heat island effect of the area. Vegetables grown would be used in their Meals on Wheels programme, whereas flowers would also be grown to beautify the area. This is a service-learning opportunity for students in Architecture and Urban Planning, as well as for visitors from the outside community who visit this highly visible installation.

As a partner with the City of Montreal's strategic sustainable development plan, the University joins other Montreal institutions, ranging from NGOs to enterprises to community groups to take action to reduce their environmental footprint. This includes information sharing on topics of interest, such as biodiesel implementation, green driving habits, addressing the heat island effect, recycling, and others.