APPENDIX A: Definitions
AASHE: Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, AASHE was founded in 2005 to help coordinate and strengthen campus sustainability efforts at regional and national levels, and to serve as the first North American
professional association for those interested in advancing campus sustainability. http://www.aashe.org/about/faq.php
Applied Research: is research accessing and using some part of the research communities accumulated theories, knowledge,
methods, and techniques which is conducted with an eye to acquire and apply knowledge that will address a specific problem or meet a specific need within the scope of the entity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_research
Campus Operations: all activities that support the work of the University of Calgary.4
Climate Action Plan: a roadmap to climate protection that includes: goals, target dates, actions to reduce GHG emissions and
mechanisms for tracking progress on goals and actions. http://www.aashe.org/campus_sustainability_wikis
Co-curricular learning: a student’s out-of-classroom experiences; any activity that occurs outside of the classroom, lab,
practica, or internship, but which is still connected to the university. http://www.ucalgary.ca/ose/ccr
Community Service Learning: a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.
http://www.servicelearning.org/what-service-learning
Cultural Competence: a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among
professionals which enable that system, agency, or those professionals to work effectively in cross–cultural situations http://cecp.air.org/cultural/
Designated Suppliers Program: a procurement standard proposed by the Worker Rights Consortium and United Students
Against Sweatshops. http://www.workersrights.org/dsp.asp
EPEAT: Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool. http://www.epeat.net/
Experiential Learning: an educational approach that goes beyond traditional book-learning and memorization and puts students
at the centre of their own learning; immersing them in a process of inquiry that begins with the student's own knowledge and shows them how to find answers to their own questions while enhancing the interaction between them and the experts in their fields. Also known as hands-on or inquiry-based learning. http://www.ucalgary.ca/eeel/experiential_learning
Fair Labour Association: a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending sweatshop conditions in factories worldwide
http://www.fairlabor.org/
Integrated Pest Management: an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a
combination of common-sense practices. IPM programs use current, comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment. This information, in combination with available pest control methods, is used to manage pest damage by the most economical means, and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment. http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/factsheets/ipm.htm
Inter-disciplinary learning: is a knowledge view and curriculum approach that consciously applies methodology and language
from more than one discipline to examine a central theme, topic, issue, problem or work. Heidi Hayes Jacobs, http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/interdisciplinary/index.html#sbs
Living wage: a term used to describe the minimum hourly wage necessary for shelter (housing and incidentals such as
clothing and other basic needs) and nutrition for a person for an extended period of time (lifetime). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_wage
Investment screening: An assessment of investments based on specified criteria
Socially Responsible Investment: a broad-based approach to investing that now encompasses an estimated $2.71 trillion out
of $25.1 trillion in the U.S. investment marketplace today. SRI recognizes that corporate responsibility and societal concerns are valid parts of investment decisions. SRI considers both the investor's financial needs and an investment’s impact on society. http://www.socialinvest.org/resources/sriguide/srifacts.cfm
4
STARS: Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System, a voluntary, self-reporting framework for gauging relative progress toward sustainability for colleges and universities in Canada and the United States.
http://www.aashe.org/stars/index.php
SustainabilityON – U of C Stepping Up Together: A campus-wide information and engagement program designed to promote
the behavioral changes necessary to support the U of C’s sustainability commitments. In addition to raising awareness through signage, events and publication of success stories, SustainabilityON holds four specific engagement campaigns throughout the year. These competitions encourage actions to reduce U of C's collective carbon emissions, energy use, water use, waste generation and encourage responsible purchasing. SustainabilityON is supported by coordinators located in departments across campus that are trained and provided with the tools and information to in-turn educate and encourage others to advance sustainability initiatives in their respective departments and faculties.
SustainabilityON Coordinators Program: A U of C program to train staff, students and faculty members to teach others in their
departments or residences about campus sustainability initiatives including available resources and campus wide challenges. This peer-to-peer learning model is aimed at building a culture of participation in sustainability stewardship.
Sustainability Stewardship Working Group: an organized group of designates who collectively use strategies, tools, practices, and
approaches that lead to environmental improvement on a specific issue or area. http://www.ofee.gov/sustain/sustainability.asp
Systems Thinking: an approach to problem solving, as viewing "problems" as parts of an overall system. Systems thinking is a
framework that is based on the belief that the component parts of a system can best be understood in the context of
relationships with each other and with other systems, rather than in isolation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_thinking
Triple Bottom Line: ethical criteria for business success: environmental sustainability and social responsibility used as criteria
when judging the overall performance of a company, in addition to purely financial considerations. http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_701710567/triple_bottom_line.html
APPENDIX B: Completed Initiatives
This section overviews current sustainability initiatives at the U of C. It is organized using the Sustainability Tracking and Rating System 1.0 Technical Manual (STARS 1.0) framework. Some additional categories have been added to reflect relevant categories not included in STARS 1.0.
Coordination and Planning
Sustainability Coordination: Office of Sustainability, Sustainability Stewardship Working Group, Board of Governors Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability Committee.
Strategic Plan:
Academic Foundations confirms a commitment to Sustainable Development as defined in the Bruntland Commission Report: “Our Common Future”
Sustainability Policy: Commitment to excellence and leadership in sustainability.
VP(A) BOG Physical Campus Plan: Commitment to sustainability recognized in the new Campus Master Plan. VP (FM+D)
Institutional Sustainability Plan: October 2010. VP (FM+D)
Climate Action Plan: Draft Climate Action Plan, anticipated publication Oct 2010. VP (FM+D)
Diversity and Affordability
Committee to advise on and implement policies and programs related to diversity and equity . VP (F+S)
Diversity Survey. VP (F+S)
Human Resources
Sustainability addressed in New Employee Orientation, same for incoming faculty. VP (F+S) (FM+D) Sustainability Educators Program: Eco-Champions pilot ~50 participants across 30 departments. VP (FM+D)
Childcare provided on campus. VP (F+S)
Employee Wellness Programs. VP (F+S)
Public Engagement: Return to Community
Community Sustainability Partnerships: Various formal research and course projects as well and co- curricular projects. Urban Alliance. imagineCALGARY Partnership.Inter-Campus Collaboration on Sustainability: Membership and participation: Advancement for Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the Canadian University Sustainability Professionals (CUSP), Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO), Society for College and University Planning (SCUP), Canadian Association for University Solicitors (CAUS).
Curriculum
More than 200 sustainability related courses. Various Faculties
Several degree offerings, minors, specializations and concentrations that provide students the opportunity to develop knowledge and gain experience in sustainability.
Various Faculties
Research
The Strategic Research Plan identifies Energy and Environment and Biomedical Engineering as two of three Research Development Priorities which “have the potential for groundbreaking discovery, measurable contributions to Canada, and for placing the University in a position of nation and international leadership” (University of Calgary Strategic Research Plan: January 2010 13) . Research in sustainability is a disciplinary and inter-disciplinary effort spanning all faculties. Further the U of C is home to several institutes that address aspects of sustainability such as the Arctic Institute, Institute of Energy and Environment, the School of Public Policy, and the Institute for Population and Public Health.
Various Faculties
Service
“The University of Calgary contributes to the development of an increasingly inter-connected and interdependent society in the most innovative and effective way possible, often in partnership with other institutions and corporate entities (public, private and non-profit). As a public University, we welcome our service role as we respond to and address societal needs. We must be mindful of the diverse needs of our society when articulating our role, developing our programs, designing and conducting our research, communicating our work and otherwise interacting with our communities, whether our communities are local, provincial, national or international in scope” (University of Calgary Strategic Research Plan: January
2010 11). The U of C is engaged in a wide range of service initiatives in support of sustainability.
Various Faculties
Co-Curricular Education
Co-curricular activities are experiential learning opportunities occurring outside of the classroom, lab, practica, or internship. Several university initiatives and over 200 student groups offer co-curricular activities that promote student engagement many of which address sustainability. In 2009 the U of C Co- Curricular Record was launched in partnership with the Students’ Union. The first in Western Canada, it is the university’s official document recognizing students’ out-of-class experiences. Since its launch, over 6,000 students have registered.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The U of C has tracked scope 1 and 2 emissions from building operations at main campus for a number of years. The U of C was one of the first Canadian Universities to complete a comprehensive GHG emission inventory in accordance with World Resource Institute Protocols (Scope 1, 2 and 3 – all sources under operational control) for fiscal year 2008-09. GHG emissions have been steadily declining despite a 30% expansion in the built area of campus. A draft 2010 Climate Action Plan has been completed and is awaiting sign-off and publication in fall 2010. The CAP confirms strategies to reduce institution GHG emissions, related emission reduction potential, and identifies viable institutional GHG emission reduction targets.
Non-Renewable Energy Sources: A retrofit of the Central Heating and Cooling Plant to co-generation (combined heat and power) is underway. On completion, institution GHG emissions are anticipated to be reduced by 80,000 metric tonnes.
VP (FM+D)
Renewable Energy Sources: The Child Development Centre (CDC) houses a 65,000 kWh photo-voltaic array that produces 10% of the building’s energy. This is one of the largest building based arrays in Canada.
VP (FM+D)
Energy
New Buildings: Energy Performance standards for new buildings have been steadily increasing. The CDC is 70% more efficient that the Model National Energy Code for Buildings. New buildings under
construction range from 25% to 50% better than the Model National Energy Code for Buildings.
VP (FM+D)
Existing Buildings: The multi-year Energy Performance Initiative (EPI) is aimed at energy use conservation in. Phase I is complete and realized approximately 8,100 metric tonnes of GHG emission reductions. Phase II will be complete in 2011 and will approximately 29,000 metric tonnes of GHG emission reductions. Phase III and IV are under development and early implementation. Energy metering is provided in most buildings. The energy use intensity of building system operations has steadily declined over the past three years. Power consumption has increased due to increasing plug-load demands. The 18 month Eco-Champions Pilot Program was a behavior change initiative to promote occupant.
engagement in reducing energy use. and engaging in other sustainability actions.
VP (FM+D)
Transportation
UPass program for students to subsidize the cost of public transit. VP(A)
Carpool incentives and CarShare program on campus. VP(A)
Student led Bike Loan and Bike “Kitchen” Program. VP(A)
Idle Free U of C starting Sept 2010. VP(A)(F+S)(FM+D)
Fleet includes one Smart Car, one hybrid, one electric golf cart, five bio-diesel operated grounds maintenance vehicles.
VP(A)(F+S)(FM+D)
Built Environment
New Buildings: Child Development Centre is certified LEED Platinum. EEEL, Taylor Family Digital Library, Veterinary Medicine, and Phase VI Housing are all on track for LEED certification.
VP (FM+D)
Existing Buildings: Operational practices are transitioning to align with LEED Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance Standards. Examples include Green Cleaning, Integrated Pest Management and extensive waste diversion practices. See also Energy and Water.
VP (FM+D)
Water
Site irrigation with non-potable process water from the central heating and cooling plant. VP (FM+D) Non-potable process water from the central heating and cooling plant is used for toilet flushing in some
new buildings
VP (FM+D) Suite of low flow and flush fixtures in new buildings, existing building retrofits in progress, waterless
urinals use has been discontinued in favour of ultra-low flush.
VP (FM+D) Installation of a bioswale in parking lot 10, storm water pond serving west campus area and the Child
Development Centre, storm water pond in the new Taylor Family quadrangle.
VP (FM+D) Addition of bottle refill devices on fountains, standard for new fountains VP (FM+D)
Waste
Composting: all leaf and lawn waste, pre-consumer food service good waste (partial), post-consumer food waste (partial), on site in-vessel composter.
VP (FM+D) Recycling: paper + cardboard, beverage containers, e-waste, furnishings, metals, some plastics,
fluorescent bulbs, pallets, cooking oil, tires, batteries, toner cartridges.
VP (FM+D) Other: phone books by request only, waste reduction (erase the waste) campaign, on-campus materials VP (FM+D) (F+S)
Hazardous Waste Management: safe disposal of hazardous wastes. VP (FM+D) (F+S)
Purchasing
Bookstore: all apparel bearing the U of C logo is made under fair working conditions; all apparel suppliers to submit a letter stating that all their factories and third party factories meet the minimum standards of basic labour rights set forth by the International Labour Organization (ILO), a UN agency.
VP(A)
Microstore: All eligible electronic products (laptops, desktops, monitors and printers) sold through the Microstore are both Energy Stay and EPEAT certified.
Bookstore: Product sales include all copy paper that contains 30% post consumer content, post consumer content binders, clip boards, notebooks and many more green products. All course packs sold through the bookstore are printed on 100% recycled paper through printing services. The first University bookstore in North America to go completely plastic bag free. We have substituted the plastic bags with a bio
degradable nonwoven material. The bookstore used to purchase 180,000 plastic bags a year.
VP(A)
Supply Chain Management: The preferred vendor for seating and modular work stations is required to provide Greenguard Indoor Air Quality Certified products, Energy Star and EPEAT Silver is required by the preferred vendor computer equipment supplier, the preferred vendor for office supplies offers a wide range of green office products.
VP(F+S)
Supply Chain Management: SCM works with existing preferred vendors to identify opportunities to advance sustainability initiatives. New Requests for Proposals are reviewed for sustainability criteria.
VP(F+S) Supply Chain Management: Surplus furnishings and equipment sales are offered each week.
IT Services
Institution desktop computing purchasing standard requires Energy Star and minimum EPEAT Silver. VP(F+S) Xerox Imagine partnership has transitioned the majority of personal print/fax/scan devices to Energy Star
multi-functional devices. Program has contributed to reducing institutional copy paper consumption by 16 million sheets over the past three years.
VP(F+S)
Construction of an energy efficient data centre is underway. VP(F+S)(FM+D)
Dining Service
Chartwells: regular vegan and vegetarian options; elimination of Styrofoam; local dairy products, meat and poultry, eggs, baked goods; Marine Stewardship Council Blue Eco-label fish products; Fair Trade coffee offered at all outlets; compostable disposable dishware; incentives for using reusable dishware and beverage mugs, pre-consumer composting; recycling,
VP(A)
Franchises (varies): Fair Trade Coffee; reusable beverage containers discounts; pre-consumer composting; VP(A)(SU)
Health Safety and Wellness
Award winning Healthy U of C Program, various health and wellness oriented programs. VP (F+S) See Human Resources above.
Student Wellness Centre. VP (A)
APPENDIX C: List of References
ACUPCC (American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment). 2009. “Education for Climate Neutrality and Sustainability: Guidance for ACUPCC Institutions April 2009 v1.0.” Boston: American College &
University Presidents Climate Change Commitment. [http://www2.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/ html/documents/EducationforClimateNeutrailitySustainability)2009.05.07_finalWEB.pdf] accessed August 15 2010.
AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education). 2010. STARS Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System, Version 1.0 Technical Manual, Administrative Update One, June 2010.
Lexington: Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. [http://www.stars. aashe.org/pages/about/3993/] accessed August 15 2010.
Boyd, David R. 2001. Canada vs. the OECD: An Environmental Comparison. Victoria: University of Victoria. [http://www.environmentalindicators.com/htdocs/PDF/ FullReport.pdf] accessed August 10 2010. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. N.d. “Community Engagement.”
[http://classifications.carnegiefoundation.org/descriptions/community_engagement.php?key=1213] accessed August 15 2010.
American Council on Education. 1995-2010. “On the Importance of Diversity in Higher Education.” Washington: American Council on Education. [http://www.acenet.edu/bookstore/descriptions
/making_the_case/works/importance.cfm] accessed September 24 2010.
Green, Kim. N.d. “Alberta Development, Drought, and Ongoing Climate Change Could Transform an Oasis of Prosperity into a Future Mirage.” New Trail Magazine. [http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/newtrail/ nav03.cfm?nav03=57811&nav02=57810&nav01=57809] accessed August 15 2010.
Sherman, Daniel J. 2008. “Sustainability: What’s the Big Idea? A Strategy for Transforming the Higher Education Curriculum.” Sustainability: The Journal of Record 1 (no. 3): 188-195.
UN Documents. N.d. “Our Common Future: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development.” [http://www.un-documents.net/wced-ocf.htm] accessed August 15 2010.
The University of Calgary. 2009. “Academic Foundations: Principles to Guide University Planning October 2009.” [http://www.ucalgary.ca/files/er/Academic_Foundations. pdf] accessed August 15 2010.
—. 2009. “2009-10 Business Plan: Building a Sustainable University.”
[http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:UKBAL6I6OiYJ:www.ucalgary.ca/provost/files/provost/2009 -13-Business-
Plan.pdf+business+plan+2009&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESg7oyqWkimrwUf00756Fp1E3epIHr4cRGGVIAQ 0YNVuWE2i5PF7KnbVHWit7a1bIm5Zg8WZC-
3BcJ6bUn7a6nSDWIK9hYI9PygP7MXCTZuiWebm_JOpMrnNIJFivcHdJxTh0NkJ&sig=AHIEtbRnhpV8FuCAiepV NbEktS-f_RmqOA] accessed August 15 2010.
—. N.d. “Strategic Research Plan.” *http://www.ucalgary.ca/vpr/files/vpr/SRPv14-2010-with-exec-summary.pdf] accessed August 15 2010.
—. 2009. “Sustainability Policy, April 2009.” *http://www.ucalgary.ca/policies/files/policies/Sustainability% 20Policy%20v2.pdf] accessed August 15 2010.
APPENDIX D: University Rankings and Sustainability
Rankings have become an increasingly common approach to university quality measurement that trace back to the postsecondary explosion that occurred around the world between the 1960s and 1980s. As consumers sought out comparable information, governments also began to look for ways to evaluate the effectiveness of their spending on postsecondary education.
Responding to what it saw as an increasing public demand for postsecondary information, U.S. News and World Report began its annual ranking of “America’s best colleges” in 1983. Based on the popularity of the publication, other commercial publishers in countries around the world quickly followed suit. In Canada, two private rankings emerged, Maclean’s University Rankings (1991) and more recently, the Globe and Mail University Report Card (2002). Although commercial university rankings such as these hold no official status in most countries, the idea is well established that the wider public should be able to access comparative information and that postsecondary institutions should have institutional data to benchmark themselves against.
Until recently, university rankings focussed primarily on academic quality, prestige, location and cost, among other factors. Increasingly, universities are being ranked on environmental practices that encourage sustainability in academic programming, scholarly activity, campus operations, and investment practices. The proliferation of green (and sustainability) ranking systems such as the Sustainable Endowments Institute's (SEI) College Sustainability Report Card, the Sierra Club’s “Coolest Schools,” the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS), and the Aspen Institute's "Beyond Grey Pinstripes" green MBA rankings provide evidence that students are demanding more information about environmental initiatives on campus.
While these rankings are welcome news, many directors of sustainability are succumbing to survey fatigue as they respond to multiple requests for information from a growing number of organizations. Concerns have also been