University of Guelph Environmental Health and Safety Policy

Revised: November 2006
Reviewed: October 2023
Signed/Position: President and Vice-Chancellor
Co-signed/Position: Dean/ Director

The University of Guelph is committed to providing safe and healthy workplaces. The Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O. 1990 and prescribed Regulations define the essential standards for health and safety performance for employers, employees and contractors; these standards may be complemented by other legislation and may be exceeded by specific University Safety Policies and departmental procedures for risk management and due diligence.

The University is committed to preventing occupational injuries and illnesses and expects managers and supervisors at all levels to be responsible and accountable for injury and illness prevention. Management is committed to resolving health and safety challenges in a co-operative approach with employees, to evaluating and controlling risks to staff, students, visitors and volunteers, to participating in workplace inspections, to monitoring on-the-job safety performance, to auditing for health and safety program success, and to improving health and safety performance.

The University is committed to training and motivating employees for safety performance and to sustaining and updating their safety knowledge. The University strives to integrate safety knowledge and/or safety performance expectations into its academic curricula and into its operations. Personal safety and responsibility shall be promoted for employees both on and off the job and for those who live and learn at University of Guelph campuses.

The University requires that all employees shall regard safety as a priority in all employment related activities and they shall not endanger the health and safety of themselves or others in the workplace. Employees are expected to be familiar with prescribed safety requirements and institutional policies pertaining to their jobs, to report safety hazards or contraventions to their supervisors, and to support employee and management initiatives for improving workplace health and safety conditions. Failure to abide by these legislative standards or by applicable University policies, standards or programs, may result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal. By extension, students, visitors and contractors of the University are also expected to comply with all relevant legislation and University policies.

The University acknowledges a responsibility for and a commitment to protection of the environment on a continuous improvement basis by applying the principles of the Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990 and prescribed Regulations as a minimum standard by which to manage University operations. The University is committed to the conservation and improvement of the environment by minimizing environmental impacts arising from its activities and promotes and supports environmental management policies and environmentally responsible practices at every level and every department.

This policy shall be reviewed annually and shall be co-signed and posted by management in all academic and administrative units.