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Sustainability

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  3. Sustainability

Sustainability at U of G is a story that we all share

With a mission to Improve Life, sustainability is central to the University of Guelph. To us, sustainability is about stewarding our valued resources – our people, our campus and our planet – in order to meet the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own.

Our sustainability story began over 150 years ago with our founding colleges as they advanced knowledge, promoted education and fostered connections with communities. Now, as one of the country’s top comprehensive and research-intensive universities, we continue to prioritize sustainability in our teaching, our research, on our campus and in our community.

This year, the President’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability was formed to help to develop plans, guide our progress, and collaborate with our community as we move forward. Over the past year, we have been actively collecting data and stories that will help us measure our sustainability efforts against an international framework, inspired by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, that is focused on higher education.

What we are discovering is truly remarkable. Sustainability is truly a part of the University of Guelph, and it is a story that is shared by our students, our faculty and our staff. In 2020, we will launch a University of Guelph Sustainability Report to highlight our progress and share our stories.

For more information, please visit our sustainability website.

President’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability

In 2016, the University of Guelph undertook a broad, collaborative strategic planning process that led to the creation of a new framework that is described in Our Path Forward. This strategic framework identified activities under five pillars that would help the University chart its path.

A key pillar in this plan challenges the University to steward our valued resources through using resources responsibly; remaining an employer of choice; leveraging our land and facilities to serve our academic and research missions; harnessing our strengths to build broad, interdisciplinary knowledge; and leading in advancing environmental sustainability.

As such, the president of the University has identified strengthening a campus-wide culture of sustainability as a key priority. While sustainability has long been an underpinning value of the U of G, there are opportunities to enhance the profile of sustainability and connect it throughout the university in all of its programs, activities and operations.

Purpose and Objectives

The President’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability serves as a key resource to the president and the campus community.

The objectives of the Committee are to:

  1. Advise and collaborate with the president on the creation a Sustainability Framework
  2. Ensure that the Framework includes: goals, targets, priorities and metrics that build a strong, sustainable foundation for the institution
  3. Develop issue-specific working groups to create, monitor, evaluate and report back on outcomes of the Framework
  4. Act as a resource to the president and senior leadership team on emerging sustainability initiatives

Membership

Chair

  • Charlotte Yates, President and Vice-Chancellor

Faculty

  • Rumina Dalla, Faculty (Lang School of Business and Economics)
  • Rafael Santos, Faculty (College of Engineering and Physical Sciences)
  • Shoshanna Jacobs, Faculty (College of Biological Sciences)

Staff

  • Harry Bakker, Associate Vice President (Physical Resources)
  • Carly Blyth, Analyst (Alumni Affairs and Development)
  • Melissa Horan, Wellness@Work Coordinator (Human Resources)
  • Dave Hargreaves, Interim Associate Vice-President (Finance)
  • Karen Menard, Assistant Vice President (Institutional Analysis and Research)
  • Sharmila Rasheed, Vice-President (Finance & Operations)
  • Ed Townsley, Executive Director (Hospitality Services)
  • Brandon Raco, Sustainability Manager (Physical Resources)

Students

  • Taylor Paradis, undergraduate student (College of Social and Applied Human Sciences)
  • Graeme Reed, graduate student (Ontario Agricultural College)

External

  • Mayor Cam Guthrie, (City of Guelph)