Institutional Sustainability Strategy celebrates progress milestones to date

Launched in 2016 and now in year three, the university’s Institutional Sustainability Strategy (ISS) is the institutional road map for continuous improvement in our ongoing pursuit of excellence and leadership in sustainability within research and teaching, engagement and operational practices.

“At the University of Calgary, our research aims to solve the complex social, economic and environmental challenges of sustainability both locally and globally,” says Dr. Dru Marshall, provost and vice-president (academic). “We also strive to make sustainability a part of campus life for students, faculty and staff, building leadership capacity, knowledge, and partnerships across our faculties and units, and with the community.”

In addition to research and scholarship, the University of Calgary also seeks to model sustainability in operations and infuse sustainability into the campus experience.

“We are improving our performance from health and wellness in the workplace, waste reduction and recycling, purchasing practices, energy efficiency, to building healthy and high performance new buildings like the MacKimmie Tower, which is striving for net zero carbon in operations,” says Bart Becker, vice-president (facilities).

Today’s Partnerships for Change event will provide a formal progress update on the ISS as well as a keynote address from Dr. Marjan van den Belt, PhD, an internationally recognized sustainability leader. Her presentation will discuss the role of universities in shaping a sustainable future — a Sustainability Week event you won’t want to miss.

“At the university, we are tackling some of the global sustainability challenges facing universities, governments, and businesses in Canada and around the world,” says Joanne Perdue, associate vice-president (sustainability). “These are difficult challenges and there are no quick solutions, but it is important to take time each year to highlight the progress we are making and to shine a light on the important efforts of our campus community.” 

This year, there has been much progress to celebrate on campus, including maintaining a STARS Gold Rating for overall sustainability performance from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), as well as winning the Global Compact Network Canada’s 2017 Sustainability Development Goals Award and being named Canada’s Greenest Campus by Corporate Knights.

Find out more about the University of Calgary’s progress in sustainability as well as information on the ISS on the university's sustainability web page.