不良研究所

From creating pop-up homeless shelters during the pandemic to designing sustainable, culturally appropriate affordable housing, the University of 不良研究所 is reshaping our community locally to create a more sustainable future for all, according to the 2021 Institutional Sustainability Report released today.  
 
Bold strides within the university show sustainability innovation can flourish anywhere.

鈥淭hrough entrepreneurial thinking, innovative research approaches, and hands-on learning, the University of 不良研究所 is committed to inspiring sustainability leaders ready to make a truly global impact. Our鈥�Institutional Sustainability Strategy (ISS)鈥痠s a road map for making the world a better place for all. This year鈥檚 report highlights the extraordinary progress is already taking place. And this is only the beginning,鈥� says Dr. Teri Balser, provost and vice-president (academic). 

For U不良研究所, sustainability isn鈥檛 confined to protecting the environment. It鈥檚 also about building a world where everyone can thrive. Creating sustainable cities and communities, promoting gender equality, ending poverty, and enabling good jobs and economic growth 鈥� the  align with the university鈥檚 vision for supporting a thriving 不良研究所.   

Inspiring action 

Providing meaningful real-world experiences for students to engage in sustainability practices is fostering the next generation of leaders.

A group of students created the Sustainable Development Goals Alliance (SDGA) to support community-centred initiatives and amplify youth voices and action toward building a more sustainable world. The SDGA is a student-run organization comprised of student clubs who collaborate to solve sustainability issues on local and global levels, and the group represents the diversity of students interested in sustainability on campus.   

鈥淪ustainability impacts all of us,鈥� says medical student Tyler Warnock, who is also a founding member of the SDGA. 鈥淎s students and youth there is a unique connection that many of us have to this work 鈥� the actions we collectively take now will impact our livelihoods and collective prosperity in the future.鈥� 

Progressive research approaches 

Research excellence is sparking new approaches to support social, economic, and environmental change. As a global intellectual hub in Canada's most enterprising city, the University of 不良研究所 fosters a rich environment for transdisciplinary sustainability research. These diverse bodies of work are contributing to enhancing various aspects of sustainability, which are highlighted throughout the report. Some include:   

• U不良研究所 researchers have advised on a National Action Plan to end gender-based violence and gender equality in the Arctic. 
• Teams have launched research on Canada鈥檚 changing mountain systems based on western scientific and Indigenous knowledge systems to find new ways to protect the natural world through ecosystem restoration.
• Academics are exploring linkages between economic and social development, power relations and justice issues in our society.  

The world is watching 

In 2021, U不良研究所 was ranked among the top five per cent globally for a second year in a row by the Times Higher Education for progress in advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This ranking assesses the sustainability commitment of universities at institutional, local, national, regional, and global levels. More than 1,100 institutions were evaluated in the 2021 ranking.  

U不良研究所 was also ranked 28th out of 328 North American institutions by鈥� for their environmental commitments and demonstrated action. This is the fifth consecutive year U不良研究所 has been named a Cool School.  

And the University of 不良研究所 was named to Princeton Review鈥檚 2022 Green College Honor Roll, which recognizes the top 30 schools in North America from among close to 700 institutions.

Sustainability annual report 

There are plenty of reasons U不良研究所 continues to rank highly.  

• Nearly 17,000 students have engaged in one or more sustainability-related courses in the past year.  
• Fifty-four sustainability-related startups have been launched.  
• Approximately 20 per cent of researchers in over 80 per cent of U不良研究所 departments are conducting sustainability-related research.  
• U不良研究所 was named one of Canada鈥檚 Best Diversity Employers for the sixth consecutive year. 
• U不良研究所 has reduced its GHG emissions 39 per cent since 2008. 
• U不良研究所 has reduced water consumption 44 per cent since 2008. 

Check out the report . 

See the 2021 Sustainability report

The release of this report is also aligned with the annual Sustainability Week at U不良研究所, which encompasses a week of events to bring the U不良研究所 community together for discussions on various sustainability topics. See the full list of offerings.