| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 49.29 |
| Liaison | Bonnie Dong |
| Submission Date | Oct. 30, 2014 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
MacEwan University
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Chantal
Beaudoin Head of Sustainability Office of Sustainability |
Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee, office, and/or officer that focuses on sustainability broadly and covers the entire institution?:
A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the committee(s), office(s), and/or officer(s) during the previous three years:
The Office of Sustainability was created in 2009 when the first Sustainability officer was hired. Highlighted achievements include:
• December 2011: Launched the ETS@Work program which provides up to a 24 percent discount on an adult monthly transit pass to MacEwan University employees. As of June 2013, the regular price for a transit pass is $89 and is discounted to $67.80 for participants of the ETS@Work program.
• February 2012: Selected the City of Edmonton for our waste disposal, in part due to their target of 90% diversion from landfill with their state-of-the-art composting and recycling facilities and their upcoming bio-fuel facility.
• February 2012: Adopted MacEwan University’s first Campus Sustainability Plan. The plan is divided into three focus areas:
1) Education for Sustainability
2) Sustainable Operations
3) Planning, Administration, and Engagement
The Campus Sustainability Plan embodies 14 overarching goals and identifies over 75 strategic actions to assist in achieving these goals. It is built upon the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) framework.
In 2012/2013 highlighted achievements include:
Education for Sustainability
• September 2012 to June 2013: Launched Sustainability in Practice Series to host cutting-edge, high profile events providing opportunities for participants to learn, engage, and take action in support of sustainability.
• September 2012: In partnership with Earth Common Journal, hosted Who Will Speak for the Earth? with WeCanada co-founder Aleksandra Nateska. The event also celebrated the launch of Earth Common Journal 2012 with 100 registered participants and 50 postcards identifying top three environmental priorities for Alberta completed and mailed to Premier Alison Redford as action piece.
• November 2012: In partnership with SAMU, hosted the For the Love of Waste expo. An estimated 500 community members browsed the displays. Sponsored by Global Electric Electronic Processing (GEEP), over 100 community members donated a total of 672lbs worth of electronic waste, which was diverted to reuse and recycling. $1,000 in prizes was awarded and ten individuals took part in an interactive bus tour of the Edmonton Waste Management Centre.
• March 2013: In partnership with SAMU, hosted the biggest Common Ground Festival to-date. The three-day event attracted over 500 community members and included interactive eco-workshops, free bike tune-ups, worm composting kit giveaways, and the university’s first farmers' market.
• June 2013: In partnership with Earth Common Journal and the School of Business UN PRME Regional Meeting, hosted Sustainability 3.0, a pre-conference event with Dr. Robert De Vrind, Senior Advisor for Sustainability at the Koning Willem I College in the Netherlands. The event was sold out, with 100 registered guests who also participated in an interactive session on cradle-to-cradle product re-design.
• March 2013: SAMU surveyed 231 students on the topic of Education for Sustainability and found that 87% feel sustainability should be part of the curriculum, 73% think sustainability would add value to their degree, 60% believe sustainability in the curriculum would better prepare them for the workplace, and 36% would be interested in a certificate in sustainability.
Sustainable Operations
• October 2012: Reviewed the impact of the ETS@Work program. In one month, 17 new participants had been registered, of which, 41% were previously using motor transportation to get to the university. The impact of these individuals switching from cars to public transit is a reduction of over five tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per annum. This year, the ETS@Work program has successfully transitioned to online subscriptions, exits, and surveys to improve efficiency, accuracy, and monitoring.
• March 2013: Compiled a waste baseline for 2012. The university’s total annual waste production was 328 tonnes, of which, 19% was recycled, 36% was diverted to composting, and the remaining 45% went to landfill; resulting in a landfill diversion rate of 55%.
• May 2013: Facilities completed an Alternative Energy Feasibility study with the support of the Sustainability Fund. A phased approach is recommended for MacEwan University and is recommended cogeneration as the first phase at City Centre Campus. Cogeneration is the process through which a fuel, such as natural gas, is used in a scaled down power plan to produce electricity while harvesting the waste heat that is produced. This phase would require a $661,000 investment with a 4.9 year payback period and would result in 1,650 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reductions.
Planning, Administration and Engagement
• January 2013: Co-founded the Sustainable Campus International Competition and, as chair of the competition, oversaw its development and implementation. This unique competition aimed to recognize and support the value of sustainability in business cases in the Higher Education sector. University and college students enrolled in any discipline from around the world were invited to experience innovation and take part in this competition. In its inaugural year, the competition received 13 submissions from 7 universities across 5 countries and 3 continents.
• March 2013: Announced sustainability as one of the new brand pillars of MacEwan University. The sustainability pillar states: “we are committed to creative approaches to sustainability in education and campus operations – activating solutions for positive environmental, social and economic impact.”
• Mach 2013: Participated in Alberta-wide contest One Hour, No Power: Campus Challenge and collected 167 Earth Hour pledges to power down for one hour between 8:30pm and 9:30pm on Saturday, March 23, 2013.
• April 2013: Approved the Sustainability Planning Model (SPM) as the new planning process for sustainability to engage all areas of the university. The SPM includes a revised Sustainability Advisory Committee and the creation of three Sustainability Steering Committees, each based on a priority from the Campus Sustainability Plan: Education for Sustainability Steering Committee, Sustainable Operations Steering Committee, and Planning, Administration and Engagement Steering Committee.
• June 2013: SAMU was sponsored to be the first international participant to pilot the Green Impact program run by the National Union of Students in the United Kingdom. Green Impact is an environmental accreditation and awards program. The program brings staff and students together with their wider communities to enable and showcase positive changes in environmental practices.
Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee?:
The charter or mission statement of the committee(s) or a brief description of each committee's purview and activities:
In 2011, the Sustainability Advisory Committee (SAC) created the paper reduction sub-committee and produced an action plan detailing four strategic actions, along with ten comprehensive tactics to achieve paper reduction across the university. That same year, SAC sub-committee on bicycle parking conducted customer surveys and produced a report leading to a set of recommendations for creating a bicycle plan that is now in implementation phase.
In January, 2012 members of the SAC were asked to provide feedback on the membership, function, reporting structure, and governance aspects of the committee. This process was intended to be an opportunity for members to provide input into the future of the committee. The Office of Sustainability also reviewed ten sustainability committees at institutions across Canada. This led to a new governance structure for the SAC in 2013 and the creation of three Sustainability Steering Committees based on each focus area of our Campus Sustainability Plan: Education for Sustainability Steering Committee (ESSC), Sustainable Operations Steering Committee (SOSC), and Planning, Administration and Engagement Steering Committee (PAESC). The steering committees' membership includes SAC elected members and standing members by virtue of their position and ability to influence a sustainability area. Since 2013/2014, the new steering committees have progressed the university's STARS submission and Campus Sustainability Plan's strategic actions.
Members of each committee, including affiliations and role (e.g. staff, student, or faculty):
Sustainability Advisory Committee elected members 2013/2014:
Cynthia Ma, Student Representative, SOSC
Debbie Maloney, Representative of the Faculty of Health and Community Studies & MacEwan Staff Association, SOSC
Lily Dane, Representative working from Alberta College, SOSC
Tara Stieglitz, Representative of Professional Resource Faculty, SOSC
Raheel Virani, Representative of MacEwan Staff Association, SOSC
Dave Buchanan, Representative of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences, Faculty, ESSC
Lucille Mazo, Representative of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Communications, Faculty, ESSC
Peter Vogels, Representative of the Faculty of Health and Community Studies and working from South Campus, Faculty, ESSC
Christopher Spencer, Student Representative, ESSC
Leo Wong, Representative of the School of Business, Faculty, ESSC
Jeffrey A. Davis, Representative of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences, Faculty, ESSC
Emilio Gagliardi, Member at large Representative, PAESC
Gail Jones, Out-of-scope Representative, PAESC
Huong Bui, Representative of MacEwan Staff Association, PAESC
Ken Harbeck, Out-of-scope Representative, PAESC
Katie Uhl, Representative of the School of Business, PAESC
John Valentine, Representative of the Faculty of Health and Community Studies and working from City Centre Campus, Faculty, PAESC
John O'Connor, Representative of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences, Faculty, PAESC
Carlos Fiorentino, Representative of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Communications and working from the Centre For the Arts and Communication, Faculty, ESSC
Education for Sustainability Steering Committee (ESSC) standing members 2013/2014:
John Corlett, Provost and Vice-President Academic (Co-Chair)
Chantal Beaudoin, Head of Sustainability (Co-Chair)
Valerie Henitiuk, Director Faculty Commons
Glenna Helm, Manager Library Administration Services (delegate for the Dean of Libraries)
Craig Monk, Dean of Arts and Science
Sharon Bookhalter, Dean of Health and Community Studies
Denise Roy, Dean of the Centre for the Arts and Communications
Elsie Elford, Dean of the School of Business
Clint Galloway, Manager, Student Residence
Sustainable Operations Steering Committee (SOSC) standing members 2013/2014:
Stuart MacLean, Associate Vice-President Facilities (Co-Chair)
Chantal Beaudoin, Head of Sustainability (Co-Chair)
Kris Bruckmann, Director, Operations, Retail & Hospitality Services
Carol Robinson, Director, Procurement and Contract Services
John McGrath, Chief Information Officer
Silva Lusk, Senior Manager, Operations and Maintenance
Colleen Panno Olson, Manager, Capital Planning and Asset Management
Planning, Administration, and Engagement Steering Committee (PAESC) standing members 2013/2014:
Brent Quinton, Vice President Finance and Administration (Co-Chair)
Chantal Beaudoin, Head of Sustainability (Co-Chair)
Cathryn Heslep, Vice-President Student Services
Rick Ellis, Associate Vice-President Finance & Chief Investment Officer
Karen Boros, Director Human Resources (delegate for Associate Vice-President Human Resources)
David McLaughlin, Director of Institutional Analysis and Planning
Ken Schwanke, Director of Strategic Communication & Corporate Marketing
Cameron McCoy, President, Students' Association of MacEwan University
Lisa Pittet, Senior Manager Centre for Sport & Wellness
The website URL where information about the sustainability committee(s) is available:
Does the institution have at least one sustainability office that includes more than 1 full-time equivalent (FTE) employee?:
A brief description of each sustainability office:
MacEwan University's Office of Sustainability was founded in 2009.
Mission & Vision:
We strive to build upon the legacy of our namesake, Dr. JW Grant MacEwan, by managing our human and ecological systems in accordance with our global responsibility to conserve and restore the environment while advancing social equity.
What we do:
The Office of Sustainability provides sustainability expertise and leadership at MacEwan University, working with students, faculty, staff and the community to enhance sustainability in education and campus operations.
Our Services:
•Deliver programming designed to empower the campus community to actively contribute to sustainability;
•Provide guidance, advice and tools on sustainability to all areas of the university;
•Initiate, coordinate and/or support sustainability initiatives, trainings and events;
•Collaborate with local and global partners to enhance sustainability opportunities;
•Report on MacEwan University’s sustainability performance.
Full-time equivalent (FTE) of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
The website URL where information about the sustainability office(s) is available:
Does the institution have at least one sustainability officer?:
Name and title of each sustainability officer:
A brief description of each sustainability officer position:
The Head of Sustainability will provide expertise and leadership to all areas of the university for sustainability. S/he will lead MacEwan University’s Office of Sustainability and play a major role in the development and implementation of the strategic efforts to enhance sustainability at the university. This position is accountable for reviewing, overseeing the implementation of, reporting on, and making recommendations in relation to the strategic actions of MacEwan University’s Campus Sustainability Plan. S/he will engage all MacEwan University units in sustainability activities relating to the Plan’s three pillars: i) Education for Sustainability, ii) Sustainable Operations, iii) and Planning, Administration, and Engagement. S/he will manage the Seed Sustainability Fund and the delivery of approved business cases for the use and replenishment of the Fund.
The Sustainability Coordinator will support the work of the Head of Sustainability, who provides expertise and leadership to all areas of the university for sustainability. This position will assist MacEwan University’s Office of Sustainability and play a supporting role in the development and implementation of the strategic efforts to enhance sustainability at the university. The Coordinator will support the review, implementation of, reporting on, and making recommendations in relation to the strategic actions of MacEwan University’s Campus Sustainability Plan in accordance with MacEwan University’s Sustainability Policy. This position will engage all MacEwan University units in sustainability activities relating to the Plan’s three focus areas: i) Education for Sustainability, ii) Sustainable Operations, iii) and Planning, Administration, and Engagement.
The website URL where information about the sustainability officer(s) is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.