Sustainability policy

Purpose and Objectives

Vanier College, as a signatory of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Accord, is committed to devoting more resources to climate action research and skills development, becoming carbon neutral, and increasing sustainability education in its curriculum and community outreach. This commitment addresses SDG 4 (Education) and 13 (Climate Change).

The purpose of this policy is to ensure environmental and social issues are addressed responsibly and diligently in the course of College operations and development. These include:

Setting sustainability guidelines and objectives that ensure the College acts in an environmentally friendly manner internally, locally and internationally, and becomes a model of sustainability for current and future generations;
Ensuring environmental and social issues are addressed responsibly and diligently in the management of College buildings and grounds, as we work towards our commitment to carbon neutrality;
Uniting Vanier around common sustainability goals and implementing sustainability initiatives in education, skills creation and community life;
Engaging community support in regards to environmental and social sustainability, and encouraging members to creatively incorporate sustainability into their practices;
Ensuring students are provided with the opportunities to access current and relevant sustainability education; have the opportunity to be part of sustainable change on campus; are implicated in certain projects and included in the consultation process.

Scope

This policy applies to all members of the Vanier College community. The College acknowledges that the current policy is primarily focused on environmental sustainability; however, the college intends to develop the other pillars of sustainability by 2026, the end of the new strategic plan.

Definitions

Sustainability: The United Nations defined sustainable development as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” This definition encompasses the three pillars of sustainability: Environment, Social and Economic sustainability and is further elaborated on in the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

To remain consistent with the sustainability tracking tools and frameworks currently used at the College, we have chosen to adopt the UN definition of sustainable development and three-pillar model mentioned above, while noting the problems that arise when the economic pillar is put on equal ground with the environment and with social sustainability. Economic accountability benefits from the use of quantitative indicators; social and environmentalwellbeing, though difficult to quantify, are integral to an educational institution’s sustainability vision. Additionally, it is essential that as individuals, authorities and governments, we understand our role in and impact on the non-human ecological systems on this planet.

Loi 118: Loi sur le développement durable: 16 sustainability principles defined by the Québec governmental ministry of Développement durable, Environnement et Parcs :

Santé et qualité de vie;
Équité et solidarité sociales;
Protection de l’environnement;
Efficacité économique;
Participation et engagement;
Accès au savoir;
Subsidiarité;
Partenariat et coopération intergouvernementale;
Prévention;
Précaution;
Protection du patrimoine culturel;
Préservation de la biodiversité;
Respect de la capacité de support des écosystèmes;
Production et consommation responsables;
Pollueur-payeur;
Internalisation des coûts

Carbon neutrality: achieving annual zero net human caused or influenced CO2 emissions by a certain date. This means every ton of CO2 emitted is compensated with an equivalent amount of CO2 removed. As an institution, this can be achieved by reducing emissions or implementing offset projects to account for all of the direct and indirect emissions.

5 Rs of Sustainability: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle/Rot

Biodiversity: all the variety of life that can be found on Earth (plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms) as well as the communities that they form and the habitats in which they live.

Vanier Community: All management, faculty, and staff; contract, sub-contract, specific project, and occasional employees; and full time and part time students, including Continuing Education and International.

V.C.A.C.E.: Vanier College Advisory Committee on the Environment

Implementation

Vanier College will complete a comprehensive environmental assessment every five years and annual monitoring of progress. This environmental assessment must be inextricably linked to the present policy and strategic plan in order to identify key performance indicators that will allow the College to monitor and improve its practices over time and help us achieve carbon neutrality.

Additionally, the data and conclusions rendered from the environmental assessment will be used to prepare a five-year sustainability action plan that will set forth objectives and goals for the continuous improvement of sustainable practices at the College.

The action plan is prepared and reviewed on an annual basis by the Vanier College Advisory Committee on the Environment (VCACE), which is responsible for monitoring the progress of sustainability at the College and recommending best practices.

Additionally, the college will implement this policy in collaboration with key internal community partners working to report data, mobilize their department to implement projects, promote awareness, and clearly communicate the work plan.

Roles and responsibilities

This Policy is under the Director General. The Director General is responsible for:

Ensuring compliance with this policy;
Ensuring sustainability is included within the purview of the Strategic Plan;
Overseeing the sustainability work plan, annual reports and ensuring departmental workplans incorporate sustainability principles and goals;
Allotting the financial, material and human resources necessary for the realization of this policy;
Updating the Board of Directors about the progress of our sustainability goals as detailed in the 5-year workplan;
Promoting the offset of the carbon emissions related to work- and academic- travels;
Ensuring that all Auxiliary Services rental contracts are aligned with current College policies and encourage their participation in sustainable best practices, and;
Offering wellness activities to employees.

The Academic Dean along with the academic administration will strive to integrate sustainability into the curriculum of all programs by:

Ensuring that educational offerings are responsive to developments in sustainability;
Increasing the delivery of environmental and sustainability education;
Integrating sustainable concepts and perspectives into programs;
Collaborating across departments and programs to incorporate sustainability-related content;
Creating opportunities for students to conduct action-oriented research on climate change;
Considering the recommendations from College committees concerning the integration of sustainability education;
Promoting the Sustainability Major and increasing its visibility, and
Continuing to commit to the Vanier Collective Gardens, Campus Biodiversity Network, Sustainability-in-Action course and other sustainable initiatives.

Student Services is responsible for:

Ensuring that departmental initiatives and programs are planned with sustainability in mind;
Supporting experiential learning approaches that benefit various learning styles inside and outside the classroom
Providing co-curricular programming focused on sustainability and biodiversity issues in order to give students learning and engagement opportunities outside the classroom;
Encouraging co-curricular activities related to sustainability outside the classroom;
Promoting opportunities for social connection;
Creating opportunities for connecting with Nature;
Promoting wellness activities for students;
Providing community education and awareness about sustainability on campus;
Providing services that support students’ success and well-being; and
Providing an initiation to sustainability at Vanier College for new students.

Physical Plant and Facilities will strive to reduce its environmental footprint and conserve green spaces in all of its sectors by:

Integrating sustainability into procurement, tendering process, purchasing procedures and contracts;
Improving monitoring and evaluation of waste management procedures;
Protecting and increase green space on campus;
Overseeing grounds maintenance with sustainability and biodiversity in mind;
Operating buildings and offering services in ways that maximize resource-use efficiency and minimize the adverse impacts they may have on the College’s social and physical environment;
Reviewing contracts to maximize alignment with the College’s current policies;
Establishing an environmental metric baseline and monitoring it on an annual basis by liaising with all sectors to obtain needed data;
Budgeting and implementing projects to measure greenhouse gas emissions and set yearly targets towards carbon neutrality and to help maintain and increase biodiversity;
Sharing environmental footprint information and on-going projects with the Community;
Collaborating with stakeholders in assessing College priorities and their impact on sustainability objectives as per the 5-year Strategic Plan;
Reviewing parking and commuting habits practices and contracts in order to increase sustainable transportation; and
Ensuring safe infrastructure is in place for sustainable transport.

Information Technology Services is responsible for:

Ensuring that all technology is purchased with its complete life cycle in mind;
Promoting sustainable digital practices;
Aiming to maximize the recycling and refurbishing of technology through an accredited program (5R);
Maintaining internal procedures to be energy efficient;
Implementing and overseeing technologies that reduce paper consumption and electronic waste across all sectors for students and staff;
Identifying and implementing sustainability initiatives related to the management of College systems and supplies; and
Providing an annual analysis of digital consumption and efforts made to reduce and monitor said consumption.

Human Resource Services is responsible for:

Providing employees with sustainability-related professional development opportunities on an annual basis.

Financial Services is responsible for:

Identifying and implementing sustainability initiatives relevant to financial procedures; and
Optimizing the utilization of financial resources with sustainability in mind.

Communications and Corporate Affairs is responsible for:

Public relations with regards to sustainability;
Planning and implementing communication strategies that effectively disseminate key sustainability information and initiatives;
Planning College events and outreach materials with sustainability in mind; and
Promoting sustainability initiatives, events and advancements internally and externally.

Continuing Education is responsible for:

Promoting sustainability within its programs as defined under the Academic Dean; and
Ensuring that satellite campus sites apply the policy.

Vanier College Advisory Committee on the Environment (V.C.A.C.E.)

Mandate and Responsibilities

VCACE is a recommending body at Vanier College whose mandate is to make recommendations to the Director General on any matter pertaining to sustainability projects and policies.

VCACE meetings are held once per month during the academic year and are chaired by the Manager of Health, Safety & Sustainability. The schedule for monthly VCACE meetings will be published at the start of the academic year and any member of the Vanier community may attend.

VCACE responsibilities include:

Recommending and proposing the Five-Year Sustainability Action plan, as required by Environnement Jeunesse (EnJeu)
Recommending and proposing sustainability policies and projects to the Director General
Overseeing internal certifications and Vie Fund
Enhancing a culture of sustainability on campus
Recommending practices that support environmental certification requirements
Holding regularly scheduled monthly formal consultations that are publicized and open to the whole Vanier community; and
Creating working groups to facilitate Vanier sustainability projects and proposals

Membership

VCACE is composed of the following membership positions, or their delegates:

Academic Dean
Director of Plants and Facilities
Director of Student Services
Director of Continuing Education
Health, Safety and Sustainability Manager, who is the VCACE chairperson
Sustainability Advisor
Student Life Advisor
Sustainability Major Coordinator
Vanier Collective Community Gardens representative
Campus Biodiversity Network representative
Two (2) representatives from Vanier College Student Association (VCSA) and/or the Environmental Student Committee
One (1) Support Staff representative (1 VCSPA representative)
One (1) Professional representative (1 AVCP representative)
One (1) Teacher per Faculty—FABSS, FGE, FST (3 VCTA representatives)
One (1) delegate from Pedagogical Support and Innovation (PSI)

Each member possesses one vote on VCACE matters. Where the same individual occupies more than one of the functional titles above, they do not receive additional voting power.

A quorum of two-thirds is required for a vote to be registered as a recommendation. If quorum is not reached, the vote can be held at the subsequent VCACE meeting.

Working Groups

VCACE members can vote to establish advisory working groups. Working groups recommend and propose projects to VCACE and are focused on a specific theme or expertise. Working groups may be constituted ofmembers of the Vanier community who are not VCACE members. Working groups have a mandate of one year, which can be renewed annually. To propose a working group, a VCACE member must present the mandate, scope, annual action items, and membership (maximum 10 members) of a proposed working group.

Procedure

Please see “VCACE Procedure” for the current policy relating to the process and procedure of VCACE meetings.

This policy will be revised every 5 years, or as required.

This policy replaces all previous versions of the Vanier College Sustainability Policy.

This policy is effective as of the date approved by the Vanier College Board of Directors on January 30, 2024.