Concordia University
AC-6: Sustainability Research
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
10.00 / 10.00 |
Brett
Cox Sustainability in Research Coordinator Office of Research |
6.1 Percentage of academic departments engaged in sustainability research
Number of academic departments engaged in sustainability research:
Annotated list or inventory of the institution’s sustainability research by department:
Description of the process used to identify the institution’s sustainability research:
| The attached document is a combination between three sources: 1) A list of articles published by Concordia tenure-track or tenured faculty members in the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 academic years based on an inclusion or relationship with the SDGs; 2) The 2020/2021 STARS report of sustainability related faculty members; 3) Using Explore Concordia to do a final check of sustainability related faculty members. An important point of contention: the list includes faculty who work on sustainability issues, as well as those who work on SDG related issues, but the crossover and intention is not always clear. There are faculty who work on sustainability issues but don't intentionally align themselves with the SDG's, and there are faculty members whose work aligns with the SDG's, but they don't necessarily consider themselves sustainability researchers. In lieu of interviewing every faculty member listed in order to paint a comprehensive picture of how researchers identify their work in relation to sustainability and the SDG's, the list provides a thorough overview of the sustainability and sustainability adjacent research culture at Concordia. |
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following two figures:
Points earned for indicator AC 6.1:
6.2 Incentives for sustainability research
Description of the sustainability research incentives for academic staff:
1) Concordia was awarded a prestigious Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Communities and Cities in 2019. Building on the CERC, Concordia has established a cities hub and hired a team of interdisciplinary researchers dedicated to the development of integrated strategies for achieving sustainable, accessible, and inclusive urban spaces and the transformation of cities into more efficient consumers of energy and resources. The team is comprised of five tenure-track cities cluster hires, as a commitment by Concordia to research related to sustainable communities and cities.
2) Concordia has availed of the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program to strengthen its contribution to sustainability research: these include CRCs in Transportation and land Use Linkages for Regional Sustainability; Spatial Ecology and Biodiversity; Corporate Social responsibility (CSR), among others.
3) Concordia has also availed of the Concordia University Research Chairs (CURC) program to recognise faculty conducting sustainability research: these include CURCs in Climate Science and Sustainability; Biodiversity and Conservation; Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functionality, among others.
4) The OVPRII provides support and funding to two Research Units whose members conduct sustainability research; the Concordia Institute for Water, Energy and Sustainable Systems (CIWESS) and the Centre for Zero Energy Building Studies.
5) Concordia has created 4TH SPACE as a flexible, street-level venue where faculty and professionals are encouraged to go beyond disciplinary boundaries in the search for solutions to society’s big topics, key among them being climate change and issues of sustainability.
6) As mentioned above, the Faculty of Arts and Science supports the Loyola Sustainability Research Centre (LSRC) which is comprised of more than 40 research fellows, from a range of disciplines spanning all four faculties, who share a commitment to sustainability research. The LSRC hosts numerous events and activities.
7) The university library offers a web-based Sustainability Research Guide – including article databases, online tools and resources, recommended books and films and selected journals – designed to support faculty members and students conduct sustainability research.
Does the institution provide incentives for students to conduct sustainability research?:
Description of the sustainability research incentives for students:
1) The Individualized (INDI) program, hosted by the School of Graduate Studies, supports self-directed research through mentorship at both the Master’s and doctoral levels that extends beyond the usual disciplinary boundaries of research and creation. This includes support for several interdisciplinary research currents, including sustainability and environmental studies and environmental humanities. Several additional programs that support graduate student research in sustainability are offered at the department level (e.g. MSc and PhD programs in Geography, Urban and Environmental Studies offered by the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment; MSc and PhD programs in Biology offered by the Department of Biology; MEng and PhD programs in Environmental Engineering in the Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering.)
2) Loyola College for Diversity and Sustainability (LCDS), part of Concordia University’s College system, hosts a multi-disciplinary undergraduate Minor in Sustainability Studies open to students in the Faculty of Arts and Science, the Faculty of Fine Arts, and the John Molson School of Business. As part of this program, students can carry out independent research projects under the mentorship of faculty members for credit towards their degree through one of two course options.
3) The Faculty of Arts and Science supports the Loyola Sustainability Research Centre (LSRC), the goal of which is to foster collaboration across disciplines in sustainability research. This Centre has an active community of graduate students supervised and co-supervised by its members, which span across all four faculties of the University. In helping members to develop cross-, multi-, and trans-disciplinary research in sustainability, the Centre indirectly supports graduate student research.
4) The LCDS and LSRC co-host an annual Sustainability across Disciplines conference in March each year, which involves research presentations by faculty and students of all levels. There are cash prizes for the best student presentations in several categories (undergraduate and graduate poster and oral presentations). Half the funding for this conference comes from the Office of the Vice President, Research, Innovation and Impact (OVPRII) and half from various units across the University.
5) The Sustainability Action Fund (SAF), a student run fee-levy group at Concordia, provides funding for student projects aimed at developing a culture of sustainability within the University. Sustainability Research Awards are given that recognize students currently engaging in research addressing an environmentally or socially sustainable project.
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
Optional documentation
NOTE: We did not include the list of departments with sustainability courses in the sustainable research inventory because it covers a larger time-frame than in use by the Office of Research for their exercise.
Additional documentation for this credit:
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.