Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 74.37
Liaison Manon Raby
Submission Date Dec. 24, 2024

STARS v3.0

Concordia University
EN-5: Civic Engagement

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 6.00 / 8.00 Manon Raby
STARS Coordinator
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

5.1 Percentage of students that participate in civic engagement programs

Does the institution have one or more programs to support student civic engagement?:
Yes

Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s civic engagement programs for students:
Percentage of students that participate in community service and/or other civic engagement programs:
25 to 49

Approach used to determine the percentage of students that participate in civic engagement programs:
Survey/assessment results

Narrative outlining how student participation in civic engagement programs was determined:

Concordia students in the first and final years of undergraduate studies participated in the 2023 annual National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). This survey is used to measure the level of student participation at universities and colleges in Canada and the United States as it relates to learning and engagement. The results of the survey help administrators and professors to assess their students' student engagement. The survey targets first-year and senior students on campuses. NSSE developed ten student Engagement Indicators (EIs) that are categorized in four general themes: academic challenge, learning with peers, experiences with faculty, and campus environment.

Concordia University's results showed that  24% of first-year undergraduate students do community service or volunteer work one or more hours per week and 33% of final-year undergraduate students do community service or volunteer work one or more hours per week. Combining responses from first-year and final-year undergraduate students, on average 28% do community service or volunteer work one or more hours per week. 
 
 
 


The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:

Points earned for indicator EN 5.1:
2

5.2 Employee community service program

Does the institution have one or more programs designed to support employee community service?:
Yes

Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s programs to support employee community service:
https://concordia.cervistech.com/

Does the institution support employee volunteering during regular work hours?:
Yes

Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s support for community volunteering during regular work hours:

The Concordia Shuffle is an annual 6.5-kilometre walk, held in the fall, between the University's Sir George Williams and Loyola campuses to benefit student scholarships and bursaries. Most faculty and staff are encouraged to participate in the event during regular work hours.

In 1990 University Advancement initiated and launched a campus-to-campus walk-a-thon fundraiser to increase internal community support for its fundraising efforts and to build morale within the university.

Faculty members, staff, senior administrators, University governors, and student shufflers solicit pledges from friends, family, and colleagues for completing the walk. Money raised for the Concordia Shuffle initially went towards undergraduate student scholarships and bursaries but since 2000 the funds are also used for graduate students.

The Shuffle is a fun-filled, feel-good event, but it also collects much-needed funds for student scholarships and bursaries. Shufflers start at the Sir George Williams Campus, heading west until they reach the Loyola Campus. Most shufflers walk the route, but some participants are very creative. Some shufflers use the route as a test of their physical fitness by running, cycling or rollerblading to Loyola. Others walk with loved ones, friends, co-workers or pets, and some push baby strollers or pull children's wagons. Many departments walk together.


The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:

Points earned for indicator EN 5.2:
1

5.3 Support for public policies to advance sustainability

Have one or more individuals affiliated with the institution helped develop public policies that address sustainability challenges within the previous three years?:
Yes

Narrative outlining how individuals affiliated with the institution have helped develop local or regional public policies that address sustainability challenges:
Citing work done by Dr. Pascale Biron, professor in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment…
- Research conducted between 2011 and 2013 (funded by climate change consortium Ouranos) that was published in Biron et al. (2014) Freedom Space for Rivers: A Sustainable Management Approach to Enhance River Resilience. Environmental Management, 54, 1056-1073; is now included in the Plan de Protection du Territoire Face aux Inondations (PPTFI) of the Quebec government - measure 18 of the attached summary document which can be found here: https://cdn-contenu.quebec.ca/cdn-contenu/adm/min/affaires-municipales/publications/amenagement_territoire/plan_protection_territoire_inondations/NAP_plan_action_inondations.pdf. Also drawing on Dr. Biron's work: Inclusion of river mobility in revised flood maps in Quebec; the new flood maps soon to be made public in Quebec now include mobility of rivers (see https://www.cehq.gouv.qc.ca/zones-inond/info-crue/index.htm), with a short-term and long-term mobility zone based on their work on freedom space.
- Stream restoration - project "Un méandre à la fois" in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment of Quebec. With PhD student Jean-Philippe Marchand, Dr. Pascale Biron is working in close collaboration with the Ministry of Environment to implement concepts of freedom space for rivers for stream restoration. Following is a link to a presentation that will be given to the Association des Biologistes du Québec by Jean-Philippe in collaboration with the Ministry: https://www.abq.qc.ca/fr/programmation/detail/workshopId/58905

Citing the work of Dr. Chunjiang An, from Concordia’s department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering..
- His team worked with Montreal West on a Mitacs project and provided the support for their CRD waste management (https://www.mitacs.ca/our-projects/advancing-sustainable-management-of-construction-renovation-and-demolition-crd-waste/).
- His team conducted a study about e-bus. They met with STM and the City of Montreal, and provided their suggestions. E-buses will drive urban net-zero target success, according to new Concordia research (2023) https://www.concordia.ca/news/stories/2023/08/22/e-buses-will-drive-urban-net-zero-target-success-according-to-new-concordia-research.html
-  His team met with the City of Montreal and introduced their work about Montreal GHG emissions. The study has been published, Pashaei, S. and An, C., 2024. Assessment of urban greenhouse gas emissions towards reduction planning and low-carbon city: a case study of Montreal, Canada. Environmental Systems Research, 13(1), p.12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40068-024-00341-y

Narrative outlining how individuals affiliated with the institution have helped develop national or international public policies that address sustainability challenges:
The research of Dr. Damon Matthews, professor in Concordia’s Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, was used to develop a new report, “Climate’s Bottom Line: Carbon Budgeting and Canada’s 2035 Target” drafted by the Net-Zero Advisory Body (NZAB), Canada’s first-ever advisory body dedicated to net-zero. The Net-Zero Advisory Body is a group of experts appointed by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. The report can be found here: https://www.nzab2050.ca/publications/climates-bottom-line-carbon-budgeting-and-canadas-2035-target#:~:text=Carbon%20budgets%20are%20used%20by,55%25%20reduction%20below%202005%20levels.

Citing the work of Dr. Chunjiang An, from Concordia’s department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering...
- His team has conducted many studies about oil spill response. Gina Cody School secures $1.58M from Natural Resources Canada to explore oil-spill response and low-toxicity cleaning agents; https://www.concordia.ca/news/stories/2024/06/20/gina-cody-school-secures-158m-from-natural-resources-canada-to-explore-oil-spill-response-and-low-toxicity-cleaning-agents.html). Engineering Research Team Receives $ 5 Million to Re-Assess Spill Response Plans https://www.concordia.ca/news/stories/2019/08/29/engineering-research-team-receives-5m-from-fisheries-and-oceans-canada-to-re-evaluate-oil-spill-responses.html
- Chunjiang was invited to draft a policy briefing in the Hill Times Mitigating oil spills with biotechnology, The Hill Times (2021) https://www.hilltimes.com/2021/09/13/mitigating-oil-spills-with-biotechnology/315948
- Chunjiang was invited to discuss with Natural Resources Canada and provide my suggestion for establishing the Oil Spill Response Challenge program (https://impact.canada.ca/en/challenges/oil-spill-response).
- His team studied the impact of the pandemic on urban transportation and air quality (The pandemic lockdown leads to cleaner city air across Canada, Concordia paper reveals; https://www.concordia.ca/news/stories/2021/02/09/the-pandemic-lockdown-leads-to-cleaner-city-air-across-canada-concordia-paper-reveals.html).
- Chunjiang’s team was invited to draft a policy briefing in the Hill Times (Reduced emissions in Canadian cities during the pandemic: from temporary to permanent; https://www.hilltimes.com/2021/02/22/biotechnology-356/284250). This study was also cited in the Policy Research Working Paper of World Bank (Vagliasindi, M., 2023; The Impact of COVID-19 on Mobility and Congestion. World Bank; https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099523003092341258/pdf/IDU03a959b5c03bce0477d0ab8a0e2c422b81b7a.pdf).

Has the institution advocated for public policies to advance sustainability during the previous three years?:
Yes

Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s advocacy for public policies to advance sustainability:
Yes, Concordia University has advanced various public policies, particularly regarding research funding for green energy and decarbonization. Concordia is globally recognized for its climate action in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings by the London-based organization, as well as for its pursuit of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals in the category of Sustainable Cities and Communities.
 
https://www.concordia.ca/news/stories/2023/04/28/the-government-of-canada-awards-concordia-university-a-historic-123m-research-grant-to-electrify-society-and-decarbonize-communities.html /
 
https://www.concordia.ca/news/stories/2024/04/20/a-call-to-leadership-lets-rethink-our-cities-to-advance-the-fight-on-climate-change.html?c=/sustainability/net-zero / https://www.concordia.ca/news/stories/2024/10/18/concordia-s-shawinigan-campus-to-host-an-innovation-hub-on-battey-research.html

Documentary evidence of the institution’s advocacy for public policies to advance sustainability:
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Online resource that provides evidence of the institution’s advocacy for public policies to advance sustainability:

The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:

Points earned for indicator EN 5.3:
3

Optional documentation

Notes about the information provided for this credit:
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Additional documentation for this credit:
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