| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 86.18 |
| Liaison | Chris Adam |
| Submission Date | Dec. 30, 2024 |
Dawson College
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Chris
Adam Coordinator Sustainability Office |
Sustainability committee(s)
The charter or mission statement of the committee(s) or a brief description of each committee's purview and activities:
The Sustainability Advisory Committee is appointed by various deans and managers in each sector of the College and makes recommendations to the director of the Sustainability Office. The director of the sustainability office is responsible to the Director General (president) of the College. The committee members were last reviewed and appointed in 2024.
Members of each committee, including affiliations and role:
Chris Adam - Director (coordinator) of the Sustainability Office
Jenn de Vera - Project Development, Sustainability Office
Anna-Liisa Aunio - Faculty/researcher, Social Science
Gisela Frias - Faculty, Geography & North South profile
Tim Miller - Faculty, Physiotherapy
Paul Wasacz - Physical Education
Student Union Rep. - Sustainability representative
Julia Lijeron - Pedagogical Counsellor, Office of Academic Development
Azra Khan - Professional Development, Human Resources
Diana Rice - Coordinator, Dawson Peace Center
Charlie O'Conner - Coordinator, First People's Center
Luc st-germain - Manager, Facilities Management
Eva Helms - Environmental Technician, Office of Sustainability
Geoff Kloos - Coordinator, First Year Student Office, Student Services
Vacant - Quality Assurance & Planning Office (retired Nov. 2022)
Christina Parsons- Communications Counsellor, Communications Office
Brian Mader - Faculty/Coordinator, Biology
Cathy Giulietti - Executive Assistant, Academic Deans Office
Jesse Binstock - Administrative Technician, Continuing Education
Sustainability office(s)
A brief description of each sustainability office:
The Sustainability Office has 5 full-time employees as of 2024 that implement the College five-year sustainability plan which, in turn, meets strategic plan objectives. The office reports annually to the Board of Governors of Dawson. The Sustainability Office also supervises a volunteer and intern working space on the same floor.
Full-time equivalent of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
Sustainability officer(s)
Name and title of each sustainability officer:
Institution-wide coordination
A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the institution-wide coordinating body or officer during the previous three years:
The Office manages the benchmarking and implementation of the AASHE STARS indicators, CEGEP Vert in Quebec, Race-to-Zero, Nature-Positive Universities, Fair-Trade College, and develops special projects that integrate the UN SDGs, Sustainable Happiness programs and Living Campus attributes. The Sustainability Office is supported by the Quality Assurance & Planning Office, as explicitly mentioned on their web platform: https://www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/qapo/about-us/
Dawson leadership and the community as a whole was awarded the International Green Gown Award for sustainability institution of the year in 2022.
The Advisory and/or executive committee evaluates and recommends on strategic sustainability goals. Examples of work 2021-24: Landscape master plan recommendations, gift purchase recommendations, bike infrastructure increase, indigenization through landscape plans, net-zero offsetting possibilities, curriculum integration of outdoor spaces, and Foundation investment placements.
Optional Fields
Job description (1st position)
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
NATURE OF THE WORK
Under the authority of the Director General, the Office of Sustainability Associate-Director is responsible for the coordination (planning, organization, leadership, supervision, and evaluation), development and implementation of actions pertaining to sustainability goals as outlined in Dawson’s "bridge yeasr" of 2021-23 and the Strategic Plan for 2024-2029.
He/she will support the development and piloting of projects and educational concepts that further the College’s sustainability efforts. He/she will collaborate with faculty and staff to integrate current research and practices in the field. The Coordinator will identify ways to improve biodiversity and link to curricula and extra-curricular activities.
In addition, the Associate-Director will oversee and coordinate the collection and analysis of the Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Ratings System (STARS) standard data and will make recommendations to the various sectors of the College in order to implement best practices. He/she will coordinate links to external partners, develop and manage outreach programs.
He /she will manage staff, volunteers, interns and budgets.
RESPONSIBILITIES
More specifically, the Associate-Director will:
• Develop a strategy to integrate sustainability concepts and principles throughout the operations of the College.
• Collaborate with members of the Dawson Community, non-governmental organizations (NGO) and partnering institutions to develop projects that advance Dawson’s sustainability efforts.
• Interact with stakeholders during all phases of project development.
• Develop relationships and awareness campaigns that are cost effective and create community acceptance.
• Develop an action plan with appropriate stakeholder input to recommend to College administration.
• Evaluate projects by performing a cost/benefit and make decisions or recommendations based on it.
• Identify available sustainability related grants and/or employment incentives available to the college.
• Supervise the work of the Sustainable Dawson Information Technician responsibilities, student employees, interns, volunteers and students working on sustainability projects.
• Collaborate with Plant & Facilities in the implementation of energy and natural resource conservation projects, including a carbon neutral program and green building design.
• Support faculty in the development of sustainability content in their courses.
• Oversee the functions and activities of the Sustainable Dawson Steering Committee.
• Promote, publicize and document Dawson’s sustainability efforts internally and externally to showcase individual and collective accomplishments that demonstrate the implementation of the College’s mission, vision and values.
• Represent the College at local, regional and international conferences to share best practices and share the College’s expertise.
• Provide visionary leadership that motivates and inspires employees to participate in projects across disciplines and departments.
• Prepare a yearly sustainability report for the Dawson Board of Governors.
• Perform additional duties as required.
Job description (2nd position)
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
NATURE OF THE WORK
The job of administration officer involves more specifically realizing day-to-day administrative programs and processes for one of more College services.
The incumbent will be carrying out various duties related to realizing the goals of the Office of Sustainability and implementing the College’s Sustainability Policy. This includes developing realistic objectives in context to changing needs and being up to date in current sustainability trends in education and innovations.
The employee will perform various duties related to the research for, and analysis of, incoming sustainability data related to performance indicators, including the reporting and dissemination of this information and data. They will be developing and supervising a volunteer and fieldwork student integration program and developing Dawson as a Sustainable Happiness Training hub for internal and external stakeholders. They will also be reviewing safety and protocol issues and will be organizing students, teachers, staff and volunteers involved in Sustainability/Living Campus activities in order to maximize efficiency, build capacity and maintain Dawson’s reputation as a leader in sustainability within the Canadian college network.
RESPONSIBILITIES
• Coordinates the Sustainable Happiness Certificates and Sustainable Happiness Facilitator Training for internal and external groups, as well as coordinates any community of practice related to sustainability;
• Develops a volunteer and fieldwork student monitoring and training program. Supervises progress and outcomes;
• Develops, organizes and supervises all outdoor and indoor educational garden maintenance needs (campus grounds
and rooftops) and live animal needs (e.g. honeybees and monarch butterflies), including choice of appropriate flowers
and vegetables, harvesting schedules and pest control;
• Researches and analyses data for the College’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS);
• Harmonizes goals and objectives of various sustainability initiatives to ensure project coherence with the College
mission, strategic plan, and sustainability policies;
• Oversees the preparation and release of reports;
• Researches indoor/outdoor extra-curricular and curricular activities using the Dawson landscape, and identifies
appropriate program material and equipment for outreach and internal programs;
• Liaise with Dawson employees involved in sustainability performance indicator work outside of Office of Sustainability,
particularly with regards to the integration of UN Sustainability Goals;
• Represents Dawson at external meetings, conferences and/or symposiums related to sustainability, at the request of the Associate-Director;
• Monitor, plan, and report on budgets and operating resources within area of responsibility;
• Performs other related tasks.
Job description (3rd position)
Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
NATURE OF WORK
The principal and customary work of the employee in this employment class consists in carrying out various technical duties related to the gathering, selection, consolidation and distribution of information and preparation of the college’s organizational and promotional documents.
Specifically, the incumbent will provide support to all aspects of the College’s sustainability projects and, with the consultation of the Office of Sustainability Associate-Director will ensure that project goals and objectives are realized in accordance with Dawson’s mission and values.
The incumbent will support projects regarding resource use, pollution reduction, waste management, environmental health, biodiversity, gardens, risk assessment and employee involvement with present realities and stakeholder expectations.
RESPONSIBILITIES
• Support all projects associated with the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) implemented by the College.
• Responsible for providing various reports (progress and activity, etc.) and preparing presentations for various clientele
• Assist with interdisciplinary projects with teachers and students that lead to college sustainability
• Develop and maintain relationships with appropriate individuals and organizations to ensure that Dawson is an active and visible part of the community, responding to environmental needs
• Implement communication plan for Office of Sustainabilityand individual projects
• Assist with raising community awareness of the impact of emerging environmental issues, whether legislative or best practice, on corporate, ethical and social responsibility
• Monitor conditions of College educational gardens, and develop and implement maintenance plan to maximize educational potential
• Organize volunteers to ensure specific project goals and objectives are realized
• Manage budgets for projects
• Perform other related tasks
Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability coordination is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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.