| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 71.07 |
| Liaison | Julien-Pierre Lacombe |
| Submission Date | March 4, 2022 |
École de Technologie Supérieure
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.50 / 1.00 |
Vincent
Proulx-Verville Mr General Secretariat |
Does the institution conduct an assessment of sustainability culture?:
Which of the following best describes the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered to::
Which of the following best describes the structure of the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered::
A brief description of how and when the cultural assessment(s) were developed and/or adopted:
The survey on the knowledge and culture of the student community in sustainable development was developed in the fall of 2021 by the School's Sustainable Development Team and inspired by the survey sent in 2018, the Sulitest of other STARS-certified universities and the Quebec government website. The survey was reviewed and improved by the intern in charge of the STARS file, the sustainability advisor, the advisor and communication of the Sustainability Team as well as by a professor from ÉTS. The survey was then approved by the university administration before being sent to the school community. The survey includes questions on sustainability knowledge and culture. Most of the questions are multiple-choice and some are short answer. The survey was sent to the entire ÉTS community via the Google Forms platform.
The survey has 4 distinct sections, totalling 30 questions:
1. General Information
2. General knowledge in sustainable development
3. ÉTS' commitment and actions in sustainable development
4. Culture (practices, food and consumption habits)
A copy or sample of the questions related to sustainability culture:
A sample of the questions related to sustainability culture or the website URL where the assessment tool is available:
14. The 3RV-E represents a way of prioritizing our actions with respect to waste management. Which "R" do you think would be the most important to prioritize?
Reuse; Recycle; Reduce; Don't know; None of the above
18. Do you think it is important for an engineer to know about environmental law?
Essential; Important; Moderately important; Incidental
21. ÉTS' Sustainable Development Action Plan (SDAP) presents and groups:
4 pillars: teaching, research, operations and communities ; 61 actions demonstrating concrete steps in the operationalization of sustainable development ; The result of the efforts of a committee of students, professors, employees and managers ; All of the above
23. Apart from teaching and research, how would you describe ÉTS' performance in terms of eco-responsible practices (for example greening, energy and GHG emissions management, incentives for sustainable mobility, waste management, etc.)?
Exemplary; Excellent; Good; Fair; Poor
24. If you are a student, do you have an interest in integrating sustainable development into your program of study?
Yes; No; Don't know; Not a student
25. Which of the following actions of ÉTS in sustainable development are you aware of?
Inauguration of two new parks in 2020 and 2021; Planting of 64 new trees on campus in 2021; Announcement of the achievement of carbon neutrality at ÉTS, which becomes the first carbon-neutral university in Montreal in 2021; Creation of the ÉTS Research Fund on Climate Change (FRECC) when carbon neutrality was announced ; Existence of a public transit incentive program for employees and students; Existence of the sustainable development subcommittee (SD governance body reporting to the ÉTS Board of Studies); "Engineering for Society" lecture series; "Les RDV culturels" performance series
26. On a daily basis, do you consider yourself interested in sustainability/sustainable development issues?
Very interested; Somewhat interested; Not very interested; Not at all interested
For questions 27 to 30: How often do you do the following?
Answer choices: Always; Often; Sometimes; Rarely; Never; I no longer go to campus because of the current health situation (when applicable)
27. I use public or active transportation to get to the School's campus.
28. I use the recycling/compostable materials sorting islands on campus.
29. I eat local, organic or fair trade foods.
30. I purchase reusable consumer goods rather than single-use goods
A brief description of how representative samples were reached (if applicable) and how the cultural assessment is administered:
A link to the survey was emailed on behalf of the Executive Office to the entire ÉTS community (students, non-academic and support staff, and academic staff) on November 22, 2021, and they had one week to respond.
A brief summary of results from the cultural assessment:
A total of 582 people from the ÉTS community responded and completed the survey. The results and the responses provided will allow the Sustainability Team to better direct its efforts in terms of awareness and information. The ÉTS community (both students and academic and non-academic staff) appears to have an overall interest in sustainable development and the adoption of environmentally responsible practices.
Q14. the majority of respondents (75.3%) consider reduction to be the most important "R" of the 3RV-E to prioritize. With respect to recycling and reuse, the results are mixed (14.1% and 10.5% respectively).
Q18. 64.3% of respondents consider it essential for an engineer to know environmental law and 32.1% consider it important.
Q21. The vast majority (83.2%) of respondents answered this question correctly regarding the Sustainable Development Action Plan (SDAP) of the ÉTS.
Q23. Most respondents (39.7% and 37.3%) consider respectively Excellent or Good the performance of ÉTS in terms of sustainable development.
Q24. Of the 333 respondents from the student community, 80.5% say they have an interest in integrating sustainable development, compared to 3.9% who have no interest.
Q25. The majority of respondents (80.8%) were aware of the School's carbon neutrality announcement. As for conferences and cultural events, a minority of respondents (22% and 30.2% respectively) were aware of these sustainable development actions.
Q26. Half (52.9%) and more than a third (38.5%) of respondents consider themselves Somewhat or Very interested in sustainability issues.
Q27. Most respondents (63.6%) use public or active transportation to get to the school campus. Another 7% of respondents never use public or active transportation to get to the school campus.
Q28. The vast majority of respondents (81.4%) use the recycling and composting bins on campus.
Q29. A good portion of respondents (45.9% and 41.6% respectively) eat local, organic, or fair trade foods.
Q30. The majority of respondents (62.9%) and a portion of respondents (25.9%) report purchasing reusable consumer goods rather than single-use goods.
Website URL where information about the assessment of sustainability culture 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.