| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68.02 |
| Liaison | Maxine Dandois-Fafard |
| Submission Date | Nov. 10, 2023 |
Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS)
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Maxine
Dandois-Fafard Sustainable Development Officer Scientific Direction |
Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee?:
The charter or mission statement of the committee(s) or a brief description of each committee's purview and activities:
The institutional policy on sustainable development (https://inrs.ca/wp-content/uploads/POL-Developpement-Durable-VFP.pdf) sets up the institutional committee. An excerpt:
6.1 Mandate.
For the purposes of the Policy, INRS creates an Institutional Committee for Sustainable development which is tasked, among other things, with:
a) Developing an action plan and indicators to measure its effectiveness and offering it to the Directive Committee for a recommendation to the Executive Board.
b) Coordinating the action plan execution and sharing it to encourage the academic community understanding and engagement for sustainable development.
c) Facilitating connections between the different stakeholders involved in sustainable development within the INRS community.
d) Ensuring the supervision of innovative approaches in sustainable development
e) Recommending policy amendments
f) Submitting an annual report to the Executive Committee, the Executive Board and the INRS community.
Besides the institutional committee, there are also 4 local green committees, one for each research centre. These committees are usually composed with students and employees, but one of the green committees is composed of students only. Activities and projects are different from one committee to another: welcoming kiosks for new students in September; activities to raise awareness on special days (Car-free day, Waste reduction week, etc.); community garden management; management of the reusable cups program; expansion of the waste collect (pen, batteries, etc.). More about the SD local committees: https://inrs.ca/linrs/developpement-durable/personnes-ressources/
Members of each committee, including affiliations and role:
The institutional committee for sustainability is composed of the following members:
a) Official members
- The Scientific director (or someone they nominated) to lead the committee
- The director of the Government relations cabinet (or someone they nominated)
- The director of the Material Resources Service (or someone they nominated)
- A resource person for sustainable development
b) Nominated members: up to 3 persons for each research centre, nominated by the Directive Committee for a renewable 2-year term:
- A member coming from the student community
- A member coming from the professorial staff
- A member coming from the employees
This is the members' list for 2022-2023:
Official members
- Gabriel Joyal, president – Associate scientific director
- Maxine Dandois-Fafard, Sustainable development officer
- Émilie-Jade Poliquin, delegate to the Government relations cabinet
- Olivier Picard (or the person who represents him), material resources department director
Nominated members
- Albert Descoteaux, professor, Center Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie'
- Louise Savard, employee, Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie
- Sophia Ferchiou, student, Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie
- Patrick Drogui, professor, Centre Eau Terre Environnement
- Jérémie Boudreault, student, Centre Eau Terre Environnement
- Mathilde Renaud, employee, Centre Eau Terre Environnement
- Émile Carbone, professor, Centre Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications
- Tristan Guay, student, Centre Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications
- Christine Masse, employee, Centre Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications
- Morgan Mouton, professor, Centre Urbanisation Culture Société
- Maria Jose Visconti, student, Centre Urbanisation Culture Société
- Myrian Grondin, employee, Centre Urbanisation Culture Société
The list of local committee members changes a lot and participation to the committees is very flexible and open, so the participants’ names are not compiled.
Does the institution have at least one sustainability office that includes more than 1 full-time equivalent employee?:
A brief description of each sustainability office:
The Sustainable Development Team coordinates the implementation of the INRS sustainable development action plan. The team is composed of the Sustainability Officer and of an intern. An intern is hired every summer (4 months full-time) to help the officer implement the action plan.
The Sustainable Development Team is responsible for improving INRS practices towards a more sustainable future both in its operations and in its scientific program.
The SD team reports to the Scientific Direction but plays a cross-functional role in all departments.
Full-time equivalent of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
Does the institution have at least one sustainability officer?:
Name and title of each sustainability officer:
Does the institution have a mechanism for broad sustainability coordination for the entire institution?:
A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the institution-wide coordinating body or officer during the previous three years:
2021: The institutional SD committee begins to work on a 3-year action plan
2022: Consultations on the proposed action plan and its orientations are carried out with members of the INRS community (faculty meetings, online survey, virtual consultation activity).
The first SD action plan is adopted in June by the Board.
2022: First application to the Impact Rankings (by Times Higher Education)
2022: Publication of the institution's first GHG inventory report and pledge to become carbon neutral by 2040
2022: Release of the socio-ecoresponsible events guide and of a new section of the university website dedicated to sustainability
2022: Pledge "Nature Positive University"
2023: Release of the INRS' SDGs online training
2023: Start of Decarbonation, Mobility and Biodiversity projects
2023: First waste characterization audits
Job title of the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
Associated with the associate Scientific Director, the sustainability officer acts as an expert in order to develop best practices in sustainable development at INRS and significantly enhance its performance. She coordinates the Scientific Direction activities related to sustainability. She also actively participates in the development of a shared vision and ensures the implementation of the Action Plan for Sustainable Developement, taking on a leadership role to enhance INRS reputation and visibility.
She specifically coordinates the conception of a shared vision and guidance regarding sustainable development, collaborating with the Scientific Direction team accordingly with the strategical plan and the institutional scientific program.
She coordinates and conducts institutional committee activities, while respecting the institutional Policy of sustainable development and collaborating with the associate scientific director who assumes the presidency.
She plans prerequisite operations and required assessments to submit the INRS application for the recognized universities ranking for sustainable development.
She collaborates with different departments to develop resources to enhance scientific accountability in sustainable development, particularly to reduce research-related risks in grant applications or concrete projects. She ensures strategic monitoring and documentation to stay informed about policies and best practices in sustainable development, especially in public, governmental, and academic responsibility areas. She represents INRS in networking activities and communities of practice when relevant. She reports progress and outcomes related to her activities to relevant instances.
Job title of the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Job title of the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
Job description for the sustainability officer position (3rd position):
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.