| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 76.32 |
| Liaison | Karen Oberer |
| Submission Date | Dec. 11, 2020 |
McGill University
EN-11: Inter-Campus Collaboration
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
Karen
Oberer Sustainability Officer McGill Office of Sustainability |
Is the institution currently a member of a national or international higher education sustainability network?:
The name of the national or international sustainability network(s):
United Nations University Global Coalition (UGC)
Does the institution actively participate in a regional, state/provincial, or local higher education sustainability network?:
The name of the regional, state/provincial or local sustainability network(s):
Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) – Canada
Réseau Universitaire Québécoise en Development Durable (RUQDD)
Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium (NECSC)
Has the institution presented at a higher education sustainability conference during the previous year?:
A list or brief description of the conference(s) and presentation(s):
The Executive Director of McGill's Office of Sustainability, François Miller, gave an award-winning presentation at the annual AASHE Conference & Expo in Spokane, WA, in October 2019. The presentation was entitled, ""The Ladder of Staff Engagement: Programs Designed to Move From Individual Steps to Collective Action."" This session covered how sustainability practitioners can use the Ladder of Engagement model to turn small, personal steps into meaningful, collective action by designing programs that build on success to implement more impactful and ambitious change.
Mr. Miller and another MOOS staff member gave an AASHE webinar entitled "Scaling the Ladder: Engagement Programs as Tools for Sustainability" in September 2019. A different MOOS staff member presented a similar webinar in May 2019.
https://www.aashe.org/calendar/scaling-the-ladder/
https://www.aashe.org/calendar/engagement-ladder/
A newer version of the presentation was delivered at the 2020 AASHE GCSHE Conference, entitled, "The Staff Engagement Escalator: A Facilitated Discussion on Developing Human Potential." The presentation was co-delievered by a MOOS Sustainability Officer and a Sustainability Outreach & Engagement Specialist from the University of Virginia.
Mr. Miller also gave a presentation to ISCN in 2019 on the Refill McGill campaign to ban the sale of water bottles on campus.
https://www.slideshare.net/ISCN_Secretariat/iscn-2019-rapid-round-166620899
Has the institution submitted a case study during the previous year to an external higher education sustainability resource center or awards program?:
A list or brief description of the sustainability resource center or awards program and submission(s):
In May 2020, McGill was selected as the recipient of the Honorary Member Award at the International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN) Excellence Awards. The university received this award for Vision 2020: Climate & Sustainability Action Plan 2017-2020, which defined 22 short-term priority actions and 45 associated deliverables, with the ownership and accountability of these activities distributed across the University.
In May 2020, MOOS submitted a case study to AASHE on the Vision 2020 Climate & Sustainability Action Plan 2017-2020.
https://hub.aashe.org/browse/casestudy/23369/Vision-2020-Climate-Sustainability-Action-Plan-2017-2020
In 2018, the Executive Director of the McGill Office of Sustainability presented a case study on the Gault Nature Reserve for the 2018 WEF-ISCN Report.
https://international-sustainable-campus-network.org/iscn-sustainable-campus-best-practices/ (see page 19).
Has the institution had employees or students serving on a board or committee of a sustainability network or conference during the previous three years?:
A list or brief description of the board or committee appointment(s):
The Executive Director of McGill's Office of Sustainability, François Miller, currently sits on the AASHE Advisory Council (until Dec. 2020)
https://www.aashe.org/about-us/who-we-are/advisory-council/
Mr. Miller also sits on the comité Innovation en développement durable (Innovation in Sustainable Development Committee), which unites sustainability experts from 10 Québéc universities to facilite the sharing of knowledge between the Palais des congrès de Montréal and the sustainability research being conducted in higher learning establishments. The Palais hosts national and international conventions, exhibitions, consumer/trade shows, conferences, meetings and other events.
https://congresmtl.com/en/2019/05/the-palais-des-congres-de-montreal-assembles-sustainability-experts-from-10-quebec-universities/
The McGill-based student group Desautels Sustainability Network co-organizes the Montreal Youth Summit in conjunction with Concordia University (John Molson Sustainable Entreprise Commitee); and HEC Montreal (Groupe HumaniTerre).
http://montrealyouthsummit.ca/en/who-are-we/
Does the institution have an ongoing mentoring relationship with another institution through which it assists the institution with its sustainability reporting and/or the development of its sustainability program?:
A brief description of the mentoring relationship and activities:
A researcher from the École de Technologie Superiéure ÉTS) contacted McGill's Climate Officer in August 2019 for support related to the school's Greenhouse Gas inventory, as ÉTS had never conducted one before. Our Climate Officer provided ÉTS with significant initial support on identifying the relevant best-practice protocols and methodologies (e.g. WBCSD/WRI GHG protocol, IPCC AR5 reports) as well as comprehensive recommendations on how to identify GHG sources and on determining materiality for what to include within the inventory scope. Since then, our Climate Officer has been answering ÉTS's questions about specific methodological considerations (e.g. the estimation of refrigerant gas loss using LEED-derived equations and assumptions; the selection of which GWPs to apply; compliance against municipal and provincial reporting programs). We also align on the scope of the CLUMEQ supercomputer housed at ÉTS, but used by both ÉTS and McGill researchers.
Krista Houser (McGill Office of Sustainability) provided mentoring to staff at the University of Washington (UW Sustainability) as they set up their Campus Sustainability Fund. As the Steward of the Sustainability Projects Fund (SPF), Krista offered guidance around the fund’s organizational structure, financial processes, project approval, project management, communications, key challenges, etc. The relationship between the two institution continues, as MOOS staff continue to collaborate with UW Sustainability on projects, such as the 2020 AASHE GCSHE Conference presentation, entitled, "University Sustainability Funds 2.0: A Model for the Next Generation."
Has the institution had employees or students serving as peer reviewers of another institution’s sustainability data and/or STARS submission during the previous three years?:
A brief description of the peer review activities:
McGill STARS Liaison, Karen Oberer, is acting as an external reviewer for Concordia's 2020 STARS Report.
A brief description of other inter-campus collaborative efforts around sustainability during the previous year :
Website URL where information about the institution’s inter-campus collaborations 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.