McGill University
PA-2: Sustainability Planning

Climate & Sustainability Strategy 2020-2025: Research and Education action items

Flagship action:
- RE1 Implement a sustainability online module available to all students, staff, and faculty members.
Complementary actions:
- RE2 Bolster the visibility of MSSI and continue to develop new research themes that tackle global sustainability and climate issues.
- RE3 Use the campus as a living lab for applied student research in climate and sustainability.
- RE4 Develop and implement opportunities to support Indigenous-led research strategies and initiatives by researchers.
- RE5 Launch a McGill-wide course in sustainability for all students.
- RE6 Develop a University-wide sustainability minor.
- RE7 Design workshops to support instructors in embedding sustainability into their curricula.
- RE8 Launch a Sustainable Lab Certification Program.
- RE9 Embed sustainability and climate components in the onboarding and training material of faculty members.
- RE10 Create a platform to facilitate the sharing and reuse of research assets.

Source (page 17): https://www.mcgill.ca/sustainability/files/sustainability/mcgillclimatesustainability2025_-_reduced.pdf

Climate & Sustainability Strategy 2020-2025: Community Building action items

Flagship action:
- CB1 Implement a Bicentennial Student Sustainability Challenge.
Complementary actions:
- CB2 Represent Black and Indigenous presence throughout the campuses’ physical space.
- CB3 Provide ceremonial spaces for cultural practices such as smudging and burning of ceremonial medicine.
- CB4 Identify new naming opportunities on campus.
- CB5 Support the implementation of key initiatives under My Healthy Workplace.
- CB6 Designate accessible spaces for activities promoting mental and emotional wellness.
- CB7 Embed sustainability and climate components in the staff onboarding and training material.
- CB8 Expand existing engagement programs in sustainability.

Source (page 30): https://www.mcgill.ca/sustainability/files/sustainability/mcgillclimatesustainability2025_-_reduced.pdf

Climate & Sustainability Strategy 2020-2025: Waste Management action items

Flagship action:
- WM1 Implement a zero-waste zone on campus.
Complementary actions:
- WM2 Create a zero-waste brigade to promote best practices throughout the University.
- WM3 Complete the implementation of the Waste Reduction and Diversion Strategy (2018-2025).
- WM4 Launch a campus-wide initiative to encourage units to go paperless.
- WM5 Install integrated sorting stations in multiple key areas of the campus.
- WM6 Deploy a campus-wide compost collection system.
- WM7 Evaluate the implementation of in situ compost treatment sites

Source (page 21): https://www.mcgill.ca/sustainability/files/sustainability/mcgillclimatesustainability2025_-_reduced.pdf

Other relevant Strategy categories include Buildings and Utilities, Travel and Commuting, Food Systems, Procurement, and Landscapes and Ecosystems.

McGill's Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan is organized according to the following five corresponding themes: Student experience, Research and knowledge, Outreach, Workforce, and Physical Space.

The objectives are as follows:
1. Student experience
- Increase the representativeness of the student body
- Promote student wellness, success, and support, especially for those from underrepresented groups
- Raise student awareness about discrimination, oppression, and their effects
- Enhance capacity of teaching staff and Student Services to create and maintain respectful, accessible, and inclusive student life and learning settings
- Ensure University policies establish prompt, effective, and confidential channels to address EDI concerns and complaints

2. Research and knowledge
- Maintain recognition for diverse research ideologies and methodologies, including community-engaged, land-based,3 and participatory action research
- Strive for equitable representation of individuals from underrepresented groups among chairholders and recipients of awards
- Establish and maintain equitable, accessible and inclusive research environments
- Ensure Indigenous-Led and Indigenous-Partnered research respects and benefits Indigenous peoples and communities
- Lead research initiatives to enhance knowledge of, and to address equitably, McGill’s connections to slavery and colonialism
3. Outreach
- Develop effective communications about EDI challenges, initiatives, and celebrations at McGill
- Develop mentoring, networking, and advancement opportunities for students and staff from underrepresented groups
- Deepen community collaborations in connection with University commemorations and celebrations
- Deepen community collaborations in connection with academic program development
4. Workforce
- Increase the representativeness of the workforce
- Enhance and communicate resources available to support employees with disabilities
- Address EDI gaps among tenure-stream academic staff through active recruitment, retention, and promotion strategies
- Recognize diverse family forms in University Policies and Procedures
- Ensure University Policies establish prompt, effective, and confidential channels to address EDI concerns and complaints
- Promote respectful, accessible, and inclusive work environments
5. Physical Space
- Reflect diverse identities within McGill’s historic and contemporary communities in campus iconography, signage, ceremonies, and naming
- Enhance accessibility of buildings, pathways, and other physical spaces
- Create dedicated spaces for McGill community members’ spiritual, social, and wellness needs
- Enhance Indigenous presence in public spaces, as well as the availability of cultural and living spaces for Indigenous students, faculty, and staff

Source: https://www.mcgill.ca/equity/files/equity/mcgill_strategic_edi_plan_2020-20251.pdf

Sustainability Policy (2010; rev. 2018)

PART I – PURPOSE AND SCOPE

1.1 PURPOSE
1.1.1. As institutions committed to the advancement of knowledge and solutions-based inquiry, universities have a unique role to play in the face of complex environmental, social and economic issues. Through research, education, daily operations and interactions with the broader community, universities can be effective contributors to policy and attitudinal change needed to create a sustainable future.

McGill University is committed to achieve the highest possible standards of sustainability. We strive to be a leader in research and education, creating and communicating the knowledge required for humans to live sustainably at the local, regional and global scales. In our operations, we will meet or exceed governmental standards of sustainability for educational institutions and the norms of sustainability achieved by our comparator universities. Our goal is to become an institutional model of sustainability for society as we pursue our academic mission. In order to achieve this, the University will leverage the talent and ingenuity of its students, faculty and staff to transition towards a more sustainable, low carbon future.

1.2. SCOPE
1.2.1 This Policy applies to all students, faculty and staff across academic practices, facilities and operations.

PART II –POLICY STATEMENT, ACTION PLANNING & REPORTING
2.1 POLICY STATEMENT
2.1.1 The objectives of the Policy are as follows:
a) Undertake the activities and operations of the University in a manner that strikes an appropriate balance between the needs and aspirations of current and future generations of the McGill and broader communities;
b) Foster inquiry into sustainability through teaching, learning, research and the university experience;
c) Share knowledge to stimulate innovation, raise awareness and ensure effective participation of the McGill community in the implementation of sustainable practices;
d) Encourage economic efficiencies in the University’s operations that are consistent with social equity and respect for the environment;
e) Promote a healthy, safe and productive work and learning environment for the McGill community;
f) Advance individual and collective efforts and accountabilities throughout the McGill community to make sustainability a priority in the life of the University;
g) Identify and conserve the cultural and natural heritage of McGill University, including properties, buildings, landscapes, traditions and knowledge, taking their intrinsic rarity and fragility into account;
h) Minimize the use and consumption of energy, water and material resources in recognition of the finite capacity of the biosphere to accommodate human activities;
i) Consider the economic, environmental and social impacts of the activities carried out by or on behalf of the University in order to guide decision-making.
j) Comply with regional, national and international declarations and accords of which McGill is a signatory, notably the Talloires Declaration and the Halifax Declaration.

2.2. ACTION PLANNING
2.2.1 To ensure a structured and collaborative approach in support of this Policy, the University will produce action plans in support of the University’s climate and sustainability initiatives that involve all relevant university stakeholders. These action plans will outline programs and initiatives that will move the University closer to its sustainability goals.

2.3. REPORTING
2.3.1 The University will report annually to its community on progress toward achieving its sustainability goals.

PART III – AUTHORITY TO APPROVE PROCEDURES
3.1 The Vice-Principal (Administration and Finance) has the authority to establish, approve, amend and repeal procedures which are secondary to and comply with this Policy.

PART IV – REVIEW
4.1. A review of this Policy shall be conducted by the Vice-Principal (Administration and Finance) every five (5) years, or may be initiated sooner by the Vice-Principal (Administration and Finance) or Board of Governors when necessary to ensure legislative or statutory compliance, or when deemed necessary to do so in the best interests of the University.

Source: https://www.mcgill.ca/secretariat/files/secretariat/gd18-25_revised_sustainability_policy.pdf

From the online student module "Creating a Brighter Future at McGill: Sustainability at McGill":

"Sustainability is far from a new concept. It was conceptualized and practiced in Indigenous cultural traditions long before it was discussed in Western societies.

"Indigenous cultures have practiced elements of sustainable living for generations by being in tune with the natural environment and its limits, cycles, and changes. This understanding is usually referred to as traditional ecological knowledge(opens in a new tab) (TEK), or the deep knowledge and beliefs about relationships between people, plants, animals, natural phenomena, landscapes, and timing of events in a specific ecosystem.

"One example of how sustainability has been practiced is the Seventh Generation Principle(opens in a new tab), a core value memorialized in the Great Law of Peace within the oral constitution of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. This principle explains that all decisions and actions made in the present must take into account the welfare of the next seven generations.

"This fundamental responsibility not only applies to environmental ethics, but to social and economic choices that affect the culture and well-being of generations to come."

https://www.mcgill.ca/sustainability/learn/sustainability-module

Halifax Declaration (1991)
From December, 9 through 11, 1991, the presidents and senior representatives of 33 universities from 10 countries on 5 continents met in Halifax, Canada to take stock of the role of universities regarding the environment and development. They were joined by a number of senior representatives from business, the banking community, governments, and non-governmental organizations. The meetings were sponsored by the International Association of Universities, the United Nations University, the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, and Dalhousie University, Canada, which also provided the detailed planning and secretariat support. The Halifax Declaration was released at the conclusion of the conference.

Declaration of the island of Montreal community in favour of biodiversity and greening (2010)
McGill signed on to the declaration in 2010. This acknowledged the importance of taking action on biodiversity at a local level.

Other evidence in support of Part 2, from the institution’s highest guiding documents:
Sustainability as KPI:
Sustainability is one of McGill's Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): "[t]he development of the KPIs have been directly informed by the University’s major strategic priorities. The purpose of the KPIs is to ensure alignment with the University’s core activities and its mission. They provide a high-level measurement of the University’s performance toward its strategic priorities."

Source:
https://www.mcgill.ca/boardofgovernors/files/boardofgovernors/22._gd22-71_memo_key_performance_indicators_2022.pdf