| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 67.93 |
| Liaison | Emily Zabanah |
| Submission Date | Feb. 1, 2024 |
Seneca Polytechnic
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Paula
Echeveste Sustainability Specialist - Engagement & Outreach Office of Sustainability |
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 Sustainable Seneca Committee (SSC) is a cross-institutional stakeholder group whose members are students and employees from across Seneca. The SSC advises Seneca’s Office of Sustainability (SOS), including making recommendations on the strategic actions and priorities outlined in Seneca’s Sustainability Plan. The Committee recognizes that sustainability is a complex objective that goes well beyond the environment to include social equity, cultural vitality and economic responsibility.
Members of each committee, including affiliations and role:
Kurt Muller – Co-Chair Sustainability Committee and Dean, Faculty of Communications, Arts and Design
David Neale – Co-Chair Sustainability Committee and Executive Director, Campus Services and Facilities
Sachel Gordon – Assistant, Dean of the Faculty of Communications, Arts and Design
Martin Tame – Committee member and Chair, Faculty of Continue Education
Atani Gopalasingam – Committee member and Senior Manager Finance, Seneca Innovation
Andrew Wickham – Committee member and Professor at the School of Environmental, Civil Engineering and Technology
Shahrzad Farzinpak - Committee member and Chair, School of Human Resources and Global Business
Gino Franceschetti - Committee member and Manager, Service Desk
Angela Burnie – Committee member and Director, Student Services
Leonard Park – Committee member and Manager, Student Life
Syed Abdullah Rizvi – Committee member and Student from the Environmental Technology program
Maria Wallin – Committee member and Executive Director, Marketing
Adam Chisholm – Committee member and Manager, Campus Services
Junu Koola – Committee member and Senior Manager, Operations and Maintenance
Kelly Mathews – Committee member and Director, Communications
William Humber – Committee member and Former Director, Office of Eco-Seneca
Nevzat Gurmen – Committee member and VP, Finance and Administration
Don Forster- Committee member and Director, Office of Sustainability
Wai Chu Cheng – Committee member and Sustainability Specialist, Academics
Courtney Hayes - Committee member and Sustainability Specialist, Operations
Paula Echeveste Petrone- Committee member Sustainability Specialist, Engagement and Outreach
Emily Zabanah – Committee member, Sustainability Project & Research Assistant, Office of Sustainability
Akarshannoor Singh – Committee member, SSF President
Sonia Karborani- Committee member, Senior Procurement Specialist
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:
Seneca’s Office of Sustainability (SoS) is a central coordinating body that connects people across the institution with information, tools and inspiration for the challenges at hand, making Seneca sustainable for the long term. The SoS focuses on supporting solutions that create positive social, ecological, cultural and economic changes in Seneca’s operations. The SoS works to incorporate sustainability concepts and criteria into policy and planning, building and retrofit projects and operations. The office strives to engage and encourage students, employees and the community to practice sustainable behavior. Guided by Seneca’s Sustainability Plan, the SoS tracks progress and reports on achieving institutional commitments. It works with on- and off-campus partners to help create just, equitable and inclusive interdisciplinary sustainability solutions to address system-wide challenges.
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:
Seneca launched the Au Large project in the early weeks of the pandemic as a comprehensive renewal initiative. Even then, it was evident that with our changed way of working and our more constrained financial circumstances, we had both an opportunity and an obligation to plan how we emerge a stronger and thriving Seneca, focused on our core mission of providing a great polytechnic postsecondary education. Seneca’s renewal through Au Large is built on three pillars. Building an equitable Seneca, building a sustainable Seneca and building a more virtual Seneca.
Sustainability as both a core value and operational priority has been widely embraced in the Seneca community, with equal attention reflecting the commitment to sustainability in academic programs, in services and in our physical spaces. Ongoing projects include retrofitting campuses for energy efficiency, sustainable landscaping and waste reduction initiatives.
Beyond environmental sustainability, Seneca is supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, a holistic approach to sustainability that includes economic, cultural and social goals as well.
In FY21-22, sustainability goals included:
• Through broad consultations, created a formal and first-ever sustainability plan to set goals and improve performance across academic and operations
• Establishing a permanent Office of Sustainability to build partnerships across Seneca to advance the awareness and practice of sustainability
• Aligning curriculum and research in Seneca Business to the Principles for Responsible Management Education, a global initiative among business schools to incorporate sustainability across all forms of business education and operations
Job title of the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
Job description for the sustainability officer position:
• Represent the institution on municipal and other external committees and working groups
• Lead the process of Seneca joining local, provincial, national and international sustainability memberships and declarations
• Make presentations at conferences
• Create and enact a campus sustainability policy
• Work with all departments to embed sustainability
• Hire and supervise sustainability staff
• Set annual priorities
• Sustainability Plan Focus: Education & Research, Operations, Leadership
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):
• Develop a sustainability curriculum, micro-learning tools and other classroom teaching and learning materials
• Co-develop and deliver faculty workshops on integrating sustainability into new and existing classes with support from Teaching and Learning
• Coordinate, track and share interdisciplinary sustainability research
• Sustainability Plan Focus: Education & Research
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):
• Liaise with operational departments across the institution to support collective and collaborative sustainability action
• Manage programs such as sustainable waste management, food security initiatives, sustainable procurement programs and sustainable transportation initiatives
• Sustainability Plan Focus: Operation
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.