| Overall Rating | Platinum - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 88.31 |
| Liaison | James Gordon |
| Submission Date | May 31, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Thompson Rivers University
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
James
Gordon Environmental Programs and Research Coordinator TRU Office of Environment and Sustainability |
Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the municipal/local level?:
A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the municipal/local level, including the issues, legislation, and ordinances for or against which the institution has advocated:
The following advocacy work is supported by the TRU Sustainability Office, of which Jim Gudjonson is the Director, and has the implicit support of TRU top administration (Matt Milovick, VP Administration & Finance).
1) Jim Gudjonson, Director of the TRU Sustainability Office, sits on the City of Kamloops Public Transportation Advisory Committee in order to advocate for better policies around increased public transportation and improved bike commuting infrastructure for students and the general public. Jim successfully spearheaded a group that included the TRU president and city councilors to build a $ 7million dollar pedestrian/bike overpass to connect TRU to the community.
2) TRU Sustainability staff members work with the City of Kamloops to help improve the city's zero-waste strategy. The City of Kamloops has adopted TRU zero waste strategies and procedures and implemented them across the city in order to have consistent infrastructure and procedures for all community members.
3) Jim implemented a TRU anti-idling policy and was then asked by City of Kamloops Sustainability staff to help lobby for a city wide anti-idling policy. Jim and city staffers did successfully lobby for a city wide policy that was developed using the TRU policy as a framework.
4) Jim worked with city staff to amend a city bylaw banning bio-mass as a fuel source – the bylaw (currently under second review) will allow TRU and other organizations to use waste wood as an alternate fuel source to natural gas – the new bylaw will result in significant GHG reductions ( <60%) for larger organizations. The by-law was amended – and is under second review to omit gasification as a process from existing bylaw.
Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the state/provincial/regional level?:
A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the state/provincial/regional level, including the issues, legislation, and ordinances for or against which the institution has advocated:
The following advocacy work is supported by the TRU Sustainability Office, of which Jim Gudjonson is the Director, and has the implicit support of TRU top administration (Matt Milovick, VP Administration & Finance).
From 2013-2014 to the present, Jim Gudjonson, Director of the TRU Sustainability Office, is either still involved in or was involved with the following bodies:
1) Jim worked with BC Hydro officials and BC government officials to allow institutions to develop their own Revolving Energy Funds – the TRU model has been adopted by many organizations allowing them to plan for energy efficiency projects annually. The provincial government has adopted new rules and/or relaxed legislation to allow for public sector organizations to start their own funds and alter internal budgeting processes to accommodate based on Jim’s efforts.
2) Jim worked with Fortis BC to lobby the British Columbia Utilities commission to reduce renewable natural gas rates to make renewable gas more affordable, therefore allowing more organizations to purchase renewable gas, thereby creating more renewable gas projects to supply the new green gas. The lobbying resulted in a significant reduction in the cost of renewable gas.
3) TRU’s purchasing department works with a provincial wide body to collectively purchase product and energy while considering sustainable purchasing procedures – the group also lobby’s the provincial government to help push down the cost of equipment such as solar panels though collective purchasing
4) The TRU IT department is a member of BCNEY – a group of IT departments that push for more sustainable IT processes including joint cloud projects.
5) Jim sits on many of the mentioned provincial committees and working groups that collectively lobby the provincial government:
•BC Colleges and Universities Climate Change Working Group (J. Gudjonson, Co-Chair)
•BC Hydro and the BC Ministry of Advanced Education (to develop a provincial wide revolving energy fund; J. Gudjonson presented at a 2015 symposium and be a panelist)
• BC Provincial Carbon Neutral Committee--Higher Education Group (this group reports to the BC Climate Action Secretariat’s Office every 3 months)
• Thompson Nicola Regional District, Air shed Management Plan (J. Gudjonson, Technical Committee member)
• BC Workplace Conservation Awareness Advanced Education working group
• BC Hydro Energy Manager and Energy Specialist training group
Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the national level?:
A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the national level, including the issues, legislation, and ordinances for or against which the institution has advocated:
The following advocacy work is supported by the TRU Sustainability Office, of which Jim Gudjonson is the Director, and has the implicit support of TRU top administration (Matt Milovick, VP Administration & Finance).
1) Jim Gudjonson, current Director, TRU Sustainability Office, is a member of the national working group – BioEnergy Support Network for Sustainable Communities (BIOCOMM) – The BIOCOMM working group has recently been advised of a successful fund application with Natural Resources of Canada to create capacity building material for their Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities project. The BIO-Comm group lobbies across Canada for the adoption of clean energy at the community level.
2) From 2013-2014 to the present, Jim is either still involved or was involved with the following body: Canadian Alliance of College and University Sustainability Professionals (https://www.cacusp.com/).
The Canadian Alliance of College and University Sustainability Professionals (CUSP) serves as connection to provincial and regional campus sustainability networks. The objectives of CUSP are to:
a) Facilitate peer-to- peer communication; provide a platform for best practice and information exchange.
Be an information exchange resource for a Canada-wide network for College and University Sustainability Professionals.
Educate peers via regular webinars to exchange information on sustainability successes, current initiatives and challenges that face post-secondary institutions across the country.
Facilitate information sharing and data gathering through electronic mediums such as list-serves, a social networking platform, survey software, and resource directory and web presence.
b) Offer face-to-face networking opportunities. Coordinate face-to-face networking opportunities at existing events such as AASHE and CAUBO conferences.
c) Support information flow through local, national and provincial governments and organizations. Champion policy and programs that impact members to government and key organizations (like AASHE)
d) Build on existing sustainability alliances. Create linkages with existing networks and alliances such as AASHE, ACUPPC, CAUBO and provincial and territory sustainability networks.
Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the international level?:
A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the international level, including the issues, legislation, and ordinances for or against which the institution has advocated:
A brief description of other political positions the institution has taken during the previous three years (if applicable):
A brief description of political donations the institution made during the previous three years (if applicable):
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives 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.