Thompson Rivers University
PA-2: Sustainability Planning

The measurable objectives, strategies and time frames included in the Curriculum plan are as follows (see page 64: https://www.tru.ca/__shared/assets/campus-strategic-sustainability-plan-2020-202547354.pdf):

1 to 3 years

Literacy Baseline Survey
Who: Director of Sustainability
Conduct a new Literacy Baseline survey of staff knowledge of
sustainability and report to the Board. Determine the desire for
increased TRU leadership, motivators to contribute, and ability or
contribute related to organizational issues such as senior
management commitment, supporting policies, etc. Include in the
next student survey similar questions related to knowledge and
perceptions of sustainability performance at TRU and report to the
Board.

3 to 5 years

Leadership in Environmental Sustainability
Certificate
Who: Provost and VP Academic, Faculty Deans
Grow the Leadership in Environmental Sustainability credential,
which students can earn in tandem with any credit program
(undergraduate, graduate, or open-learning).

5+ years

Course Inventory
Who: Provost and VP Academic, Faculty Deans
Track and report proportion of available courses that are
sustainability-related. Consider investing in new software and IT
systems to support tracking and reporting initiatives.

Undergraduate Program
Who: Provost and VP Academic, Faculty Deans
Offer a formal, undergraduate-level degree program focused on
sustainability. Initially, proceed with a minor in sustainability
(1-3years) and continue to explore a major in sustainability over
the long-term (5+years).

The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Campus Engagement plan are as follows (see page 55: https://www.tru.ca/__shared/assets/campus-strategic-sustainability-plan-2020-202547354.pdf):

Within 1 to 3 years...
Assessing Sustainability Culture
Who: Director of Sustainability, Communications
Conduct a renewed assessment of campus sustainability values,
behaviours, beliefs, and awareness of ongoing campus
sustainability initiatives

The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Energy plan are as follows (see page 29: https://www.tru.ca/__shared/assets/campus-strategic-sustainability-plan-2020-202547354.pdf):

Within 1 to 3 years...

Green Building Requirements for Institutional
Who: Director of Capital Projects, Director of Sustainability
Update the green building requirements for new institutional
development on campus to reflect the increased industry
standards that are emerging. Target LEED Gold Certification and
energy performance aligned with BC Energy Step Code 4.
Alternatives to LEED certification such as the Zero Carbon
Building Standard, Passive House Certification, WELL Building
Standard Living Building Challenge and/or Envision will be
reviewed on a case by case basis.

Pedestrian Oriented Design
Who: Director of Sustainability
Design Walkable Public Spaces: Establish design guidelines that
promote walking, and other active means of transport within
campus to decrease the environmental impacts of driving from
building-to-building.

Green Building Requirements for Market
Who: VP Administration & Finance, TRUCT, Director of
Sustainability
Define sustainability requirements for market developments on
campus along with a process of oversight and accountability to
ensure high quality development that contributes to the TRU’s
image and sustainability values.

3 to 5 years
Healthy and Accessible Buildings
Who: Director of Capital Projects, Director of Sustainability
Incorporate revised performance requirements targeting improved
occupant health and wellbeing into campus design guidelines,
including, healthy and low VOC materials, daylighting, and design
for active and accessible building use (including prominent
stairway design).

5+ years
Climate Adaptation and Resilience
Who: Director of Sustainability
Prioritize resilient and climate adaptive design strategies.

University Village
Who: AVP Finance, TRUST, Director of Capital Projects
Create a vibrant, mixed use campus by: creating a diverse range
of housing options for students, staff and faculty (market and
non-market housing) and exploring opportunities for retail and
commercial uses along McGill and in the campus ‘heart’.

The measurable objectives, strategies and timeframes included in the Energy plan are as follows (see page 73: https://www.tru.ca/__shared/assets/campus-strategic-sustainability-plan-2020-202547354.pdf):

Within 1 to 3 years:

Academic Coordinator
Who: Director of Sustainability, Provost and VP Academic
Establish role of academic coordinator in the Sustainability Office
to facilitate academic partnerships, priorities, and reporting.
Establish joint reporting to Provost and VP Admin.

Environmental Sustainability Advisory
Committee Representation
Who: Director of Sustainability, Chair of ESAC
Ensure equitable representation of the TRU community on ESAC.
Provide opportunities for open learning faculty members (OLFM)
and open learning (OL) students to participate in ESAC.

Define Academic Direction
Who: Provost and VP Academic
Clarify the role of sustainability as a strategic intention between
the Board, the Academic Priority and Planning Committee, the
Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee and the
Educational Programs Committee.

The following has been copied from the TRU website https://www.tru.ca/about/tru-mission-statement.html

TRU is a comprehensive, learner-centred, sustainable university that serves its regional, national, and international learners and their communities through high quality and flexible education, training, research and scholarship.

Our values
Inclusion and Diversity
Access is open: we welcome students, faculty, staff and communities from our region and around the world to learn from and with one another. We embrace diversity of thought and people. We commit to equity. We continually see the world and its inhabitants in new ways by re-examining our practices and their impacts.

Community-Mindedness
We come together to help one another (Pelkwaílc-kt es knucwentwécw-kt). Mutual benefit guides us to connect meaningfully with people in the communities we serve, contributing to an interconnected world where we all share a common future and humanity.

Curiosity
We seek out new ideas and embrace change, understanding they may involve risks. We break paths with creative, critical, yet thoughtful purpose. We push boundaries as a university and encourage students, faculty, staff, and the community to do the same.

Sustainability
The natural world inspires us with wonder and reverence. We recognize how the health of our societies, cultures and ecosystems rests upon wellness of people, biodiversity, and wise stewardship of precious and finite resources. As a world leader in sustainability we know that the well-being of generations to come is shaped by what we do today.

Definition of Sustainability, found here: http://www.tru.ca/senate/committees/esac/composition.html

“Sustainability
Definition: A concept based in the principle that humans depend on the natural environment for survival and well-being, and that humans and nature can exist in productive harmony. Sustainability is the conditions that ensure that human impact on the environment is sufficiently mitigated in pursuit of the protection of natural resources and of future generations' access to water, material, resources, and social and economic requirements."
from:
https://sor.epa.gov/sor_internet/registry/termreg/searchandretrieve/glossariesandkeywordlists/search.do;jsessionid=bx74M-b9DQg71hlNoLQOJQcH88-IjUi2uwgQ1FyakuyzCn5-NnQo!-651788833?details=&vocabName=Sustainable%20Manufacture%20Terms&filterTerm=sustainability&checkedAcronym=false&checkedTerm=false&hasDefinitions=false&filterTerm=sustainability&filterMatchCriteria=Contains

TRU is committed to sustainability. This is evident in the following initiatives:
The TRU Office of Environment and Sustainability opened in 2009 when it hired its first director. The Environmental Programs and Research Coordinator position began a year after that.
The Senate and Board approved committee, and the Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee is populated by staff, faculty and students and meets monthly.
The province of British Columbia enacted carbon neutral legislation for all public institutions starting in 2009, and TRU has followed the letter of this law since then, and has published Carbon Neutral Action Reports each year.
The TRU Sustainability Office publishes regular Strategic Energy Management Plans (SEMP) that oversee the use of energy throughout the campus.
The five year TRU Strategic Sustainability Plan, which started in 2014, considers virtually every aspect of the university and sustainability's relationship with those aspects.
The TRU Master Plan, also a five-year plan, oversees the development of the entire university, and has sustainability as one of its core principles.
The TRU Strategic Priorities Plan, also a five-year plan, has “increasing sustainability” as one of its five core pillars.

Regarding TRU's other multi-dimensional sustainability commitments (as indicated just above), TRU President, Brett Fairbairn, signed in January 2021, the Global Climate Letter for Universities and Colleges: https://www.sdgaccord.org/climateletter