| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 92.73 |
| Liaison | Emmanuelle Jodoin |
| Submission Date | Oct. 24, 2022 |
Université de Sherbrooke
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Emmanuelle
Jodoin Sustainable Development Accountability Officer Office of the Vice-President, Administration and Sustainable Development |
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:
CENTRE DE MOBILITÉ DURABLE DE SHERBROOKE (CMDS) [EN: SHERBROOKE SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY CENTRE]
Université de Sherbrooke is an active and committed member of the Centre de mobilité durable de Sherbrooke (CMDS).
Since 2009, the CMDS has been a focal point for the concerted consideration of all components of sustainable mobility, whether it be from urban planning to the operation of various modes of transportation on the territory. The CMDS relies on the collaboration of several major partners and stakeholders, such as the Université de Sherbrooke. The CMDS contributes primarily to the planning of sustainable mobility in Sherbrooke. It promotes sustainable mobility, raises awareness, and provides related information. More specifically, the Ville de Sherbrooke's Sustainable Mobility Plan is a direct product of the CMDS endeavours.
The establishment of the orientations and objectives, the issues to be addressed, the strategies to put forward as well as the proposal of recommendations to the city council of the Ville de Sherbrooke are some of the mandates given to the CMDS Steering Committee. Stakeholders who sit on the Steering Committee are asked to sit on the committee since they play a major role in the development of the Sustainable Mobility Plan, as they have a considerable impact on public transit in Sherbrooke. The Université de Sherbrooke sits on the Steering Committee and is represented by the Assistant to the Vice-President, Sustainable Development.
As an active and committed member of the CMDS, the Université de Sherbrooke is therefore significantly involved in the development of municipal policies with regard to a new culture of mobility based on:
• Balancing between modes of transportation for people and goods
• Reducing car dependency
• Improving safety
• Increasing accessibility to affordable, available, and reliable public transport
• Optimal use of technological and logistical innovations
• Reducing energy consumption
• Reducing environmental impacts
CMDS:
https://mobilitedurable.qc.ca/
https://mobilitedurable.qc.ca/le-cmds/comite-de-pilotage/
Ville de Sherbrooke's Sustainable Mobility Plan 2012-2021:
https://mobilitedurable.qc.ca/app/uploads/2016/08/Plan20de20mobilite20durable20de20Sherbrooke20-20Fiches20action20-20lowres.pdf
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:
The following engagements have implicit support from the Université de Sherbrooke.
CRÉNEAU D’EXCELLENCE DES TECHNOLOGIES PROPRES (CETP) [EN: NICHE OF EXCELLENCE OF CLEAN TECHNOLOGIES]
The Université de Sherbrooke is an active and committed member of the Créneau d’Excellence des Technologies Propres (CETP).
Launched in 2009 as a niche of excellence in the Estrie region, and up until recently known as the Créneau ACCORD des bio-industries environnementales (CABIE) [EN: ACCORD Niche of Environmental Bio Industries], CETP is framed by the Government of Québec's Ministère de l'Économie et de l'Innovation (MEI) [EN: Ministry of Economy and Innovation] and governed by its industrial and institutional members, while its funding is provided mostly by the MEI and its members. The five-year action plan, endorsed by the MEI, aims to have the CETP recognized by 2025 as a showcase leading reference for eco-efficiency through the development and implementation of clean technologies (processes and products) and services that contribute to the reduction of GHG emissions, of the carbon footprint, and the deployment of a new green economy based on renewable energies, ecomaterials, waste recovery, and sustainable development. CETP aims to efficiently promote the development of clean technologies by using the strengths and skills, networking, dialogue, and consultation of the various regional players in the industrial, scientific, and institutional fields.
The CETP includes companies that use biotechnology, bioprocesses, or biomass to reduce or eliminate environmental impacts. They are grouped into four key sectors: green chemistry and bioproducts, renewable energies, waste management, and water/air/soil.
The CETP thrives on the collaboration of its network of companies, its eight environment-related research centres, specialized investment funds, the regional workforce, and the presence of organizations and Government Ministries that support the development of the green economy.
The ACCORD (Action Concertée de Coopération Régionale de Développement [EN: Concerted Action for Regional Development Cooperation]) approach is a provincial economic development strategy that was launched in 2002 and which falls under the responsibility of the MEI. This approach aims to develop a green economy based on knowledge and innovation through the niche of clean technology. The constant development of this economy requires the creation of a favourable environment for the development of this market. The ACCORD niche works specifically to pool technological know-how and to set up collaborative projects that are economically and environmentally efficient and beneficial to the community.
Vincent Aimez, Vice-President, Partnerships and Knowledge Transfer, at the Université de Sherbrooke, Esteban Chornet, Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Université de Sherbrooke, and Myriam Bélisle, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at the Business School at the Université de Sherbrooke, are members of the CETP Management Committee and actively participates in the mission of CETP. The members of the Management Committee are privileged spokespersons enabled to actively participate in campaigns aimed at changing public policies. For instance, it is in such context that the Management Committee members submitted a brief to the Ministère de l'Environnement et de La Lutte contre les changements climatiques [EN: Québec Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Changes] during consultations within the framework of the Plan d’électrification et changements climatiques du gouvernement du Québec [En: Québec Electrification and Climate Change Plan] with proposals for action that would allow the Québec Government to use its levers to promote the reduction of GHG emissions through Québec clean technologies and thus foster the development of a green economy. More recently, in 2022, a brief for the development of a clean hydrogen strategy and bioenergies was also submitted.
http://accordenvironnement.com
http://accordenvironnement.com/accueil/equipe-et-conseil-de-gestion/
http://accordenvironnement.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/PECC-m%C3%A9moire-CETP-1.pdf
COLLECTIF G15+
The G15+ collective relies on social dialogue to promote the transformation of Québec's economy towards a more cohesive, prosperous, and green society and to place the well-being of the population at the heart of public policy. Founded in March 2020, it is composed of economic, unions, social, and environmental leaders from Québec. Together, they are drafting proposals to the provincial government on multidisciplinary themes of sustainable development such as financing, the economy, transportation, the First Peoples of Québec, and the communities and the habitats. Among the members of the G15+ collective from the Université de Sherbrooke are François Delorme, Economist and Lecturer in environmental economics at the Business School, and Annie Chaloux, Professor at the School of Applied Politics.
On January 18, 2022, the members and partners of the G15+ collective unveiled the Indicateurs du bien-être au Québec [EN: Indicators of Well-Being in Québec], in which they offer courses of action to public decision-makers to ensure that well-being is more central to government strategic planning.
https://www.g15plus.quebec/nos-chantiers/indicateurs-du-bien-etre-au-quebec/
COMITÉ CONSULTATIF SUR LES CHANGEMENTS CLIMATIQUES AU GOUVERNEMENT DU QUÉBEC [EN: QUÉBEC GOVERNMENT'S ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON CLIMATE CHANGE]
The Comité consultatif sur les changements climatiques au Gouvernement du Québec is chaired by Professor Alain Webster, Professor in the Department of Economics at the Business School and at the Centre universitaire de formation en environnement et en développement durable (CUFE) [EN: University Centre for Environmental and Sustainable Development Studies] at the Université de Sherbrooke.
The mission of the Committee is to advise the Minister of the Environment and Fight against Climate Changes, at his request or on its own initiative, on orientations, programs, policies and strategies to tackle climate change. Since the Minister is responsible for coordinating government action in the fight against climate change, the Committee's opinions may cover the various measures in this area.
RÉSEAU D’ACTION POUR LA SANTÉ DURABLE DU QUÉBEC (RASDQ) [EN: QUÉBEC ACTION NETWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE HEALTH]
The Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé (FMSS) [EN: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences] of the Université de Sherbrooke is a member organization of the Réseau d'action pour la santé durable du Québec (RASDQ) [EN: Québec Action Network for Sustainable Health]. The mission of the Network is to ensure the sustainable health of the population in a healthy environment by mobilizing the health and social services sector around prevention actions. The member organizations of the RASDQ adhere to the Charte pour la santé durable du Québec [EN: Québec Charter for Sustainable Health] which recommends more ambition to the government, institutions, and individuals across all sectors in Québec, in order to ensure the health of the population. The Charter is based on 10 findings and makes 18 demands. Here are some of the demands.
• To limit climate change and its consequences on the sustainable health of Quebecers, here are 2 out of 5 demands: Divest public and private funds from fossil fuels, and Promote the circular and local economy.
• To enforce sustainable health in our communities, here are 2 out of 9 requests: Invest in public, active and electrified transportation, and Preserve natural spaces and biodiversity.
• To improve our health and social services system through an ecoresponsible shift, here are 2 out of 4 requests: Adopt a ministerial action plan, and Allocate a budget and improve the human resources dedicated to the ecoresponsible shift.
https://www.usherbrooke.ca/developpement-durable/actualites/nouvelles/details/47339
https://actionnetwork.org/user_files/user_files/000/074/424/original/Communiqué_de_presse_032922.pdf
LETTRE/PÉTITION POUR UN VIRAGE DURABLE DU RÉSEAU DE LA SANTÉ ET DES SERVICES SOCIAUX DU QUÉBEC [EN: LETTER/PETITION FOR A SUSTAINABLE SHIFT IN QUÉBEC'S HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES NETWORK]
In the November 2021 edition of the Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé (FMSS) [EN: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences] Bulletin de la responsabilité sociale [EN: Social Responsibility Bulletin], community members were invited to sign the letter to the Québec’s Minister of Health and Social Services and the petition to the National Assembly for a sustainable shift in Québec's health and social services network.
COMMISSION PARLEMENTAIRE À L’ASSEMBLÉE NATIONALE DU QUÉBEC POUR LE PROJET DE LOI 21 [EN: PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSION AT THE QUÉBEC NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FOR BILL 21]
Pre Annie Chaloux, Professor at the School of Applied Politics at the Université de Sherbrooke, spoke on February 23, 2022, at the Québec National Assembly during the Parliamentary Commission for Bill 21, which is an Act to put an end to the exploration and production of hydrocarbons and to the public financing of such activities.
http://assnat.qc.ca/fr/video-audio/archives-parlementaires/travaux-commissions/AudioVideo-93861.html
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:
NSERC CANADIAN LAKE PULSE NETWORK
The NSERC Canadian Lake Pulse Network, a scientific initiative on environmental issues affecting Canadian lakes, is hosted at the Université de Sherbrooke, which is an active and committed member.
The initiative brings together experts in lake science, spatial modelling, analytical chemistry, public health, remote sensing, among others. The impacts of land-use changes, climate change, and contaminants are assessed while developing new tools for lake stewardship.
Apart from advancing lake science and training future lake experts, the Network aims to provide, via its Water Portal, relevant and accessible information based on project results in order to support decision-making and guide policy (i.e., evidence-based policy making) undertaken by different levels of government, including the federal level, and several organizations with an interest in lake health. More specifically, the Network has a specific engagement in policy via activities such as providing clear information to policymakers at all levels of government (including the federal government) and by providing policy briefs explaining the policy implications of its findings. For instance, its goals for policy engagement can support key national policy priorities:
• Environmental impact assessment reforms
• Canada’s biodiversity and protected areas targets
• Fish and other wildlife habitat protection and restoration
• Freshwater protection
• Environmental risk reduction through the assessment and regulation of toxic substances
Dr. Yannick Huot, from the Department of Applied Geomatics at the Université de Sherbrooke, is the Director of the NSERC Canadian Lake Pulse Network. Dr. Huot believes that a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach is critical to address urgent societal problems, which led him to develop LakePulse.
Vincent Aimez, Vice-President, Partnerships and Knowledge Transfer, at the Université de Sherbrooke, is a member of the NSERC Canadian Lake Pulse Network Board of Directors. The Board ensures that all partners and stakeholders are represented and oversees the Network's activities.
NSERC Canadian Lake Pulse Network link:
http://lakepulse.ca/
Board of Directors:
https://lakepulse.ca/network-structure/
NSERC Canadian Lake Pulse Network field manual 2017 - 2018 - 2019 surveys published in 2021: https://doi.org/10.17118/11143/18662
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:
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):
Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability advocacy efforts 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.