| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 75.40 |
| Liaison | Mary-Lee Townsend |
| Submission Date | Jan. 16, 2025 |
Western University
EN-9: Inter-Campus Collaboration
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.40 / 3.00 |
9.1 Inter-campus collaboration for sustainability
Description of the institution’s participation in sustainability-focused networks for educational institutions:
Western participates in a number of sustainability-focused networks for educational institutions at the regional, national, and international level. Regionally Western participates in Ontario College and University Sustainability Professionals (OCUSP) network through lunch and learns, the AGM, and monthly meetings. Nationally, Western is a part of the Bee Campus Network through Bee City Canada and participates in quarterly meetings and best practices sharing. At a broader scale, Western is a part of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), including AASHE Connect, a community of sustainability professionals in higher education in North America. Internationally, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) is a network of organizations – mostly in higher education – that supports global connectivity around advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
https://sustainability.uwo.ca/about_us/sustainability_memberships.html
Has the institution formally shared its sustainability experiences and lessons learned with other institutions during the previous three years?:
Narrative outlining how the institution formally shares its sustainability experiences and lessons learned with other institutions:
Western presented at the Campus Energy 2024 Bridge to the Future conference, hosted by International District Energy Association (IDEA) in San Francisco, CA. Conference delegates included representatives from various universities and colleges as well as support organizations such as consulting firms and energy providers primarily from North America but also globally. Western’s presentation, titled “Western University’s District Energy Future,” featured the key considerations for a district energy system within the context of our university setting along with an overview of Western’s carbon reduction strategy and projected energy, carbon, and financial savings. Some of the key lessons learned that were highlighted were around (1) controls complexity; (2) electrical capacity; and (3) funding constraints.
Does the institution have a sustainability-focused articulation/transfer agreement that provides students who are studying sustainability at one institution with a formal pathway to another institution?:
Description of institution’s sustainability-focused articulation/transfer agreements:
Bilateral agreement between Fanshawe College Environmental Technology Diploma or Chemical Laboratory Technology diploma to Western Environmental Science. The bilateral agreement provides a pathway for students from the two diploma programs noted above to Environmental Science and Chemistry at Western.
- Multilateral agreement between Western Environmental Science and:
- Algonquin College (Environmental Technician)
- Canadore College (Environmental Technician)
- Centennial College (Environmental Technician, Environmental Technology)
- Confederation College (Environmental Technician)
- Durham College (Environmental Technology)
- Fleming College (Environmental Technician, Environmental Technology)
- Georgian College (Environmental Technician, Environmental Technology)
- Loyalist College (Environmental Technician, Environmental Technology)
- Mohawk College (Environmental Technician)
- Niagara College (Environmental Technician)
- Norther College (Environmental Technician)
- Sault College (Natural Environment Technologist – Conservation & Management, Natural Environment Technician – Conservation & Management)
- Seneca College (Environmental Technician, Environmental Technology)
- Sheridan College (Environmental Technician, Chemical Engineering Technology - Environmental)
- St. Lawrence College (Environmental Technician)
The multilateral agreement, provides a pathway to full-time study in the Faculty of Science (3-year B.Sc. Environmental Science major, 4-year B.Sc. Environmental Science major, 4-year B.Sc. Environmental Science Specialization, 4-year B.Sc. Environmental Science Honors Specialization), students from the Ontario College noted above.
- Additional reference can be found:
- Articulation Agreements | Western University | London, Ontario, Canada (uwo.ca)
Has at least one individual with formal sustainability responsibilities at the institution served as a mentor or been mentored by a colleague with sustainability responsibilities at another institution during the previous three years?:
Description of the institution’s sustainability mentoring activities:
Has at least one individual affiliated with the institution has served in a leadership role for an inter-campus sustainability network, conference, or community of practice during the previous three years?:
Description of the institution’s leadership roles in inter-campus collaboration:
Dr. Beth Hundey is one of the course creators for the award-winning Connecting for Climate Change Action course (https://geoenvironment.uwo.ca/undergraduate/course_information/new_course_connecting_for_climate_change_action.html). The course is available both for credit for Western students and available in a free, online version for the public. All students who complete the open course are invited to join a community of practice for climate change action that is co-led by Dr. Hundey and Adrienne Crowder, a past graduate of Connecting for Climate Change Action and volunteer facilitator. The facilitators collaborate with an advisory committee of past students. The community of practice includes 80 members from across Canada and globally who have completed the course. Many of the community of practice participants are from southwestern Ontario and there is a focus on sharing resources, building collaborations, seeking support for local volunteer initiatives, and continuing education and conversation around climate change action from a two-eyed seeing approach.
Additionally, Western’s Sustainability and Compliance Manager, Mary-Lee Townsend has participated in a committee with Ontario College and University Sustainability Professionals (OCUSP) regarding new provincial regulations for Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA) to enforce the province’s circular economy laws. This committee provides leadership to the broader OCUSP community on the regulatory changes and impacts they have on post-secondary institutions.
Has at least one individual affiliated with the institution served as a peer reviewer for another institution’s sustainability report or data during the previous three years?:
Description of the institution’s peer review activities:
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
Optional documentation
Additional documentation for this credit:
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.