Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 59.78
Liaison Joseph Wasylycia-Leis
Submission Date March 1, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Winnipeg
PA-1: Sustainability Coordination

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Joseph Wasylycia-Leis
Campus Sustainability Coordinator
Campus Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have at least one sustainability committee?:
Yes

The charter or mission statement of the committee(s) or a brief description of each committee's purview and activities:

The Campus Sustainability Council shall:
• provide a forum for coordination across UWinnipeg Sustainability Strategy Target areas;
• serve as the venue for ongoing reporting, monitoring, and re-assessing of the actions meant to be carried out in a given year. As such, individuals on Council must be in a position to speak to key elements of the strategy and to advise on required changes to action plans as the year progresses;
• campus Sustainability Council members collaborate and consult with their respective departments and/or constituencies as appropriate to further the targets set in the UWinnipeg Sustainability Strategy;
• provide broad oversight and coordination of UWinnipeg Sustainability Strategy as a means of making progress towards goals set down in the University’s Sustainability Policy;
• assist in coordinating and advising on governance and planning issues related to campus sustainability, including policy reviews, strategic planning, climate action planning, benchmarking, consultation, and research activities.


Members of each committee, including affiliations and role (e.g. staff, student, or faculty):

The Campus Sustainability Council is made up of the following:

Student representatives appointed by their respective organizations according to procedures decided by the organizations themselves, for terms of one or two years, or until such organizations should cease to exist:

-Vice-President Internal, UWSA
-1 GESA representative (Geography and Environmental Studies Students Association)
appointed according to procedures decided by the organization
-1 Bike Lab representation appointed according to procedures decided by the organization
Other students as necessary to fulfill terms of reference.

Faculty representatives appointed by the VP, Human Resources, Audit & Sustainability, (or his/her designate), in collaboration with the Deans of Academic Departments, and comprised of individuals with interest, commitment and expertise appropriate to the purpose of the CSC.
Appointments will be for one year terms and can be renewed by mutual agreement.

Up to 6 Faculty representatives

Administration and support staff representatives named by the VP, Human Resources, Audit & Sustainability, (or his/her designate) in any number and selected from positions with substantial responsibility for the implementation of sustainability initiatives at the University. 
Administrative and support staff representatives shall include at least one member from each working group, or a delegated staff member capable of reporting on the efforts of each Target Committee.


Does the institution have at least one sustainability office that includes more than 1 full-time equivalent (FTE) employee?:
Yes

A brief description of each sustainability office:

The Campus Sustainability Office is responsible for the University’s sustainability performance as it relates to all areas of the University. This includes sustainability issues related to facilities management, campus development, academic programming and delivery, policy, & administration, community learning & engagement, research, and student services.

Campus Sustainability plays a lead role in sustainability management at UWinnipeg by:
a) working with campus stakeholders to establish strategic priorities and set targets for improving environmental performance;
b) Coordinating the tracking and reporting of key quantitative and qualitative metrics related to environmental performance indicators (and establishing new metrics when needed) by supporting all staff/departments involved;
c) Developing, maintaining and improving programs and initiatives for achieving these priorities and targets, and supporting these programs and initiatives with ongoing outreach, public education and engagement.

In addition to supporting the management and improvement of UWinnipeg’s environmental performance, Campus Sustainability ensures that our institution continues to address local and global sustainability challenges at a deeper level by:
a) Encouraging the teaching of sustainability across the curriculum, and providing research, experiential learning and extra-curricular development opportunities for students, aiming to become environmental leaders in their future careers
b) Developing mutually beneficial partnerships with community organizations and other institutions that can help provide students with learning and development opportunities
c) Showcasing the innovation and research related to sustainability happening on our campus with other post-secondary institutions, governments and the public, and advocating for further investment

The mission of the Campus Sustainability Office is to (1) provide leadership, coordination, support, and data tracking assistance to operational departments as they implement the University’s Sustainability Policy and associated Administrative Policies; (2) to facilitate linkages between sustainability-related learning, research, and operations and; (3) to support academic dialogue and participation within the campus community to ensure that all benefit from the pedagogical and research value of our physical campus.


Full-time equivalent (FTE) of people employed in the sustainability office(s):
2

Does the institution have at least one sustainability officer?:
Yes

Name and title of each sustainability officer:
Joseph Wasylycia-Leis, Sustainability Coordinator; Thiago Nunes, Sustainability & Special Projects Assistant

Does the institution have a mechanism for broad sustainability coordination for the entire institution (e.g. a campus-wide committee or an officer/office responsible for the entire campus)?:
Yes

A brief description of the activities and substantive accomplishments of the institution-wide coordinating body or officer during the previous three years:

The Campus Sustainability Office (CSO) is a small staff team committed to helping students, faculty, staff and community members foster greater environmental and social responsibility. Key successes from 2015 forward include:

Strategy: The CSO led a strategic review and consultation process to inform the development of the new 2017 Institutional Sustainability Strategy. See PA-2 for details.

Energy & Emission Reductions: The University surpassed its energy efficiency target of achieving an 18% reduction in energy use per square meter of owned space compared to 2009 energy intensity by 2016.

Waste Diversion and Reduction: The CSO implemented office-level composting in one of our last outstanding buildings. They also conducted the first student-run waste audit in 5 years in 2017.

Outreach and Engagement: The CSO revamped the University's Green Office Program and founded a Green Ambassador Team in September 2018. The CSO also co-hosts a yearly sustainability festival, Grass Routes.


Job title of the sustainability officer position:
Campus Sustainability Coordinator

Job description for the sustainability officer position:
---

Job description for the sustainability officer position:

Campus Sustainability Coordinator

the Campus Sustainability Cooridnator is responsible for ensuring Sustainability fulfills the mandate outlined above. Primary responsibilities include supporting the development of sustainability-oriented management practices and plans within and among University departments; identifying and prioritizing strategic approaches to institutional sustainability efforts within the context of other institutional priorities and demands; planning and developing long and short range strategies, implementation plans, and programs that will support the University’s sustainability goals and efforts; collaborating with university leaders to cultivate sustainability broadly across the campus and to build support for sustainability efforts; and fostering a culture of sustainability among students, faculty and staff.

Thy coordinate annual reporting of sustainability efforts in collaboration with the Facilities department and progress against the University’s Sustainability Strategies, policies, and related goals and objectives to the President, the senior executive and Board of Regents; act as the internal and external campus spokesperson on sustainability issues, and will provide leadership to the Campus Sustainability Council and associated committees.
Major areas of responsibility:
- Sustainability Education, Engagement and leadership Development
- Sustainability Program Development and Improvement
- Internal and External Relations and Communications
- Sustainability Planning and Leadership
- Environmental Performance Management and Reporting


Job title of the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
Sustainability & Special Projects Assistant, Facilities

Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):
---

Job description for the sustainability officer position (2nd position):

The Sustainability and Special Projects Assistant’s work is aimed at improving the University of Winnipeg’s overall environmental and building operations performance. Bridging the gap between the Facilities and Sustainability Department, this position is responsible for collecting data for our new LEED operations and maintenance program and ensuring compliance and proper implementation. This position will work closely with the Sustainability Coordinator to provide information for UWinnipeg’s environmental performance reporting. Additional, this position will assist the engineering and maintenance department with administering out facilities maintenance program and with writing procedural document pertaining to our operations.
Major areas of responsibility
- Facilities maintenance program support
- Collect information and assist with LEED O & M implementation
- Sustainability data analysis, planning and evaluation
- Support the data compilation and writing associated with reporting and proposal documents


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):
---

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.