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Summary
The influence of universities and colleges on the reduction of carbon emissions around the world has the potential to be significant.
In the latest ranking by the international Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS®), five Canadian universities are in the top 12 among 360 institutions across 15 countries: McGill University, Université Laval, University of Victoria, Thompson Rivers University and the Université de Sherbrooke.
The University of Toronto (U of T) has several initiatives in the planning stages, underway and completed.
U of T has committed to an ambitious low-carbon action plan that aims to reduce GHG emissions by 37 per cent and to be climate positive by 2050 across its three campuses. The program is reportedly already ahead of schedule.
The initiative starts with the university’s efforts to decarbonize its 196-year-old St. George campus in the heart of downtown Toronto, headlined by the Landmark Project.
Diving as deep as 200 metres underground, the Landmark Project will be Canada’s largest urban geo-exchange system. It is expected to modulate the temperature of existing buildings around the campus, while reducing the release of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere by 15,000 tonnes per year.
Meanwhile, the U of T Mississauga campus has a high-tech geothermal system beside its Instructional Centre and is actively expanding the use of solar energy across its buildings.
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