McGill Sustainability Policy

A Sustainability Policy was drafted by a working group of students, staff, academics, and administrators at McGill and approved by Senate on April 28, 2010 and by the Board of Governors May 25, 2010.

McGill University Sustainability Policy

The mission of McGill University will be attained responsibly by carrying out its activities in a manner that achieves a balance between the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability:

The Mission of McGill University is the advancement of learning through teaching, scholarship and service to society by offering to outstanding undergraduate and graduate students the best education available, by carrying out scholarly activities judged to be excellent when measured against the highest international standards, and by providing service to society in those ways for which we are well-suited by virtue of our academic strengths.

Policy

McGill University aspires to achieve the highest possible standards of sustainability on its campuses and in its day-to-day activities through its academic practices, in its facilities and their operations, and by its outreach to the broader community. We strive to be a leader in research and education, creating and communicating the knowledge required for humans to live sustainably at the local, regional and global scales. We will meet or exceed in our operations governmental standards of sustainability for educational institutions and the norms of sustainability achieved by our comparator universities. Our goal is to become an institutional model of sustainability for society as we pursue our academic mission and play a positive and proactive role in communicating the rationale and need to develop and implement sustainable practices in the broader community.

To this end, McGill University will:

• Undertake the activities and operations of the University in a manner that strikes an appropriate balance between the needs and aspirations of current and future generations of the McGill and broader communities;
• Foster inquiry into sustainability through teaching, research and the university experience;
• Share knowledge to stimulate innovation, raise awareness and ensure effective participation of the McGill community in the implementation of sustainable practices;
• Encourage economic efficiencies in the University’s operations that are consistent with social equity and respect for the environment;
• Promote a healthy, safe and productive work and learning environment for the McGill community;
• Advance individual and collective efforts and accountabilities throughout the McGill community to make sustainability a priority in the life of the University;
• Identify and conserve the cultural and natural heritage of McGill University, including properties, buildings, landscapes, traditions and knowledge, taking their intrinsic rarity and fragility into account; and
• Minimize the use and consumption of energy and material resources in recognition of the finite capacity of the biosphere to accommodate human activities.

Among other initiatives undertaken in support of this Policy, the University will:

• Consider activities carried out by or on behalf of the University in light of their life cycle, including their economic, environmental and social footprints;
• Establish sustainability indicators to enable accountability, to communicate specific goals, and to monitor and report on progress;
• Prepare and regularly update a sustainability plan with specific goals and objectives; and
• Report annually on progress to the McGill community.

The Sustainability Policy is also available as a PDF. In the event of a discrepancy between this website and the printable PDF document, the latter shall prevail.