The following appeared in the Tuesday, May 10, 2011 edition of Y-File:

York University has enhanced its commitment to going green by adopting a new sustainability policy.

Approved by the Board of Governors on April 25, the University's sustainability policy was developed by the President’s Sustainability Council in accordance with one of its recommendations in the 2009 President’s Sustainability Council Report.

“I am pleased that York’s sustainability policy was approved by the board,” said Mamdouh Shoukri (right), York's president & vice-chancellor. “The policy provides the framework for sustainable and responsible practices, activities and operations at our institution. Not only does the adoption of such a policy demonstrate the University’s commitment to sustainability principles, but it also emphasizes our intention to work towards environmentally sustainable campuses.”

The policy focuses on six main areas:

• York will work towards being a sustainable university. A sustainable university is one that enhances the ecological functioning of its campuses; models knowledgeable, active and responsible global citizens; and does so within an integrated, long-term framework of full-cost economic and environmental accounting. 
• York will bring vision, scholarship and high ethical standards to achieving and maintaining institutional leadership in sustainable operations and community engagement.br />  
• Progress will be monitored, and measurable goals will be explored and adopted where feasible. 
• York will draw upon the abilities and expertise of the University community to promote practices that maximize the beneficial effects and minimize the harmful impacts that may arise out of its operational, academic and research activities. 
• York will strive to be at the forefront of sustainability research and education, and will use its capacity and expertise to promote sustainability within and beyond the University, with its alumni, governments and the surrounding communities. As part of these efforts, there will be an ongoing program of communication to the York community, reporting on progress and achieving goals as they relate to sustainability.
• York will encourage the active engagement of all members of the University community in issues of sustainability and will support sustainability awareness in the greater community.

In addition to the new sustainability policy, the president recently appointed a new chair of the council. Beginning July 1, Professor Ilan Kapoor (left) of the Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES) will assume the role from FES Professor Jennifer Foster (right), who is taking a sabbatical.

“As the outgoing chair of the President’s Sustainability Council, I am thrilled that the policy, which is such an incredibly important component to sustainability at York, was adopted,” said Foster. “This policy will continue to build on the recommendations highlighted in this year’s Sustainability Report, and provide York with a framework that will allow members of the community to continue to enhance a pan-University strategy, expanding our institution’s commitment to sustainability."

The Sustainability Report for 2010 was released on Saturday, March 26, in conjunction with Earth Hour. The report highlights York’s commitment to sustainability on its campuses, and profiles the University’s efforts to function in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner over the past year.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Professor Jennifer Foster for her leadership and dedication in serving as the inaugural chair of the council. She has done great work moving many of the recommendations outlined in the sustainability reports forward, and I wish her well on her sabbatical," said Shoukri. "I would also like to welcome Professor Ilan Kapoor, who will assume the role of chair on July 1. Having served as the undergraduate program director in FES, I know that he is up to the challenge.”

To learn more about the sustainability policy or about the work of the council, visit the Sustainability Council website.

Above: From left, Glendon students Guillaume Garcin, Jacklyn Volkhammer and Kelly Liu accept the first-place plaque on behalf of Wood Residence for winning the annual Res Race to Zero competition to reduce energy consumption

In their first year of eligibility, students at Glendon’s Wood Residence have won the Res Race to Zero – York’s annual competition to promote energy savings in the University’s nine student residences.

The winning team, led by Kelly Lui, residence environmental ambassador for Wood, received congratulations and a plaque from Rob Tiffin, York vice-president students. “I was quite amazed at the differences between this year’s and last year’s residence figures,” said Tiffin. “This is a very positive competition and I think this just reinforces the whole sense of sustainability and how that really has developed a strong base here at York.” The winning team also received a cheque for $2,000 to put towards future sustainability efforts.

Right: From left, Ken McRoberts, principal of Glendon, and Rob Tiffin, York's vice-president students, applaud the winners

Ken McRoberts, Glendon's principal, also offered his congratulations to Lui and fellow team members Guillaume Garcin and Jaclyn Volkhammer at the presentation ceremony, held in Glendon Manor on Friday.

Liu said her team took a “passive programming” approach to encouraging their fellow residents to save electricity. “We made doorknob signs for everyone. We wrote on the white board on each person’s room door with a message and [we] made a lot of posters trying to build up the competition between Hilliard [Residence] and Wood.”

Pavel Graymason, coordinator of residence life and project lead on the Res Race to Zero, said the Wood team might even have had a disadvantage in the competition but overcame it with enthusiasm. “They were just keener,” he said. “If anything, they are some of the older buildings and they still did really, really well.”

Graymason was also impressed with the job that all the residence teams did in helping achieve another reduction in energy use over last year’s results. “We still had an across the board drop even though this is the third year – an aggregate drop; very significant from four years ago when the program started. Compared to then, our usage is much much lower. About 30 to 40 per cent lower on average,” he said.

Since the competition measures energy reduction from year to year, Glendon’s two residence teams had to wait a year to establish their benchmark once the proper metering tools were installed.

Liu said students in her residence, even if they were reluctant first-year neophytes, were able to get excited about the competition as a way to make a difference. The Res Race to Zero website allows them to track their energy usage per capita, allowing them to see what one person can do to make a difference.

One other point that Liu noted was her team’s focus on what she called “phantom usage” – the energy used by leaving charge cords plugged in, even when the cellphone or laptop they recharge isn’t attached.

Graymason said it is champions of energy-saving habits like Liu that make the program work. “It’s that positive peer-to-peer connection that really makes the difference,” he said. “Without them it wouldn’t make a difference. You could put up all the posters you want, but without a champion to say ‘this matters’, it wouldn’t work.”