TORONTO, March 25, 2013 – Ontario has failed to prioritize and make a long-term commitment to energy conservation, according to a York University report released today. The report, Electricity Conservation Policy in Ontario: Assessing a System in Progress, part of the Sustainable Energy Initiative Studies in Ontario Electricity Policy Paper Series, is published in the context of the February Speech from the Throne’s acknowledgement that “conservation is the cheapest source of energy.” The report is available at http://sei.info.yorku.ca/files/2013/03/electricity-conservation-policy-ontario.pdf.

 “The paper provides a detailed roadmap for turning the province’s renewed focus on energy conservation into reality. By acting on its new commitment, Ontario has the potential to strengthen the sustainability of Ontario’s electricity system and to enhance the energy productivity of Ontario’s economy” said Professor Mark Winfield of the Faculty of Environmental Studies and Co-chair of the Sustainable Energy Initiative (SEI).

The paper  highlights overly rigid roles for electricity distribution companies in offering conservation programs; legislation that grants authority but not mandate conservation; and lack of attention and support to build a culture of conservation, as other major barriers to a successful energy conservation strategy.

Rebecca Mallinson, author of the paper and a graduate student in Environmental Studies, makes 20 recommendations, among them that the province’s long-term energy policy objectives, including the pursuit of all cost-effective opportunities for conservation, be set through legislation rather than ministerial directives.

“I hope my recommendations will help policymakers to renew Ontario's commitment to electricity conservation. It only makes sense that our energy policies make conservation a priority because conservation is the best-choice electricity option," said Mallinson.

The Faculty of Environmental Studies Sustainable Energy Initiative (SEI) has been established to build and strengthen the teaching, research and partnerships needed to create new green energy economies in Canada and around the world.

Further information on the initiative is available at http://sei.info.yorku.ca/

York University has ranked first among Canadian universities in a global campus sustainability survey and 14th in the world. This is the second year in a row that York has ranked No. 1 in Canada.

The 2011 UI GreenMetric Ranking of World Universities rated participating universities in 42 countries based on criteria such as energy consumption, commuting practices, waste and water management, percentage of green space on campus, and the application of eco-sustainability policies and efforts.

“York University continues to strive to be at the forefront of sustainability strategies,” said York President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri. “Our first place ranking in Canada by the GreenMetric World University Ranking demonstrates that we are committed to enhancing our environmentally and socially responsible practices for the benefit of all members of our community."

The University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom placed first overall in the ranking, while Northeastern University and the University of Connecticut from the United States placed second and third.

From 2006 to 2011, York University has met or bettered its sustainability targets, all while increasing enrolment and adding new buildings to both the Keele and Glendon campuses.

“This is testament to the excellent work of students, faculty and staff on sustainability issues here at York”, said Professor Ilan Kapoor, chair of the President’s Sustainability Council. “This is only the beginning, and clearly demonstrates that we are on the right track.”

York’s recent achievements in the area of sustainability include:

• The design and construction of seven campus buildings to green building standards in the last 10 years, including the Lassonde Building which was one of the first ‘green’ buildings constructed in Ontario. This, along with the Yorkwise program that has guided the retrofitting of lighting, heating, cooling and water fixtures in older buildings, has enabled the University to achieve a 20 per cent reduction in energy usage between 2007 and 2010, totaling over 60 million kilowatt hours of electricity over three years – enough energy to power both Keele and Glendon campuses for 240 days.
• A 50 per cent reduction in single occupancy vehicle use by the York community over the past 10 years. Currently, approximately two thirds of York community members commute to campus by environmentally preferable means, including walking, cycling, public transit and carpooling. York also operates a free campus shuttle service, offers a discount on public transit passes and awards incentives to carpoolers. Cyclists can make use of bike racks, indoor monitored bike parking and shower facilities.
• A 70 per cent increase in waste diversion rates between 2004 and 2010, resulting in more than 10 million kilograms of recyclable and compostable materials being diverted from landfills. Over the past year, York’s ZeroWaste program has increased food waste composting by approximately 20 per cent and significant increases were also found in the recycling of building materials and furnishings, with a 50 per cent increase in scrap wood and a 45 per cent increase in scrap metal recycling.

York University also offers a broad curriculum of sustainability programs, with over 350 undergraduate and graduate courses that focus on environment and sustainability across several Faculties including Environmental Studies, Education, Science & Engineering, the Schulich School of Business and Osgoode Hall Law School.

“Effective sustainable practices reduce University costs, and will result in the legacy of a better environment for current and future generations, so the University is committed to the principles of sustainability, both in the classroom and across all aspects of campus operations,” said Richard Francki, assistant vice-president of Campus Services & Business Operations. “We will continue to enhance our environmental management practices to ensure that York maintains its leadership in campus sustainability in Canada.”

In light of this commitment, the President’s Sustainability Council is advancing a number of new initiatives such as the Sustainability Ambassadors and Green Office programs, both of which will be launched in early 2012. These initiatives will actively engage the York community in further achieving the University’s sustainability goals through a number of activities and learning opportunities.

Content adapted from YFile

For the original article and video, please visit YFile

The following appeared in the Tuesday, January 10th 2012 edition of YFile.

York University has ranked first among Canadian universities in a global campus sustainability survey and 14th in the world. This is the second year in a row that York has ranked No. 1 in Canada.

The 2011 UI GreenMetric Ranking of World Universities rated participating universities in 42 countries based on criteria such as energy consumption, commuting practices, waste and water management, percentage of green space on campus, and the application of eco-sustainability policies and efforts.

“York University continues to strive to be at the forefront of sustainability strategies,” said York President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri. “Our first place ranking in Canada by the GreenMetric World University Ranking demonstrates that we are committed to enhancing our environmentally and socially responsible practices for the benefit of all members of our community."

The University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom placed first overall in the ranking, while Northeastern University and the University of Connecticut from the United States placed second and third.

From 2006 to 2011, York University has met or bettered its sustainability targets, all while increasing enrolment and adding new buildings to both the Keele and Glendon campuses.

“This is testament to the excellent work of students, faculty and staff on sustainability issues here at York”, said Professor Ilan Kapoor, chair of the President’s Sustainability Council. “This is only the beginning, and clearly demonstrates that we are on the right track.”

York’s recent achievements in the area of sustainability include:

• The design and construction of seven campus buildings to green building standards in the last 10 years, including the Lassonde Building which was one of the first ‘green’ buildings constructed in Ontario. This, along with the Yorkwise program that has guided the retrofitting of lighting, heating, cooling and water fixtures in older buildings, has enabled the University to achieve a 20 per cent reduction in energy usage between 2007 and 2010, totaling over 60 million kilowatt hours of electricity over three years – enough energy to power both Keele and Glendon campuses for 240 days.
  
• A 50 per cent reduction in single occupancy vehicle use by the York community over the past 10 years. Currently, approximately two thirds of York community members commute to campus by environmentally preferable means, including walking, cycling, public transit and carpooling. York also operates a free campus shuttle service, offers a discount on public transit passes and awards incentives to carpoolers. Cyclists can make use of bike racks, indoor monitored bike parking and shower facilities.
• A 70 per cent increase in waste diversion rates between 2004 and 2010, resulting in more than 10 million kilograms of recyclable and compostable materials being diverted from landfills. Over the past year, York’s ZeroWaste program has increased food waste composting by approximately 20 per cent and significant increases were also found in the recycling of building materials and furnishings, with a 50 per cent increase in scrap wood and a 45 per cent increase in scrap metal recycling.

York University also offers a broad curriculum of sustainability programs, with over 350 undergraduate and graduate courses that focus on environment and sustainability across several Faculties including Environmental Studies, Education, Science & Engineering, the Schulich School of Business and Osgoode Hall Law School.

“Effective sustainable practices reduce University costs, and will result in the legacy of a better environment for current and future generations, so the University is committed to the principles of sustainability, both in the classroom and across all aspects of campus operations,” said Richard Francki, assistant vice-president of Campus Services & Business Operations. “We will continue to enhance our environmental management practices to ensure that York maintains its leadership in campus sustainability in Canada.”

In light of this commitment, the President’s Sustainability Council is advancing a number of new initiatives such as the Sustainability Ambassadors and Green Office programs, both of which will be launched in early 2012. These initiatives will actively engage the York community in further achieving the University’s sustainability goals through a number of activities and learning opportunities.  

For more information on sustainability initiatives at York, visit the President's Sustainability Council website, or send an email to sustainability@yorku.ca.

Submitted by Andrew Plunkett, sustainability project coordinator, and Pavel Graymason, sustainability engagement coordinator, in the Office of the President.

The following appeared in the Wednesday, October 12 edition of Y-File

What is the connection between Canadian literature and the environment? That question is what the Faculty of Environmental Studies wants to explore through its three-day event, Green Words/Green Worlds: Environmental Literatures & Politics in Canada, encompassing a public forum, a conference and writing workshops.

Notable Canadian environmental poets Brian Bartlett, Armand Garnet Ruffo and Rita Wong are the keynote speakers for the public forum, which will take place Friday, Oct. 21, from 6 to 8pm, at the Gladstone Hotel, North Ballroom, 1415 Queen St. W., Toronto. The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited.

Right: Brian Bartlett

Each of the authors will read from their work and discuss the socio-political responsibility of writers in modern, ecologically precarious times during the public forum. Bartlett is the author of five collections of poetry, including The Watchmaker’s Table, as well as Wanting the Day: Selected Poems, which won the 2004 Atlantic Poetry Prize. Ruffo, whose work is influenced by his Ojibwe heritage, is the author of At Geronimo’s Grave and Grey Owl: The Mystery of Archie Belaney. He has also penned plays, works of nonfiction and was the writer and director for the film, A Windigo Tale, which won best picture at the American Indian Film Festival last year in San Francisco.

Wong's work looks at the relations among contemporary poetics, social justice, ecology and decolonization. She is the author of poetry collections Forage and Monkeypuzzle and co-author of Sybil Unrest.

The academic conference will be held the next day on Saturday, Oct. 22 at the Gladstone Hotel, from 9am to 7:30pm. Paid registration for the conference is required before Oct. 14. Although admission for York students is free, they still must register in advance.

Left: Rita Wong

The conference will feature scholarly discussions and include diverse panels of academics, graduate students and writers presenting their own work on topics, such as ecopoetics, environmental literatures, indigenous politics, writing and more. Molly Wallace of Queen’s University will offer the closing keynote address, “Averting Environmental Catastrophe in Time: Speculations on Temporality, Risk and Representation”.

Some of the questions the event will probe include: How do literary works – poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction – make a unique contribution to Canadians’ understanding of, and responses to, environmental issues? How does the history of Canadian literature suggest a history of environmental activism, and vice versa? Why does poetry matter for nature? And, how does fiction incite and influence actions in the more-than-human world?

Environmental literatures engage the world differently than do environmental policies and ecopoetry embodies and inspires different modes of action, says FES Professor Catriona Sandilands, Canada Research Chair in Sustainability & Culture and the event’s co-organizer with Ella Soper, FES postdoctoral Fellow.

Right: Armand Garnet Ruffo

The question then becomes, says Sandilands, what does this reflection and action add to environmental politics in Canada? How, for example, do indigenous peoples’ struggles over the materiality and meaning of land suggest different kinds of environmental stories to underpin an ecological public culture? How can a regional or national ecopolitics benefit from closer attention to diasporic literatures? How are ecological literatures and politics jointly embedded in globalizing relations of race, gender, class, colonialism, sexuality and ability?

Writing workshops will take place Sunday, Oct. 23 at the Gladstone Hotel, from 9:30 to 11:30am. It will be a day of hands-on writing activities led by Bartlett, Ruffo and Wong, as well as FES doctoral candidate Amanda Di Battista. At the workshops, participants will be encouraged to create their own pieces of poetry or prose that might contribute to a politics of voice locally, nationally and/or globally. Participation is included in advance conference registration or contact Green Worlds for alternate arrangements.

The event is sponsored by York’s Sustainable Writing Laboratory and the Faculty of Environmental Studies with the support of the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada.

For more information, for a full schedule of events, or to register, e-mail grnwrlds@yorku.ca.

"SM4RT LIVING is about making changes for our future"

The Regional Municipality of York has launched the SM4RT LIVING Plan, an Integrated Waste Management Master Plan that will guide waste management in York Region for the next 25 years.

The SM4RT LIVING Plan has another vital purpose: to explore a new way of living in the future that ensures that both people and our natural habitats thrive. This plan will focus on the need for lifestyle changes around the way we buy goods and materials, how we generate and dispose of waste and will encourage us to think and act in sustainable ways. This plan will also uncover how the transition from “Where We Are” to SM4RT LIVING will provide new economic, social, and environmental possibilities and opportunities for York Region.

The development of the SM4RT LIVING Plan will run until December 2012

There are a number of ways for you to be involved in the development of this ground breaking plan, which include:

• Visiting the SM4RT LIVING website www.SM4RTLIVING.ca and providing your ideas and comments

• Visiting the SM4RT LIVING booth at the many community events, festivals, sporting events and malls where someone will always be in attendance (full listing of events is on the website)

• Attending sessions to generate ideas, set the vision, and/or develop the strategy

The success of the project depends on participation from everyone in York Region, including families, students and business owners. Be a part of the development of the SM4RT LIVING Plan; an initiative that will ensure a more sustainable future for York Region residents.

If you would like to be involved, please contact SM4RTLIVING@york.ca or 1-855-692-4066. For more information, please visit the website www.SM4RTLIVING.ca