Passion drives change at the Sustainability Office

Three members of the Sustainability Office team standing on a solar panel roof on-campus.
Kayla LaChance (left), Chelsea Dalton (centre), and Scott Hendershot (right) of the St. George campus’s Sustainability Office (photo by Skyler Huang)

What sustainability means at St. George 

For the St. George campus, it means working collaboratively across the entire the university in the continuous pursuit of a better future that considers the three dimensions of sustainability: environmental, social, and economic.

Residing within the Facilities & Services department, the Sustainability Office’s work is based on these ideas.

Small team, big plans 

The Sustainability Office (SO) is made up of a team of project managers, coordinators, and work-study and practicum students who—together—advocate for climate change action, improving how we interact with the environment, and addressing all three dimensions of sustainability. The team leads by example both at work and home, from biking to work to setting up electric vehicle charging infrastructure in their condos. 

They have a big vision—to make the University a global leader in sustainability by embedding sustainable practices into operations, and the on-campus experience. 

“We want to reach well beyond reminding people to recycle,” said Scott Hendershot, the senior manager who leads the office and joined F&S this past January. “We want to empower our community to advocate for sustainable practices in all we do. We want to sow sustainability into U of T’s identity.” 

Together, the SO team is tackling such an ambitious mandate by focusing their efforts, passion, and creativity on three modes of action: programs, projects, and engagement. 

Programs 

The SO’s programs educate and empower different groups within the University community to drive sustainable change. The programs are inspired by the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, which include more than just climate action—extending to issues such as poverty, economic growth, and social inequality. 

“Everyone has a role to play in supporting and driving sustainable change,” said Chelsea Dalton, a project manager at the SO. “Our goal with our programs is to reach all students, staff, and faculty and help them to act more sustainably.” 

Programs aim to educate the community about topics that enable individuals to make informed decisions based on a holistic analysis of their impacts. Lifecycle assessments—a methodology to analyze the ecological impact of a product from cradle to grave—is just one example. 

“With a lifecycle assessment, you can find out, for example, that the greenhouse gas footprint of a tomato grown in a field in Mexico and trucked north is approximately six times less than one raised in a Canadian gas-heated greenhouse,” said Kayla LaChance, project coordinator at the SO. 

It is also a way to clear misconceptions around products that are marketed as “green” or “environmentally friendly.”

For the SO, it is about being aware of the collective responsibility we share and making it accessible and easy to be a part of the solution.  

“I’m fortunate to be in a position to be able to connect with so many people about this extremely important endeavor,” said Hendershot. 

Projects  

Simultaneously, the SO is working on more targeted initiatives to make technical improvements and behavioral changes that will bring U of T closer to our sustainability goals. 

One of the projects the SO is working on this fall is a plan to replace the campus’ fleet of over 80 gas-powered vehicles to electric based on age, use, and electric vehicle availability. 

Other projects range from pragmatic to unconventional—including an on-campus waste-to-fuel facility that will use compost from dining halls, developing a circular campus program that will drive us toward zero waste, creating a sustainability course curriculum, and launching a sustainable ambassador program. 

Engagement 

Engagement as a mode of action is about building connections and meaningful relationships around sustainability on and off-campus. 

They help drive collaboration between universities through organizations like Ontario College and University Sustainability Professionals and build momentum on sustainable practices in our sector.  

The team behind the SO is also constantly communicating and collaborating with the university community about sustainability topics—to spark dialogue, connect, and motivate people to create change.  

“Many places can make sustainability sound uninteresting,” noted LaChance. “It‘s my personal goal to make it fun and exciting.” She also highlighted that the use of jargon has historically been a barrier to accepting or adopting sustainability. 

LaChance connects with users on social media like Instagram and TikTok, where she hopes people will want to share in the enthusiasm as a community—curating messages that resonate with the younger audience and producing content that is down-to-earth and relatable.  

The COVID-19 pandemic is not stopping them 

The pandemic has affected the team’s ability to connect with the university community more personally, yet they have made the best of the “virtual reality.” 

“I’m a firm believer in in-person interaction,” said LaChance. “People really connect through in-person events. People love to be on-campus, discuss ideas and network but now we’re using our online platforms to engage our community in unique ways.”  

The SO is finding ways during the pandemic to effectively communicate and empower advocates for sustainability. 

“We can’t wait to share more about the programs we’ll be launching this fall that aim to minimize carbon emissions and other environmental impacts in labs, events, residences, courses, and offices,” said Hendershot. 

Stay tuned, we’ll plug you in.

September 22, 2021
Diego Rojas Garcia