What Do We Mean by Sustainability?

The SAS Working Group understands sustainability as the emergent property of a societal conversation about the kind of world we want to live in, informed by some understanding of the ecological, social and economic consequences of our individual and collective actions. Sustainability is about achieving a future that is both desirable and achievable in ecological, social and economic terms.

UBC has a key role to play in exploring sustainability through research, teaching and learning, and exemplifying it in operations and activities both on and off campus.

Final Report Complete

The Sustainability Academic Strategy (SAS) final report is now complete.

Thank you to the SAS Working Group Chair, Vice-Chairs and members for their leadership and contributions to creating this final report.

The SAS draft recommendations received unanimous endorsement from the AMS Council at their October 21, 2009 meeting.

The SAS final report was submitted to the UBC Executive in October, 2009.  A decision is expected on the recommendations by January, 2010.

What’s New!

• The Sustainability Academic Strategy (SAS) final report is now complete (December 9, 2009)
• Comment period on South Campus Academic Strategy now open! (September 24, 2009)
• View photos from the SAS Community Consultation on September 16, 9am-12noon (September 16, 2009)
• Comment on the Draft Sustainability Academic Strategy Discussion Paper (August 18, 2009)
• Download the Inventory of Sustainability Research at UBC (Report completed July 26, 2009)
• Operations & Administration Recommendations (June 30, 2009)

Comment on the Draft South Campus Vision & Guiding Principles

The South Campus Academic Planning Committee has been worked through the summer to developed a draft South Campus Academic Plan.  They are now seeking both general and specific feedback on sections of this draft in order to develop a plan that guides the future of academic programming on South Campus.  Starting September 24, individual sections of the draft plan will be posted weekly to help focus the online comments.

The second section available for public comment is the Vision and Guiding Principles.  Please reply below.

Vision and Guiding Principles

The UBC Farm will lead in the creation of new paradigms for sustainable and healthy communities, integrated with their surrounding ecology, through transformative learning, innovative interdisciplinary research, and socially responsible community engagement.

To these ends, the UBC Farm is committed to:

• the creation of new knowledge in response to societal needs, the cultivation of values and aptitudes for reciprocal knowledge creation as an agent of change in society; …Read more

Comment Period for the draft South Campus Academic Plan Mission

The South Campus Academic Planning Committee has been worked through the summer to developed a draft South Campus Academic Plan.  They are now seeking both general and specific feedback on sections of this draft in order to develop a plan that guides the future of academic programming on South Campus.  Starting September 24, individual sections of the draft plan will be posted weekly to help focus the online comments.

The first section available for public comment is the Mission statement.  Please submit your comments.

Draft SAS Discussion Paper for Comment

Dr. John Robinson presented the draft SAS Discussion Paper to the UBC Executive on August 18, 2009 and it is now available for further comments or specific revisions.  This draft will be  revised based on campus community input and then submitted to UBC Executive after the public comment period in September.

Thank you to all the faculty, students, staff and external community members who have contributed to this document so far.  We look forward to your further comments on the Draft SAS Discussion Paper online.

View pictures from the September 16 Community Consultation.