Engagement & Outreach Programs

New and expanded communications and engagement capacity will be critical to support the UBC community in taking action alongside the university to collectively advance the systemic and social change needed to reach the Paris Agreement target-aligned goals for business air travel, commuting, food, and waste.

UBC Sustainability Ambassadors

 

Target

By 2030, three quarters (75%) of UBC faculty, staff and students will be aware of UBC’s climate action goals and participating in UBC's evolving and expanding culture of sustainability.

Rationale

UBC’s climate-related engagement and outreach programs have demonstrated successes in reducing energy and emissions from UBC operations through energy conservation initiatives and campaigns delivered by programs including Green Labs, Sustainability Coordinators and UBC residence hall engagement. With the inclusion of extended emissions targets in CAP 2030, new and expanded communications and engagement capacity will be critical to support the UBC community in taking action alongside the university to collectively advance the systemic and social change needed to reach the Paris Agreement target-aligned goals for business air travel, commuting, food, and waste.

  • Create a comprehensive plan to track, support, and (where needed) coordinate the implementation of CAP-related engagement and outreach communications, campaigns, and programming, in alignment with institutional action on the Climate Emergency Task Force priorities, Sustainability & Climate Action Integrated Communications & Engagement (ICE) Plan, and CAP 2030 scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions reduction actions.
  • Establish a climate action communications, engagement and outreach model (supporting awareness-building and education as well as social and behavioural change) for both targeted and campus-wide audiences.
  • Develop new and expanded sustainability engagement and outreach programs, tools and resources, ensuring adequate and ongoing resourcing to amplify engagement on climate action.
  • Standardize a university-wide process for portfolios, faculties and/or departments to track, measure and report out on UBC CAP participation and progress.
  • Identify, create and promote (existing and additional) funding opportunities to support innovative sustainability initiatives driven by faculty, students and staff (i.e. AMS Fund, Workplace Sustainability Fund, Green Labs Fund, Sustainability Revolving Fund, and building-based energy-savings projects to benefit lab environments).
  • Develop ways to ensure that climate action is an important aspect of every employee’s work, where relevant – such as integration within performance metrics, job descriptions, etc.
  • Identify and utilize price signals to incentivize GHG reduction behaviors (i.e. transportation, business air travel, waste, etc.).

Featured Project

A collaboration between Green Labs, the Life Sciences Centre, and Spud (a sustainable grocery delivery company) helped to divert hundreds of gel ice packs from the landfill.

Read about this Green Labs success story. 

Take Action Now

There’s many ways you can join UBC in taking climate action -- from learning more about the climate emergency and engaging others about climate change to getting involved in creating a vibrant, sustainable campus community. 

Take Climate Action Now