Geoexchange

The ��Ƶ is accelerating efforts to decarbonize its St. George campus through a massive, $138-million infrastructure project that will cut emissions in half within three years.

Project Leap will begin phasing out natural gas in favour of electricity in the campus’s central steam plant and carry out deep energy retrofits to some of the most energy-intensive buildings.

Kickstarted with more than $50 million in Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) financing, the public-private sustainability project is among the largest in the higher-education sector. It will speed up the university’s efforts to make the St. George campus climate-positive, reducing more greenhouse gases than it emits, ahead of an original 2050 goal.

Ron Saporta, U of T’s chief operating officer, property services and sustainability, said the university is moving rapidly in response to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s call to halve global emissions by the end of the decade.

“With 2030 just around the corner, we need to act immediately and decisively to tackle climate change,” Saporta said.

“This timeline wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the Canada Infrastructure Bank. We are grateful to them for acknowledging U of T’s commitment to helping forge a more sustainable future for Canada.”

He added that Project Leap’s ambitious scope is also driven by a recognition that U of T is the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the broader public sector in Ontario, with the St. George campus accounting for more than 80 per cent of the university’s operational carbon footprint. Put simply, he said, it takes a lot of energy to run a research-intensive campus that serves roughly 100,000 students, faculty and staff a day – let alone one with a large collection of heritage buildings in a challenging climate characterized by cold winters and hot, humid summers.

“Upgrading aging infrastructure at the ��Ƶ’s St. George campus will ensure future performance and accelerate a low-carbon campus,” said Ehren Cory, CEO of the CIB. “Through the CIB’s Building Retrofits Initiative, our partnership with U of T will enable emission reduction efforts towards becoming climate-positive for students now and into the future.”

A significant portion of the St. George campus’s emissions come from the central steam plant, where gas-fired boilers produce steam that is used to heat most buildings on campus – as well as some off-campus properties including the Royal Ontario Museum. As part of Project Leap, one of the plant’s primary boilers will be converted from gas to electric.

Elsewhere, active heat recovery technologies will be used to reduce energy consumption by 40 per cent in the university’s most energy-intensive buildings – mainly by capturing and re-using heat that is normally lost to the surrounding environment as exhaust. Thirty-five buildings will also have their lighting upgraded to energy-efficient LEDs.

(photo by Johnny Guatto)

Several buildings will also be connected with the newly built geoexchange system beneath Front Campus, which is set to begin operations this spring. The system uses underground boreholes to store excess heat generated in the summer (thereby helping to cool spaces) for use in the colder months, utilizing heat pump technology with deep roots at the university.

Taken together, the measures will make it possible to reduce the campus’s greenhouse gas emissions, calculated at 91,000 tonnes last year, by more than 50 per cent by the end of 2027 – the year of U of T’s bicentennial.

“As the university approaches its 200th birthday, we want to make sure our energy systems are ready to meet the demands of the next 200 years, and we’re committed to doing so in an environmentally responsible manner,” Saporta said.

With the CIB’s financing contingent on the participation of a private lender, Project Leap establishes a novel framework for large-scale sustainability projects that could serve as a model for other institutions. The project received grants from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), as well as financing from the Royal Bank of Canada, which was selected from a field of 11 bidders following a public procurement process.

“The ��Ƶ is stepping up with their Climate Positive Campus plan, which is aligned with Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan,” said Steven Guilbeault, minister of environment and climate change. “They're leading the pack in global sustainability and making smart decarbonization investments. The Government of Canada will continue to support the ��Ƶ in pursuing and achieving their ambitious targets.”

“Through Save on Energy, the IESO offers programs and incentives to help individuals, businesses and institutions to use energy more wisely,” said Tam Wagner, director, demand side management at the IESO. “The Industrial Energy Efficiency Program, which Project Leap was a successful applicant, supports investments in efficient electrification. This, in turn, makes lasting contributions that reduce long-term energy costs.”

The lower-cost financing achieved through the innovative model, Saporta said, amounts to more than $40 million in savings, allowing the university to complete retrofits – much earlier than would have otherwise been possible – of the Dentistry Building, Rehabilitation Sciences Building, Health Sciences Building, Old Administration Building and the Exam Centre.

U of T, which recently placed first in the 2024 QS Sustainability Rankings, is working with the Toronto Region Board of Trade to create a playbook that will help organizations in Toronto and elsewhere in Ontario to pursue and fund similar strategies to reduce carbon emissions.

The university previously collaborated with Universities Canada to host an event that presented Project Leap to university presidents from across the country.

Saporta’s team is also organizing workshops with counterparts at the University of California, Berkeley to exchange knowledge and best practices.

“What U of T has done with Project Leap is take lessons learned from other sectors and implement them into the higher education context – a campus that delivers research and education,” Saporta said. “This allows us to, quite literally, take a leap forward in realizing our climate-positive plans.

“It also creates a playbook that we hope others can draw on, so that we can together spur transformative sustainable infrastructure renewal beyond U of T.”

The year in pictures: U of T News looks back at 2023

mattimar — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 14:58:42 +0000

The year in pictures: U of T News looks back at 2023

mattimar Tue, 12/19/2023 - 09:58

Cutline

Dancer Deanne Hupfield at the inaugural All-Nations Powwow co-hosted by U of T Mississauga’s Indigenous Centre and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Mariam Matti

Topic

Our Community

Acceleration Consortium

Geoexchange

Institutional Strategic Initiatives

Joe's Basketball Diaries

UTogether

Artificial Intelligence

Entrepreneurship

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Undergraduate Students

University Health Network

The ��Ƶ marked many memorable milestones across the three campuses in 2023.

From co-hosting an inaugural All-Nations Powwow to guiding the future of artificial intelligence and advocating for social justice around the world, members of the U of T community and their partners made an impact well beyond the classroom in 2023.

And photographers at U of T News and elsewhere at the university were often on hand to capture the action.

Here are just a few of the special moments that shaped U of T this year:

(photo by David Lee)

The Landmark Project has transformed the historic core of U of T’s St. George campus around King’s College Circle into a greener, more accessible and pedestrian-friendly space.

Front Campus is also now home to Canada’s largest urban geoexchange system, which will generate renewable energy and store surplus heat in the summer for use in the cold winter months. The system will save the university an estimated 15,000 metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually – a key part of U of T’s climate-positive plans and among the reasons it was recently named the most sustainable university in the world.

(photo by Lisa Lightbourn)

Following ��Ƶ’s departure from Google, U of T News travelled to his home in London, England, for an in-depth conversation with the U of T University Professor Emeritus of computer science about the dangers posed by unchecked advances in AI, the role he and others played in creating the technology and the importance of responsible development.

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Abby-Gayle Isadora Allen celebrated completing the Support, Engage, Experience ��Ƶ Mississauga program this year by dancing beside Juno Award-winning singer Liberty Silver during the graduation ceremony.

The innovative program aims to make university education more accessible to Black youth who are underrepresented at Canada’s post-secondary schools. Students in Grade 11 and 12 earn a university half-credit and two Ontario Secondary School Diploma credits, have a co-op experience and are mentored by a senior U of T undergraduate student while simultaneously completing their high school semester.

Similar programs operate at U of T Scarborough and the St. George campus, which introduced SEE U of T, the inaugural version of this access program, four years ago in collaboration with the Toronto District School Board.

(photo by Luis Mora)

Jaivet Ealom, a U of T student, author, a member of the persecuted Rohingya minority and refugee advocate, shared his harrowing escape to Canada in U of T News and U of T Magazine.

Ealom fled his home country of Myanmar in 2013. Before arriving at U of T, he had travelled through six countries and three continents seeking asylum – surviving a near-drowning and multiple detentions along the way.

(photo by Johnny Guatto)

U of T hosted the 14^th annual Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA) conference in May, which brought together global scholars, artists, Elders and independent professionals working in the field of Indigenous Studies. The event covered themes from food sovereignty to contemporary Indigenous cinema and language revitalization.

(photo by Polina Teif)

Brokoslaw Laschowski, a research scientist at the KITE Research Institute, University Health Network, and assistant professor in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, and his team are developing AI-powered wearable technology for medical applications.

Known as the “bionic professor,” Laschowski is passionate about developing assistive technology such as bionic prosthetic legs and exoskeletons to help individuals with physical disabilities.

In his spare time, he’s helping students from Ukraine flee the Russian invasion and war to come to U of T to continue their studies.

(photo by Chai Chen)

Charlotte Wargniez graduated from U of T Scarborough at the age of 17 with a major in environmental geoscience and a minor in applied climatology.

She wrapped up her degree with many impressive accolades – including the Rose Sheinin Award, given to the highest-performing woman student in science across U of T’s three campuses and an excellence and leadership award from U of T Scarborough's department of physical and environmental sciences.

(photo by Johnny Guatto)

The Acceleration Consortium at U of T, an institutional strategic initiative, was awarded a $200-million grant from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund to revolutionize the speed and impact of materials discovery – all with a focus on building a sustainable future.

The funding – the largest federal research grant ever awarded to a Canadian university – supports the consortium’s work on “self-driving labs” that combine AI, robotics and advanced computing to discover new materials and molecules at a fraction of the usual time and cost.

With a strong plan of equity, diversity and inclusion guiding project implementation and research design, the initiative will commercialize ethically designed technologies and materials to benefit society and train today’s scientists with the skills they need to advance the emerging field of accelerated materials discovery. It will also allow the consortium to examine critical issues regarding the application of the technology, including from environmental and Indigenous perspectives.

(photo by Polina Teif)

Niloofar Ganji, a PhD student in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, is changing the world in more ways than one.

Ganji not only conducts groundbreaking research on a critical condition affecting premature infants – she is deeply committed to activism for social change in her home country of Iran.

As an executive member of U of T Students for a Free Iran (UTSFI), she has organized many events at the university in support of the anti-regime movement in Iran. She hopes to use her knowledge and expertise in pediatrics and healthcare to work for the Iranian people one day.

(photo supplied)

When a catastrophic series of earthquakes hit Türkiye and Syria earlier this year, students from the Turkish Students Association (pictured) at U of T Scarborough rallied together to collect funds and in-kind donations on campus.

They were among the many U of T community members across the three campuses who pitched in to help raise awareness and funds in the wake of the disaster.

(photo by Nithya Thayaal)

U of T celebrated the graduation of more than 21,000 students from the university’s three campuses in 2023 – including the U of T Scarborough student pictured above.

Friends and family looked on as many of those graduates crossed the stage inside Convocation Hall during convocation ceremonies held in spring and fall.

(photo by Johnny Guatto)

Peter Ma, an undergraduate math and physics student in the Faculty of Arts & Science, is dedicated to searching for life beyond our planet by drawing on his passion for science – and artificial intelligence in particular.

He became the youngest member of a team of international researchers at the University of California, Berkeley who are searching the stars for extraterrestrial intelligence and was lead author on a paper published earlier this year in the journal Nature Astronomy.

From left to right: William Lou, Joseph Wong, Sam Ibrahim and Aleer Aleer-Leek (photo by Polina Teif)

In the first episode of the second season of the award-winning series Joe’s Basketball Diaries, host Joseph Wong sits down with Will Lou, writer and co-host of the Raptors Show podcast, Sam Ibrahim, a business leader, philanthropist and major supporter of U of T Scarborough, and Aleer Aleer-Leek, a U of T student and Varsity Blues basketball player, to talk about community and sports.

In future episodes, Wong, U of T’s vice-president, international, and a professor in the department of political science and the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy in the Faculty of Arts & Science, and guests take the conversation beyond the court as they discuss topics ranging from sustainability to inclusion.

(photo by Johnny Guatto)

Studying at U of T gave Alicia Corbiere an opportunity to re-engage with her culture when she began learning from Indigenous professors and studying Anishinaabemowin. She also connected with her community by joining First Nations House and the Indigenous Students’ Association.

After graduating with a degree in criminology and Indigenous studies from the Faculty of Arts & Science in the spring, Corbiere went on to study Indigenous law at U of T’s Faculty of Law.

(photo by Polina Teif)

The leafy, green lettuce that many members of the U of T community are eating in their salads, sandwiches and hamburgers is not just locally grown – but grown on the St. George campus by a student-led startup in partnership with U of T Food Services.

Lyrata co-founders Leo Hua (pictured), Carol Lin and Adnan Sharif say they are bringing innovations to the field of sustainability – including 3D-printed soil.

U of T’s plan to become climate positive expanded to all three campuses

rahul.kalvapalle — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 15:54:25 +0000

U of T’s plan to become climate positive expanded to all three campuses

rahul.kalvapalle Mon, 12/04/2023 - 10:54

Cutline

(photos by Nick Iwanyshyn, David Lee and Sean Liliani)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Alexandra Gillespie

Climate Positive Campus

Climate Positive Energy

Subheadline

The commitment builds on an earlier pledge to have the historic St. George campus reduce more greenhouse gases than it emits

All three of the ��Ƶ’s campuses are committing to reduce more greenhouse gases than they emit in the years ahead, an ambitious goal that goes beyond carbon neutrality and targets a climate-positive future.

The commitment expands on an earlier pledge to make the St. George campus climate positive by 2050 – a milestone the university now says it will reach well in advance – and is an extension of U of T’s Low-Carbon Action Plan, which looks to curb greenhouse gas emissions by 37 per cent relative to 1990 levels by 2030.

It comes as the United Nations COP28 climate conference gets underway in Dubai, where the President’s Advisory Committee on the Environment, Climate Change & Sustainability (CECCS) and Climate Positive Energy, a U of T institutional strategic initiative, are scheduled to host a variety of events and panel discussions that highlight the role of universities in supporting a clean energy transition.

“U of T is determined to lead by example in addressing climate change – a strategic priority of the university and one of the most pressing issues of our time,” said U of T President Meric Gertler.

“The goal of becoming climate positive on all three campuses is bold and befitting of our mission as an educational institution that strives to make the world a better place.”

President Gertler noted the pledge aligns with U of T’s commitments to the University Climate Change Coalition (UC3), which include climate resilience, and the U7+ Alliance of World Universities, whose priorities include championing sustainability and climate action.

“As a large and globally top-ranked public university, U of T has a responsibility to play a leadership role on this issue by taking actions that will be felt across our three campuses and beyond,” he said.

The tri-campus pledge is the latest step by the university to realize its longstanding goal of building a more sustainable future. That includes its 2021 commitment to divest its endowment fund of fossil fuel investments and make the St. George campus – the oldest, largest and most energy-intensive of the three campuses – climate positive before 2050, as outlined in the campus’s carbon and energy master plan and accompanying technical report.

Among the major initiatives on the St. George campus is Canada’s largest urban geoexchange field beneath Front Campus. Part of the Landmark Project, the geoexchange system is set to become fully operational in spring 2024 and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15,000 metric tons annually.

The campus is also modernizing what are some of Canada’s oldest district energy systems via Project LEAP, an effort supported by the Canada Infrastructure Bank. The project comprises a number of retrofit projects – including the replacement of gas boilers with electric alternatives in the St. George campus’s central steam plant – that will help curb greenhouse gas emissions by over 50 per cent by decade’s end.

“The renewal of this infrastructure – much of which is out of sight for the 100,000 people served by the campus each day – offers a chance for us to embed sustainability into the very backbone of campus,” said Ron Saporta, U of T’s chief operating officer, property and sustainability.

Saporta said the expanded, tri-campus scope of the climate commitment “offers opportunities for us to collaborate and share best practices as we work to deliver on key milestones along this journey,” noting U of T Mississauga and U of T Scarborough will publish details of their roadmaps to becoming climate positive in the coming months.

He pointed out that many of U of T’s tri-campus sustainability efforts double as experiential learning opportunities for students through the Campus as a Living Lab initiative, which are part of CECCS.

At U of T Scarborough, sustainable infrastructure efforts include both existing and upcoming projects.

The campus’s oldest building, the Science and Humanities Wing, has been undergoing deep energy retrofits since 2018 – work that will be accelerated in the coming years. Elsewhere, the campus’s geothermal system, which comprises 350 boreholes, will be expanded to 450 by the end of 2024.

U of T Scarborough is also proceeding with new climate-responsible construction projects such as the recently announced Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health (SAMIH) and the EaRTH (Phase 2) complex, part of the collaborative EaRTH District initiative with Centennial College.

This fall, U of T Scarborough opened a new student residence, Harmony Commons, that meets the rigorous Passive House standard for energy-efficient construction. The building is equipped with eco-friendly features, including mechanical systems that can capture and re-use heat generated by sunlight, cooking and even body heat. In addition to being energy-efficient, the complex is designed to inspire students to carry forth sustainable thinking into their careers and spheres of influence, and drive change in construction and related sectors.

Wisdom Tettey, U of T vice-president and principal at U of T Scarborough, said the climate-positive commitment is a testament to the university’s global leadership.

“We are delighted to be a part of this tri-campus commitment to a climate-positive future,” said Tettey. “Sustainability is a core consideration in every aspect of U of T Scarborough’s mission of facilitating world-class learning, scholarship and innovation that supports flourishing communities in the eastern GTA and beyond – while protecting the health of the world we all inhabit.”

Tettey added that he’s confident the commitment will be met even as the campus experiences significant growth in the years ahead.

“We are very confident that the tremendous talent of our faculty, students and staff will be harnessed, in collaboration with partners, to deliver on our goal through ground-breaking research, transformative learning and operational excellence.”

At U of T Mississauga, a key element of the clean energy transition is moving away from natural gas as the primary energy source for heating, hot water and research processes. To that end, the campus launched Project SHIFT, an initiative to carry out deep energy retrofits in the central utilities plant to hasten the shift from fossil fuels to electricity.

The campus is already home to a cutting-edge geothermal system, situated beside the Instructional Centre, and is working to expand solar energy projects across numerous buildings.

U of T Mississauga also recently completed campus-wide energy audits, following which some 240 energy conservation measures were devised for the short, medium and long term.

Alexandra Gillespie, U of T vice-president and principal of U of T Mississauga, said the campus is on track to exceed the targets set by the Low Carbon Action Plan, and is ramping up work towards becoming climate positive.

“Our community is developing efficient LEED-certified buildings, accelerating our transition to renewable energy and realizing our sustainability goals,” said Gillespie, echoing comments she made in U of T Mississauga’s Climate Positive report. “We have strengthened this work through outstanding programs in research and teaching, which continue to extend the power of sustainability learning from our campus into the wider world.”

She added, in the report, that the university has a responsibility to future generations to help forge a more sustainable future.

“I look forward to achieving this goal together and to opening a path to go beyond net zero. It’s the right and good thing to do – for our lifetime and for lives to come.”

U of T President Meric Gertler calls for cross-sector collaboration at Climate Economy Summit

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 19:00:08 +0000

U of T President Meric Gertler calls for cross-sector collaboration at Climate Economy Summit

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 12/01/2022 - 14:00

Cutline

U of T President Meric Gertler delivers remarks at the Climate Economy Summit, which was co-hosted by the university’s Climate Positive Energy initiative and the Toronto Region Board of Trade (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Adina Bresge

Topic

Our Community

Climate Positive Campus

Climate Positive Energy

Geoexchange

Climate Change

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Meric Gertler

Philosophy

Sustainability

Partnerships between the public and private sectors are crucial to help the Toronto region capitalize on its strong cluster of clean energy companies, ��Ƶ President Meric Gertler says.

He issued the call for collaboration at the recent Climate Economy Summit, co-hosted by U of T’s Climate Positive Energy initiative and the Toronto Region Board of Trade, which brought together business leaders and experts to discuss the challenges – and opportunities – of investing in a sustainable future.

Home to Canada’s largest cluster of clean-tech firms, the Toronto region is positioned to become a leading centre of sustainable growth, President Gertler said in his opening remarks.

But it will take a concerted effort to unlock this potential, he said, urging governments, public institutions, not-for-profits and private firms to work together to find homegrown solutions to the global climate crisis.

“U of T and its partners are collaborating to move the needle quickly,” said President Gertler.

“In the face of barriers to progress at the international level, it's important to be reminded that progress at home is possible.”

For example, the university is set to receive $56 million in financing from the Canadian Infrastructure Bank (CIB) to advance the university’s plan to reduce more emissions than it emits on the St. George campus by 2050. The plan, which includes building Canada’s largest urban geoexchange system under King’s College Circle, is just one of the ways the university prioritizes sustainability initiatives across its three campuses, with ongoing initiatives at U of T Mississauga and U of T Scarborough.

In particular, the CIB partnership will support sustainable infrastructure initiatives under Project LEAP, including deep energy retrofits for university buildings and labs, and the installation of energy-storage solutions.

U of T – recently ranked second in the world in the inaugural QS Sustainability Ranking – has leveraged this federal financing to secure an additional $70 million in loans from the private sector on very attractive terms, said President Gertler.

He said these investments will accelerate the university’s progress towards its climate targets by a decade, with emissions projected to drop by nearly 60 per cent before 2030.

Moreover, he said, U of T will continue to tap into the expertise of its researchers at the Climate Positive Energy Initiative, launched earlier this year. The institutional strategic initiative brings together researchers from across disciplines to devise clean-energy solutions that are guided by political, human and societal considerations.

Their work could help Canada address competitive pressures that are emerging and being closely watched by the federal government. This month, the Standing Committee on International Trade is studying how the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which invests US$369 billion in supporting clean energy, will impact the development of Canada’s clean-tech industry.

Some of the faculty members involved in the Climate Positive Energy initiative shared their insights at the summit, including academic lead David Sinton, a professor of mechanical engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and Canada Research Chair in microfluidics and energy.

Among the other U of T speakers at the summit were: Ali Hooshyar, an assistant professor in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering and Canada Research Chair in electric power systems; and Shoshanna Saxe, an associate professor in the department of civil and mineral engineering and Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Infrastructure.

Hooshyar is leading a proposed $20-million grid modernization testing and simulation centre. The proposed centre would be the first of its kind in Canada, convening stakeholders in the electricity sector to accelerate the integration of renewable energy solutions, energy storage and electric vehicle charging infrastructure into the grid.

The Climate Economy Summit brought together business leaders and experts to discuss the challenges – and opportunities – of investing in a sustainable future (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Saxe, for her part, told a panel that the goal of retrofitting buildings toward net-zero emissions is well within reach – but that the greatest impediment North America faces is a “deficit of imagination” about how to develop infrastructure for a sustainable society. “Our emission goals are totally achievable. We just have to be willing to achieve them,” said Saxe. “The tools are waiting there for us to grab them.”

Representing the Ontario government at the summit were Energy Minister Todd Smith, who spoke about how the province is championing energy innovation, and Vic Fedeli, minister of economic development, job creation and trade, who spoke about how Ontario’s auto sector is shifting to electric vehicles.

On the eve of the event, Joseph Heath, a professor in U of T’s department of philosophy in the Faculty of Arts & Science, made the case for optimism about the potential of innovation to address climate change, suggesting that with the right policy incentives, the next energy revolution could be on the horizon. “A lot of environmental pessimism looks as though it has a grounding in science. Whereas, in fact, what it really is when you scratch the surface is pessimism about human ingenuity,” said Heath.

The Toronto summit came on the heels of the United Nation’s COP27 climate conference in Egypt, where U of T helped co-ordinate a meeting of university networks that collectively represent more than 900 institutions.

Kristy Faccer, director of the President's Committee on the Environment, Climate Change & Sustainability, said this “network of networks” facilitates the exchange of knowledge among academic institutions in order to amplify sustainable innovation on a global scale.

“What we’re really interested in is collective impact,” Faccer told a side panel convened by the U7+ Alliance of World Universities. “You can imagine the kind of scaling opportunity and the influence that these networks can have.”

U of T ranked 2nd in the world in first-ever QS sustainability ranking

rahul.kalvapalle — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 14:40:25 +0000

U of T ranked 2nd in the world in first-ever QS sustainability ranking

rahul.kalvapalle Wed, 10/26/2022 - 10:40

Cutline

(Photo by Matthew Volpe)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Global Lens

Geoexchange

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Climate Change

Faculty of Arts & Science

School of the Environment

Sustainabilty

The ��Ƶ has been ranked second in the world and first in Canada in the inaugural QS World University Rankings: Sustainability, which assesses universities for their environmental and social impact.

The new ranking, released this week by London-based Quacquarelli Symonds, placed U of T second out of 700 post-secondary institutions around the world. Only the University of California, Berkeley ranked higher.

In the two broad areas comprising the ranking – which tracks how post-secondary institutions are taking action to tackle the world’s greatest environmental, social and governance (ESG) challenges – U of T was ranked third in the world for environmental impact and seventh for social impact.

“The ��Ƶ community is delighted to be ranked second in the world by QS for our leadership in sustainability,” said U of T President Meric Gertler. “Our faculty members make a massive contribution to global scholarship pertaining to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Our students are deeply committed to long-term leadership in the field, as reflected in their extensive engagement in the huge range of sustainability-related learning opportunities we offer.

“And as an institution, U of T has made it a top priority to ensure that sustainability permeates our entire mission of research and teaching, while setting an example in our own operations.”

The QS sustainability ranking evaluates all universities eligible for the QS World University Rankings and takes into account data on reputation, research publications, third-party data concerning alumni impact and publicly available national-level data.

The ranking is based on 37 indicators grouped into eight lenses that each fall under the two broad categories of environmental impact and social impact. The environmental impact category comprises the lenses of sustainable education, sustainable institutions and sustainable research, while the social impact category includes employment and opportunities, equality, life quality, impact of education and knowledge exchange.

Canada had a particularly strong showing in the ranking, with two universities in the top 10 (the University of British Columbia placed third) and five in the top 50.

In a blog post, Quacquarelli Symonds noted the ranking goes beyond looking at universities’ commitment to sustainability and focuses on evidence of progress “from the impact that alumni are making in science and technology to solve climate issues, to the impact of research being done across the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.”

It also noted that the ranking “evaluates the social and environmental impact of universities as [centres] of education and research, as well as major employers with the operational sustainability challenges of any large and complex organisation.”

As an institution, U of T has undertaken several high-profile sustainability initiatives in recent years, including a commitment to divest from fossil fuel investments and a pledge to achieve a climate-positive St. George campus by 2050. The latter includes the construction of Canada’s largest urban geoexchange field – in connection with the Landmark Project – that will enable U of T to curb emissions by 15,000 tonnes per year.

U of T Mississauga is embedding sustainability into every facet of campus life, as outlined in its Sustainability Strategic Plan featuring 102 targets and more than two dozen goals. Its New Science Building, for example, will feature a geothermal system that will cover 90 per cent of the building’s energy load.

In fall of 2023, U of T Scarborough is opening the country’s largest passive house student residence, continuing its commitment to developing low carbon infrastructure and embedding social procurement in its campus operations. The campus’s accessible and sustainable open spaces are also being reimagined through the award-winning Valley Land Trail, research and teaching farm, and other green spaces.

U of T’s longstanding commitment to sustainability also pervades its research and teaching. The university offers more than 3,000 sustainability-oriented undergraduate courses and more than 100 graduate and PhD programs with sustainability-related content. Undergraduate students in all degree programs can also take part in the Sustainability Pathways program, which lets them take clusters of courses and pursue co-curricular activities that help them incorporate sustainability learning into their respective disciplines.

Both undergraduate and graduate students can also enroll in “Campus as a Living Lab” and “Community-Engaged Learning” courses that allow them to contribute to real-world sustainability initiatives at U of T or with private and public sector partners.

“We are very pleased to be recognized for our ambitious sustainability programs and activities,” said John Robinson, co-chair of the President’s Advisory Committee on the Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability (CECCS) and a professor in the School of the Environment and Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. “It is important for the higher education sector to step up its efforts to contribute to the sustainability transition and our goal is to make sustainability part of the core identity of U of T in research, teaching, operations and external partnerships.

“Two of our flagship sustainability initiatives – committing to become climate-positive in our operations on the St George campus by 2050 and making sustainability curricular and co-curricular opportunities available to all undergraduate students – reflect this commitment and are part of a suite of activities across our three campuses.

“Much more remains to be done, and we are dedicated to further expansion of our sustainability ambitions.”

Overall, U of T continues to be one of the world’s top-ranked public universities in the five most closely watched international rankings: U.S. News & World Report’s Best Global Universities, Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings, QS World University Rankings, ShanghaiRanking Consultancy’s Academic Ranking of World Universities, and National Taiwan University World University Rankings.

What’s new in construction and renovations across U of T’s three campuses

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 20:26:28 +0000

What’s new in construction and renovations across U of T’s three campuses

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 09/22/2022 - 16:26

Cutline

Students will notice construction activity and new spaces across U of T's three campuses as the university builds for the future (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn, renderings by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc., Handel Architects and Core Architects)

Topic

As students, faculty, staff and librarians make their way across the ��Ƶ’s three campuses this fall, they’ll see major changes underway to enhance their experience and boost sustainability.

They include the ongoing Landmark Project to revitalize the historic core of the St. George campus, construction of a new residence building at U of T Scarborough and construction of an interdisciplinary centre at U of T Mississauga.

Here are a few important updates on key construction and renovation projects that are currently underway across the three campuses.

St. George

(Rendering courtesy of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc.)

The St. George campus is being transformed.

The Landmark Project will make the historic core of the St. George campus more pedestrian-friendly, adding new walkways, gardens, landscaping, public seating and improving accessibility. When it’s all done, an underground garage below King’s College Circle will also house 60 electric vehicle parking spaces and new storage capacity for more than 125 bikes.

At the same time, U of T is building Canada’s largest urban geoexchange system beneath King’s College Circle. It will store surplus heat in the summer for use in the cold winter months, saving the university an estimated 15,000 metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually – a key part of U of T’s plan to make the campus climate positive by 2050.

As a result of the ongoing work, access to certain buildings will be affected during the fall term. For example, the north plaza entrance of the Medical Sciences Building is closed. Students are encouraged to use the access doors on King’s College Road or Queen’s Park.

The University College entrance on King’s College Circle will also be affected. But students can enter through the doors on the east side of the building on Hart House Circle or through the newly renovated University College Quadrangle, which can be accessed through the north and west sides of the building.

U of T Scarborough

(Illustration by Handel Architects and Core Architects)

Three major construction projects are in progress on the U of T Scarborough campus.

Work on a new residence building that overlooks Military Trail and Ellesmere Road is ongoing. The new space will feature 750 beds, along with a dining facility and food services, a rooftop garden and terrace, and spaces for lounging and studying.

(Image courtesy Formline Architecture and LGA Architecture Partners)

Indigenous House, which has recently started construction, will provide a space for Indigenous community members to meet and pursue research. It features a large gathering room to host indoor ceremonies, additional office space, a student lounge, library and outdoor learning garden.

The campus library is getting a complete makeover. Rolled out in three phases that will end in 2025, the first phase will see the addition of a lounge with pivoting glass doors, allowing the area to easily convert into an event space.

U of T Mississauga

“Kiinwin Dabaadjmowin” by Indigenous artists Philip Cote and Tracey Anthony (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

On the west side of the U of T Mississauga campus, construction of the New Science Building is underway. When it opens in June 2023, it will expand U of T Mississauga’s wet research capacity while adding faculty, administration and graduate student space.

In the William G. Davis building, the Student Services Hub is taking shape in the former library space. Also slated for opening in summer 2023, the space brings together student affairs groups, the International Education Centre, Career Centre, Accessibility Services and Centre for Student Engagement.

In the Maanjiwe nendamowinan building, U of T Mississauga is deepening its commitment to the Indigenous community and U of T’s Calls to Action with a new Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation Office, featuring a showpiece window treatment by a local indigenous artist.

Nearby on the campus green, the Indigenous Centre has erected another new point of interest – a tipi for use in ceremonies, learning opportunities and events. It will remain in front of the Maanjiwe nendamowinan building until April 2023.

U of T geoexchange project to reduce emissions, boost sustainability learning: National Observer

rahul.kalvapalle — Mon, 25 Apr 2022 16:35:50 +0000

U of T geoexchange project to reduce emissions, boost sustainability learning: National Observer

rahul.kalvapalle Mon, 04/25/2022 - 12:35

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A student walks by the site of a massive geoexchange project on Front Campus, where more than 300 wells have been drilled to depths of over 250 metres (photo by Johnny Guatto)

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Our Community

Climate Positive Campus

The geoexchange field being built in the historic core of the ��Ƶ’s St. George campus is unique both in the scale of its potential environmental impact and in its utility as a learning tool for sustainability-minded students.

A recent National Observer report that was republished in the Toronto Star explores how the facility, connected to U of T's Landmark Project, will contribute to the St. George campus’s ambitious goal of becoming climate positive by 2050.

Ron Saporta, U of T’s chief operating officer, property services and sustainability, told the Observer that more than 300 geoexchange wells have been drilled to depths of over 250 metres, where they will enable the storage of excess heat produced in the summer for use in the winter. “The ground is acting like a battery of sorts, but a thermal battery instead of an electric battery,” Saporta said.

Saporta added that the emissions-reducing project has also “been a focus of several courses" – and that a proposal by engineering students to have some of the wells drilled at an angle has been implemented. “What we’re trying to do is also use this project to enable more hands-on experiential learning,” Saporta said.

Read the story in the National Observer

Earth Day: See how U of T’s campuses are building sustainability into their operations

rahul.kalvapalle — Fri, 22 Apr 2022 20:42:41 +0000

Earth Day: See how U of T’s campuses are building sustainability into their operations rahul.kalvapalle Fri, 04/22/2022 - 16:42

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At the cutting-edge New Science Building on the banks of the Credit River in Mississauga, a geothermal system will cover 90 per cent of the building’s energy requirements. In Scarborough, the Environmental and Related Technologies Hub (EaRTH), a green tech research and innovation district will feature Ontario’s first net-zero vertical farm. And in downtown Toronto, the St. George campus will be home to Canada’s largest urban geoexchange system.

These are some of the ��Ƶ's flagship construction projects, highlighted in a new Earth Day video series, that are poised to make significant contributions to U of T’s Low-Carbon Action Plan – which strives to cut greenhouse gas emissions across the three campuses by 37 per cent from 1990 levels by the year 2030.

It's all part of the university's ambitious efforts to integrate sustainability into every facet of the institution – operations, teaching and learning, research, engagement and partnerships – as outlined in the latest annual report by the President’s Advisory Committee on the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability (CECCS).

“These projects demonstrate that U of T recognizes the imperative to become part of the solution when it comes to sustainability and climate action,” says CECCS Co-Chair John Robinson. “They represent powerful ways to connect operational and academic sustainability through campus as living lab research projects for students and faculty, and also give rise to important lessons of interest to our off-campus partners.”

At the St. George campus, efforts are underway to work towards achieving climate positivity before 2050 via a variety of efforts outlined in the Sustainability Office’s most recent annual report.

These include ambitious construction initiatives such as the Landmark Project, which aims to revitalize the historic core of the St. George campus and includes the geoexchange field being built underneath Front Campus. The Sustainability Office has also launched its Sustainable Change Programs that offer resources, support and certification around sustainability best practices.

At U of T Mississauga, sustainability is being embedded into every facet of campus life as outlined in its Sustainability Strategic Plan, featuring 102 targets and more than two dozen goals. The New Science Building currently under construction is one of numerous infrastructure projects that place sustainability at the forefront.

U of T Scarborough, meanwhile, has several green building projects on the go, including its net-zero vertical farm, which will produce as much energy as it uses on an annual basis, and a Parking and Retail Commons, a unique concept that uses timber to construct a multi-level parking structure with retail at street level – an Ontario first.

U of T’s geoexchange project to reduce carbon footprint of heritage buildings: The Globe and Mail

mattimar — Tue, 22 Feb 2022 15:52:58 +0000

U of T’s geoexchange project to reduce carbon footprint of heritage buildings: The Globe and Mail

mattimar Tue, 02/22/2022 - 10:52

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(Photo by David Lee)

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The ��Ƶ’s geoexchange project demonstrates it’s possible to reduce the environmental footprint of heritage buildings in the city’s downtown core, according to Scott Mabury, U of T’s vice-president, operations and real estate partnerships.

“The goal is making heritage buildings more efficient than they were ever imagined to be,” Mabury told The Globe and Mail, adding that that he “hopes builders across the country eventually see the project as proof that the carbon footprint of old structures can be manipulated.”

The geoexchange system – installed alongside U of T’s Landmark Project, which aims to make the St. George campus greener, more walkable and more accessible – involves drilling boreholes deep into the ground to store of surplus heat generated by nearby mechanical systems in the summer for use in the winter.

Ron Saporta, chief operating officer, property services and sustainability, told the Globe that “adapting the old St. George campus buildings to new heat pumps can take a lot of work, as it involves updating electrical panels and mechanical systems.”

It’s estimated that the system will reduce the university’s greenhouse gas emissions by 15,000 metric tons per year. “This geo-exchange system will help us have a much lighter touch on the world, and if we can do it here, we can do it anywhere,” Mabury said.

Geoexchange

U of T to cut carbon emissions in half on St. George campus by 2027

The year in pictures: U of T News looks back at 2023

U of T’s plan to become climate positive expanded to all three campuses

U of T President Meric Gertler calls for cross-sector collaboration at Climate Economy Summit

U of T ranked 2nd in the world in first-ever QS sustainability ranking

What’s new in construction and renovations across U of T’s three campuses

St. George

U of T Scarborough

U of T Mississauga

U of T geoexchange project to reduce emissions, boost sustainability learning: National Observer

Read the story in the National Observer

Earth Day: See how U of T’s campuses are building sustainability into their operations

U of T’s geoexchange project to reduce carbon footprint of heritage buildings: The Globe and Mail

Read more at the Globe and Mail