Call for Nominations—Committee on the Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability (PDAD&C #58)

From: Meric Gertler, President
Date: March 31, 2021
Re: Call for Nominations—Committee on the Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability (PDAD&C #58)

Background

The President’s Advisory Committee on the Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability (CECCS) was created in 2017, with the goals of making sustainability a key component of the University of Toronto identity, achieving international leadership in the integration of operational and academic sustainability, and coordinating sustainability activities across the three campuses. Since that time, it has made tremendous progress  in advancing sustainability in every aspect of U of T life—in part, by bringing together key stakeholders and others dedicated to combatting climate change and promoting sustainability.

Recently, I announced the extension of the mandate of Professor John Robinson as Presidential Advisor on the Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability until December 2023. I also announced that Ron Saporta, Chief Operating Officer, Property Services & Sustainability will assume the role of Co-Chair of the CECCS, along with Professor Robinson. This decision reinforces our institutional commitment to the integration of operational and academic sustainability at U of T.

Call for Nominations – Committee on the Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability

The Committee is currently embarking on a phase of membership renewal, and I am seeking nominations for the following positions for a two-year term, ending December 2022:

  • One member of the undergraduate student community (full or part-time)
  • One member of the graduate student community
  • One faculty member with an appointment at UTM
  • One faculty member with an appointment at UTSC
  • One faculty member (divisional appointment St. George Campus)

Members of the University community are invited to submit nominations or expressions of interest to serve on the CECCS by April 25, 2021. You may submit nominations on your own behalf or nominate another individual. The submission should demonstrate knowledge of U of T’s sustainability efforts, express an interest in the field, and include a brief CV/résumé.

Additional information on the Committee and its work may be found in the Terms of Reference, included below.

Submissions or inquiries should be addressed to:

Ayako Ariga, Secretariat & Project Manager
Committee on the Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability
ayako.ariga@utoronto.ca

Terms of Reference
University of Toronto
Committee on the Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability

Mandate and Context

In February 2017, the CECCS was created with a mandate to advance the University’s contributions to meeting the challenges of climate change and sustainability, with a particular focus on research and innovation, teaching, and University operations. 

Over the four years of operation, the CECCS pursued its goals in the work of the three CECCS subcommittees: Campus as a Living Lab (CLL), University as Agent of Change in the Community (AOC), and Curriculum Innovation (CI). Key strategies of these committees were to promote the integration of operational and academic sustainability (CLL), develop partnerships on sustainability issues with the various communities internally and outside U of T (AOC), and make sustainability curriculum opportunities available to students (CI). Across the activities of these subcommittees, CECCS identified, facilitated, supported, enabled and promoted sustainability initiatives across all three campuses by leveraging individual campus identities, fostering a sense of common purpose, and bringing together existing sustainability networks and connections at U of T and in the community. 

The overall goals of CECCS remain the same since the inception. They are:

  • Sustainability as key component of U of T identity
  • International leadership in operational and academic sustainability 
  • Coordination of disparate sustainability activities

The new organizing framework has been identified as follows:

2 overarching principles

  • Regenerative Sustainability which looks for net positive ways to increase both human and environmental wellbeing, instead of simply focusing on reducing environmental damage
  • Integration of Operational and Academic Sustainability which looks at ways to combine research, teaching, partnerships and operations

3 cross-cutting themes

  • Campus as living lab which brings together faculty members, students, staff, and, where appropriate, external partners to collaborate on developing sustainability projects that combine operational and academic activities
  • University as Agent of Change which supports the University community to work more actively with private, public and civil society sector partners on sustainability issues, with a particular focus on student engagement
  • United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which CECCS uses to orient our understanding of the many dimensions of sustainability across the campus, in keeping withs its conception of regenerative sustainability as including both environmental and human well being

4 subcommittees

  • Teaching and Learning
  • Research
  • Operations
  • Engagement & Partnerships

Membership

The CECCS is co-chaired by Professor John Robinson, Presidential Advisor on the Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability, and Ron Saporta, Chief Operating Officer, Property Services & Sustainability. The members include:

  • Academic leaders and scholars in relevant fields from across the University’s three campuses and multi and single departmental Faculties;
  • Individuals from each of the following constituencies – teaching staff, non-teaching staff, undergraduate students, graduate students, and alumni; and
  • Three members designated individually by the Vice-President and Provost; the Vice-President, Research and Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives; and the Vice-President, Operations and Real Estate Partnerships.

All members will serve on at least one subcommittee.

Eleven of the 22 current members will roll over for another 12-month term to ensure knowledge transfer for a smooth transition. New members selected from this call will serve two-year terms until the end of December 2022.

There will be new calls for nominations at the end of 2021 and 2022 so there will be 50% new members every year.

Operation

In light of its deliberations, when the Committee reaches a consensus on any matter on its agenda, it may make recommendations to the President and the relevant Vice-Presidents.

The full Committee and the four Subcommittees normally meet at least once per semester. 

The Secretariat provides administrative support to the Committee.

Annual Report

The Committee submits an annual report to the President, describing its activities over the previous year and the progress of the University in implementing the commitments. The CECCS Annual Report 2020: Embedding Sustainability Across U of T can be found at https://www.president.utoronto.ca/2020-annual-report-of-the-presidents-advisory-committee-on-the-environment-climate-change-and-sustainability-ceccs.