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Quick Facts
Cost: $1.2 Million
Size: All Algonquin College Campuses
Projected completion: Fall 2012

The Need

In a world that is threatened by environmental degradation, social unrest and economic uncertainty, Algonquin College strives to incorporate environmental, social and economic sustainability in its teaching, research, operations and outreach. Our strategy is not just to survive but to thrive.

As an institution of higher education, Algonquin College has a corporate social responsibility to educate our future leaders on sustainability. Success in today’s global economy will require that our graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills to live, work, and contribute to sustainable communities.

The Response

Algonquin College has drafted a Sustainability Strategy. This innovative triple bottom line approach to sustainability has been structured to be straight-forward, inspirational and future-focused. We believe it will allow us to achieve the College’s education mission more responsibly and we believe it is closely aligned with the provincial green economy vision.

• Aligning with leading thinking in sustainability and Provincial priorities, this project will position Algonquin for long-term success by:
• Creating sustainable campus development plans for all campuses;
  
• Developing an action plan to convert our existing facilities and infrastructure into high performance facilities;
  
• Developing a College Green Energy Plan and implementing alternative green energy solutions for all 3 campuses;
  
• Implementing a Sustainable Transportation Solution for the Woodroffe Campus; and
  
• Eliminating and/or repurposing waste at all campuses.

This project will have a major impact on Algonquin College's environmental sustainability. We anticipate a major reduction of our greenhouse gas emissions as we work our way towards zero greenhouse gas emissions from operations. This project will help capitalize on the enthusiasm for sustainability that has been growing on the campus for the past five years.

Over the past several years we have undertaken many initiatives to reduce our ecological footprint. We have begun work on a College Sustainability Strategy that we believe will be a model for Colleges across North America. This project would move us from small steps and strategic thinking to bold actions that help put Ontario and the Innovation Agenda on the world’s stage.

We believe that the environmental impact will go well beyond our campus. By demonstrating success in this area we fully anticipate that other academic institutions will look to Algonquin as an example. We anticipate a series of spinoff benefits as other colleges and universities, inspired and enabled by our work, invest in sustainability retrofits, clean energy installations, and sustainable transportation solutions.