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Sustainable initiatives

Students boarding a BCTransit bus

In our location on the rugged west coast, we are surrounded by mountains, ocean, green spaces and incredible biodiversity. It inspires us daily to emphasize sustainability in our teaching, our research and the way we plan and manage our campus.

UVic’s Strategic Framework

The UVic Strategic Framework promotes sustainable futures for our university and community. It provides strategies that open the pathway to set specific targets, goals and policy directives to make UVic a global leader in environmental, social and institutional sustainability.

UVic is developing a new Climate and Sustainability Action Plan. The plan will guide our integrated sustainability practices and will respect and value Indigenous ways of knowing and being.

Sustainability on campus

We're promoting sustainability across campus with decisive climate solutions and innovative programming. We’re guided by our Sustainability Action Plan. Our programming is specifically designed to meet the targets outlined in the plan.

Our community's dedication to sustainability drives us to constantly improve, both as individuals and as an institution. We created the Campus Sustainability Fund to provide UVic staff, faculty and students with financial assistance to carry out sustainability initiatives on campus.

All of our new buildings meet the LEED Gold standard, one of the highest green building ratings in the world. This includes our new Student Housing and Dining Project, which targets LEED Gold and Passive House standards, the most rigorous global building standards for sustainability and energy efficiency.

Sustainability research

Across the board, UVic research is at the forefront of sustainability breakthroughs. We’re a global leader in research in the areas of clean growth, climate sciences and ocean health. The 2020 Times Higher Education impact rankings placed UVic fourth among the world’s universities for climate action. 

UVic's Institute for Integrated Energy Systems (IESVic)  leads research on sustainable energy solutions, including fuel cells; energy efficiency; alternative energy sources; and large-scale, long-term analysis of how policy and technology can work together.

The Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS), hosted and led by UVic, is a multi-university initiative. It brings together experts from academic, government, industry and society to develop climate policy solutions for BC and beyond.

The Centre for Social and Sustainable Innovation (CSSI) focuses on education and research for a sustainable and responsible approach to business.

Sustainability in the classroom

Sustainability is a key part of every major field at UVic. Our emphasis on hands-on learning lets our students research and implement their own sustainability initiatives.

We offer a range of dynamic undergraduate and graduate programs focusing on the environment and sustainability.

News

Open Eyes of the Beast premiere

Eyes of the Beast premiere

People across Canada came together to help one another during recent climate disasters, and now Neworld Theatre is bringing those true-life stories to the stage. Eyes of the Beast: Climate Disaster...

Open New research puts climate policies to the test

New research puts climate policies to the test

An international research team found only 63 out of 1500 climate policies have led to substantial emissions reductions over the past two decades. The groundbreaking study published in Science reveals...

Open Researching health of world fisheries

Researching health of world fisheries

A new study analyzing over 230 fisheries has found that their sustainability is likely overstated world-wide. Previous estimates of the number of fish in the ocean globally may have been too optimistic;...

Open Driving sustainability forward

Driving sustainability forward

Akash Mohanty is one of a dozen students driving sustainability forward on Vancouver Island through the University of Victoria’s Sustainability Scholars program, a unique graduate program that offers...

More sustainability news