Vision 2020: Creating a sustainable McGill

Imagine McGill University in 2020. What does the campus look like? What do students learn and how do they learn it? What solutions do researchers seek? Is it a community that embraces a culture of sustainability and collaboration—maybe even a model for a sustainable society?  

Students, faculty and staff are asking these questions and imagining this future right now, as the McGill community embarks on Vision 2020, a year of conversation, consultation and planning to set McGill’s sustainability strategy for the next decade. Your voice and ideas are essential to this process.

In the past few years McGill has taken large strides toward a more sustainable future. As a result of students and staff working together with a common vision in mind, McGill now has an Office of Sustainability, a Sustainability Policy and an $800,000 per year Sustainability Projects Fund. The results of these changes are noticeable on campus. Maybe you have sampled the offerings at Local Food Days in the dining halls, or filled up your water bottle at one of the new bottle refill stations. Maybe you've fixed a flat tire at one of the campus bike collectives, gone online to check your building’s energy consumption on the Pulse Energy Dashboard or seen news of the LEED Gold certification recently awarded to the Life Sciences Complex. These are only a few of the literally hundreds of sustainability initiatives underway across both campuses, fueled by the vision and dedication of individuals throughout the McGill community.

The Vision 2020 process seeks to harness the remarkable energy behind these initiatives to build an overarching sustainability vision and action plan for—and from—the whole university community. Please join the conversation!