Faculty launches Climate and Sustainability Action Plan
The Faculty of Law is pleased to share its Climate and Sustainability Action Plan, which outlines the Faculty’s specific needs, challenges and opportunities in meeting the objectives of McGill University’s Vision 2020 Sustainability Strategy.
The Plan is the result of a collaboration between the Faculty’s Sustainability Committee and McGill’s Office of Sustainability. It is based on community consultations held during the academic year 2018-2019. It defines and details seven key action points:
- Educate the community on how to reduce our ecological footprint
- Improve the sustainability of events hosted by and at the Faculty
- Reduce air travel emissions
- Decrease the amount of paper printed at the faculty
- Pursue funding opportunities to purchase recycling bins for all classrooms and kitchens
- Encourage management staff and supervisors to incorporate sustainability objectives into performance dialogues where appropriate
- Establish lines of communication between the Sustainability Committee and other committees and units within the Faculty to create new partnerships
The Faculty of Law is the first academic unit at McGill to adopt a Sustainability Action Plan. The actions points focus on areas over which the Faculty has direct control; larger scale projects such as renovations, waste management and food services enhancements will require longer-term partnership with McGill-wide organisations and external entities.
“The enthusiasm of the McGill Law community, and the determination of many members of our community to pursue ambitious sustainability goals, came through clearly in the process of building this plan,” said Professor Jaye Ellis, Chair of the Faculty’s Sustainability Committee. “This is a modest first step. As the first academic unit at McGill to adopt a sustainability action plan, we have learned lessons that other academic units could benefit from, but we also have a lot to learn. I would like to see the Faculty take up a strong leadership role in the growing sustainability network at McGill, and to use our influence to help bring about ambitious and concerted sustainability action across the university.”
The Action Plan will be reviewed regularly, and the action items will be updated on a rolling basis as they are achieved and as new objectives are identified. In this way, it will remain aligned with current campus initiatives and university priorities, and will permit the Faculty to point the way to further actions and objectives.
An annual report to Faculty Council on progress and new objectives will foster the ongoing engagement of the community with the aims of the Action Plan.
“I’m proud to see the Faculty of Law take a leading role in promoting sustainability within our community,” said Dean Robert Leckey. “We are thankful for the enthusiastic engagement of our student community and grateful to the many colleagues who contributed their expertise to this effort.”
Download the Faculty of Law’s Climate and Sustainability Action Plan [.pdf].
