Sept. 2, 2021
Seneca News
Sustainability plan charts Seneca’s path forward
Office of Sustainability will support student and employee initiatives
Seneca is taking on climate change and strengthening the institution for generations to come with the release of its first-ever sustainability plan.
“This is a huge milestone,” said Nevzat Gurmen, Vice-President, Finance & Administration. “With this plan, we will not only invest in sustainability, but we will engage the Seneca community and establish Seneca as a leader in sustainable business practices and learning.”
The Seneca sustainability plan, titled Our Path Forward, charts a formal framework for Seneca to become “the sustainable Seneca” over the next five years. It is one of the key deliverables of Seneca Au Large and outlines the co-ordinated, cross-institutional approach that will embed sustainability into all aspects of life at Seneca.
In total, 573 members of the Seneca community provided input for the 78-page document, which builds on the work of the Sustainable Seneca Committee. It details action items such as developing a sustainability policy, adding sustainability as one of the core academic literacies and creating a greenhouse gas reduction plan.
“It’s a bold plan,” said Mr. Gurmen. “It puts all of the efforts to date into a proper record and provides a roadmap for how we can achieve our future objectives.”
Seneca has in recent years embedded sustainability in its academic programs, services, applied research and physical spaces. For this, it received a silver STARS rating from the Association of Sustainability in Higher Education.
“Our sustainability plan will move us from silver to a higher rating,” said Mr. Gurmen.
The document focuses on four themes: leadership, community, education and research, and operations.
As the plan explains, sustainability integrates long-term environmental health, social equity, cultural vitality and economic responsibility to create and maintain a thriving, diverse and resilient Seneca community.
The plan calls for an Office of Sustainability to support and facilitate actions identified in the plan.
“The Office of Sustainability will be the first step,” said Mr. Gurmen. “It will be the foundation for us to achieve our vision and goals for sustainability.”
The office will also be a hub that supports students and employees, bringing together interdisciplinary activities and moving sustainability actions forward, on and off campus.
All work, Mr. Gurmen adds, will be guided by Our Path Forward.
“I am proud of our inaugural sustainability plan,” he said. “Especially that students, employees and every level of leadership at Seneca contributed to it. With this plan in place, we can only go forward.”