SDG 13 - Strategic Initiatives

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Energy Tracking
Local Education
Climate Action Plan
Climate Action Policy
Planning for Climate Disasters
Support Government
Collaboration with NGOs
Commitment

Low-Carbon Energy Tracking

an image with green trees to represent sustainability

Western University actively measures and reports on its energy usage and carbon footprint. The 2024-2029 Western University Energy Conservation and Demand Management (CDM) Plan tracks its energy usage and outlines its approach towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as improving energy efficiency. Additionally, the Western University Responsible Investing Annual Report provides an outline of our low-carbon energy resource investment practices, including detailed measurements of our carbon footprint and progress towards decarbonization.

Local Education

Western provides local education on climate change risks, impacts, mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning. 

Structured Learning

  • Connecting for Climate Change Action: This free course recognizes that climate change is everybody’s business, encouraging everyone to join the course and find ways to engage and take action. 
  • Climate Change and Society: These degrees guide students to understand the problem and look for ways to take action to mitigate climate change. 
  • Business and Climate Impact: Ivey equips working professionals in a wide range of sectors with decision-making frameworks and tools to identify, assess and mitigate risks in a business context. 
  • Climate Risk Assessment and Opportunity Graduate Diploma: Learners at all career stages are encouraged to take a proactive approach to climate change, assess the associated risks, and develop solutions to mitigate the impact. 
  • Master of Environment and Sustainability: Develops professionals in any industry to address climate change, waste reduction, ecosystem management, and land conservation. 
  • PhD Sustainability Academy: An online network of organizational scholars and educators committed to conducting research that addresses real-world challenges that influence how organizations and decision makers think and act and use their positions to drive positive change. 

Ad Hoc Education

  • EnviroCon: A free, annual, interdisciplinary conference, which provides a forum for expert panelists, undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and community members involved in environment and sustainability to dialogue and engage Western and the London community in environment and sustainability issues. 
  • WeCLISH Climate Café: Provides a safe space for casual, inspiring, and evidence-informed climate change conversations, facilitated by a host with a café guest and fellow climate change enthusiasts, including researchers, practitioners, policy-makers, students, and community participants. 
  • Centre for Multi-hazard Risk and Resilience Workshops: These workshops ring together renowned researchers and experts from various disciplines to discuss and address challenges related to natural hazards and risks. 
  • Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction’s Climate Resilience Centre: This centre teaches practical, cost-effective, consensus-based methods to become resilient to climate-related disasters. Using hands-on exhibits, displays, videos, interactive kiosks, and other features, the Centres demonstrate resilience to insurance professionals, builders and code officials, homeowners, journalists, and others. 
  • The Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory: Develops climatologies of warm-season severe weather (tornadoes, downbursts / derechos, damaging hail, flash floods) that inform risk analysis and community resiliency, improving the safety and well-being of Canadians. The data and analyses are made freely available to both decision makers and the public, and outreach activities aim to increase awareness and spark innovation. All projects aim to mitigate against harm to people and property and investigate future implications due to climate change. 
    • Northern Tornadoes Project: Aims to better detect tornados throughout Canada and improve severe and extreme weather understanding and prediction. 
    • Northern Hail Project: Aims to improve knowledge of damaging hailstorms, the detection of hail occurrence across Canada, and severe convective storm prediction. 
    • Northern Mesonet Project: Aims to create a central repository of publicly available weather data with new algorithms to automate detection of severe and extreme weather. 

Climate Action Plan

Western plans for action to address climate change in publicly shared strategies, research partnerships, and community partnerships. 

Climate Action Policy

UC tower in the fall

Western has the intellectual capacity to solve pressing environmental problems; it has a moral obligation to minimize its impact on the environment; and it has the opportunity to educate students who will become global leaders in the environment and sustainability movement. Our commitment to mitigating climate impact is evident through:

  • Environment & Sustainability Policy: We are committed to sustainability through collective community action, innovative practices, and measurable goals, while reducing resource use and environmental impact. It emphasizes engagement, institutional ecology, efficacy, accountability, innovation, and community involvement. 
  • Climate and Sustainability Strategy: The new climate and sustainability strategy will reflect our campus community’s commitment to sustainability and provide opportunities for everyone to get involved in advancing sustainability at Western. 
  • Sustainability Commitments: Western has made several regional, national, and international sustainability commitments, including Academic Health Institutions’ Declaration on Planetary Health, Investing to Address Climate Change: A Charter for Canadian Universities, Agreement to support sustainable development through education and research, Paris Pledge for Action, COU Pledge - Ontario Universities Committed to a Greener World, and the Talloires Declaration. 
  • Policy & Planning: Our strategies, policies, and plans guide us towards creating a culture of sustainability across campus. 
  • Sustainability Memberships: Participating in these networks helps Western to advance sustainability initiatives on campus and in partnership with other organizations.
  • GHG Emissions Targets:
    • By 2030: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 45%, relative to 2005 levels. 
    • By 2050: Achieve net-zero emissions for campus operations. 
  • Energy Conservation and Demand Management plan 2024 – 2029: Officially reviews our progress towards our targets and lays out necessary technical measures to achieve our goals. 

Planning for Climate Disasters

Western participates in cooperative planning for climate change disasters, working with governments at the local, regional, and global levels. 

an image represents planning for climate diasters

  • The Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR): This institute is internationally recognized for its disaster prevention research and is the first Canadian group that brings engineers, geologists, economists, and political scientists together to investigate the dangers of natural disasters. 
    • ICLR’s Quick Response Program: Designed to allow social, behavioural, and economic scientists to quickly deploy to a disaster-affected area in the aftermath of a flood, extreme weather event or earthquake to collect perishable data. 
    • ICLR’s Research Papers: Materials generated by ICLR researchers and staff have been used widely by insurers as well as all levels of government and non-government groups engaged in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. 
    • ICLR’s Climate Resilience Centre: This centre teaches practical, cost-effective, consensus-based methods to become resilient to climate-related disasters in London ON, and Winnipeg, MB. 
  • The Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory: This lab develops climatologies of warm-season severe weather (tornadoes, downbursts / derechos, damaging hail, flash floods) that inform risk analysis and community resiliency, improving the safety and well-being of Canadians. The data and analyses are made freely available to both government and the public, and outreach activities aim to increase awareness and spark innovation. All projects aim to mitigate against harm to people and property and investigate future implications due to climate change. 
  • Finance for the Future Climate Leader Award: Ivey Business School partnered with representatives from Deshkan Ziibiing (Chippewas of the Thames First Nation), Carolinian Canada, VERGE Capital, and Thames Talbot Land Trust to create a “pay-for-success”, outcome-based conservation finance instrument, where groups and individuals can invest for monetary and/or environmental returns that restore resiliency to the landscape. 
  • Community and Infrastructure Resilience to Climate-geological Long-term Effects (CIRCLE): Integrates quantitative impact assessments to identify vulnerable people and to co-produce pre-disaster preparedness-recovery plans by working with coastal communities with diverse cultural and social settings in Canada, Cuba, and Indonesia. 
  • Seminar Examining Social Impacts of Disaster on Vulnerable and Marginalized Populations: Examines how environment, health capital, and human-animal interactions shape exposure to risks in vulnerable groups. 
  • Agrotunnel Agrivoltaics Hybrid for Sustainable Food: An open-source, free to all approach to machine learning-based crop monitoring offers a practical solution for small to mid-sized farms, which helps to reduces waste and lower food production costs. 
  • Net Zero Lab: Professor Montgomery’s SSHRC projects―Building Sustainable Justice to Address Resource Inequality and Science, Industry, and the Public: The Policy Battle over Fossil Fuel Infrastructure―have a major focus on climate-related social justice. This research aims to systematically examine the causes of, as well as resistance against, growing inequality, especially as it relates to natural resource access and affordability. 
  • Centre for Research on Migration and Ethnic Relations: This centre conducts research to inform public policy and practice on migration and ethnic relations in Canada and internationally. It collaborates with policy-makers, academic communities, and organizations involved in newcomer settlement and integration to address migration and ethnic relations challenges. 
  • University Climate Change Coalition (UC3): Faculty, researchers, and staff can accelerate climate action efforts on campus, in their communities, and globally by connecting with counterparts from peer institutions. By sharing knowledge and best practices, and collaborating on the development of new resources, they can help scale action beyond what Western can achieve on its own. 
  • London Environmental Network: Western is a partner in this charitable organization, which helps protect our environment and build a more sustainable city by offering environmental programs and climate action opportunities for all residents. 

Inform and Support Government

Western University informs and supports local and national governments in local climate change disaster risk, warning, and monitoring.

an image represents informing and supporting government on climate diasters

  • The Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory: This lab develops severe weather risk analysis and community resiliency, improving the safety and well-being of Canadians. The data and analyses are made freely available to government and the public, and outreach activities increase awareness and spark innovation. All projects aim to mitigate against harm to people and property and investigate future implications due to climate change. 
    • Northern Tornadoes Project: Aims to better detect tornados throughout Canada and improve severe and extreme weather understanding and prediction. 
    • Northern Hail Project: Aims to improve knowledge of damaging hailstorms, the detection of hail across Canada, and severe convective storm prediction. 
    • Northern Mesonet Project: Aims to create a central repository of publicly available weather data with new algorithms to automate detection of severe and extreme weather. 
  • The Centre for Multi-hazard Risk and Resilience: An interdisciplinary research hub dedicated to addressing the challenges posed by natural hazards and disasters. Through collaboration with industry, government, and academia, the CMRR develops innovative solutions to mitigate the impact of extreme events, particularly in a changing climate, and seeks to become a leading centre for disaster risk reduction. 
  • WesternWater Centre: Works with federal, provincial, and municipal governments on researching the impacts of climate change on our water resources to find innovative solutions addressing all aspects related to clean water supply and water-environment issues, including the protection and management of water resources, resource recovery, and treatment technologies. 
  • The Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction: In an effort to support local governments in their climate adaptation initiatives, ICLR has launched several initiatives: 
    • Resilience in Recovery Program focuses on rebuilding after major losses with climate-resilient homes and infrastructure and ensures long-term sustainability and preparedness for future challenges. 
    • Tools for Local Governments assist municipalities in reducing the risk that businesses and residents experience due to property damage and disruption. 
    • The Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee Protocol was developed to assist engineers in factoring climate change impacts into plans for design, operation, and maintenance of public infrastructure. 
    • The Cities Adapt book series describe local actions in Canada that are consistent with best practices for climate resilience. 
    • The Basement Flood Protection Lab emphasizes understanding of lot-level (household level) methods of managing flood risk in urban areas. 
    • The Open for Business program for small business owners reduces potential disaster losses and assists businesses to reopen quickly should disaster strike. 

Collaboration with NGOs

An image presents care for the environment and collaborations

Western collaborates with NGOs on climate adaptation and environmental education.

  • Climate Crisis Coalition – Western Chapter: CCC is an NGO that facilitates, participates in, and publicizes local and national climate actions that draw attention to the climate crisis and the strong measures needed to address it. 
  • Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction: This institute conducts multidisciplinary disaster-prevention research, including modeling potential futures with and without interventions; focuses on monitoring and reporting the effectiveness of these interventions and enabling adaptive management strategies; and partners with NGOs like the Canadian Red Cross Society to reduce the loss of life and property caused by severe weather and earthquakes. 
  • WeCLISH: The Western Centre for Climate Change, Sustainable Livelihoods and Health engages with researchers, policy-makers, civil society organizations, NGOs, and local communities to co-produce knowledge that informs policy development. This collaborative approach helps identify problems and challenges related to climate change and sustainable development. 
  • The Centre for Multi-hazard Risk and Resilience: This centre conducts extensive research to understand the risks associated with natural hazards and their impacts on communities and infrastructure. It uses advanced modeling techniques to predict outcomes of various scenarios and monitors the effectiveness of implemented policies and strategies. 
  • Western Heads East: In collaboration with local NGOs, this initiative addresses global poverty in rural communities in Africa. They support communities to use environmentally conscious practices, develop solar energy solutions, and recycle and capture water. 
  • Research Engagement Collaborative Alliance with Partners: Supports research partnerships with individuals, communities, industry, governments, and NGOs to address grand challenges and advance societal impact, including addressing climate change. 
  • Network for Economic and Social Trends (NEST) Research Consultancy: Bridges the gap between academia and the broader public by facilitating research collaborations between Western’s Faculty of Social Science and government, NGOs, and private organizations. Researchers work in areas that include climate change, food and water security, and migration. 

Commitment

Western is committed to becoming carbon neutral. We aim to reduce our emissions in line with the International Paris Accords of 2016, and Ontario’s provincial goals, in an effort to prevent global temperature increase of 1.5 °C. Specifically, our goals are: 

  • By 2030: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 45%, relative to 2005 levels. 
  • By 2050: Achieve net-zero emissions for campus operations. 

Sustainability is the focus of one of the three main themes in our strategic plan: Towards Western at 150.

 

Western will model sustainable processes in our own operations and apply our research, teaching, learning, and community engagement to support London and Southwestern Ontario in our collective efforts to become the Canadian centre of gravity for sustainability thought leadership and the application of innovative sustainable practices.