On Thursday, May 20, York West MPP Mario Sergio addressed the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and talked about the University’s strategies to reduce its ecological footprint. The following is a transcript of his statement:
In the lead up to Earth Day 2010, York University released a campus-wide report on sustainability with a strategy to reduce its ecological footprint that goes beyond the usual approaches to being green.
Right: York West MPP Mario Sergio
I would like to acknowledge the hard work the students, faculty and staff at York University have undertaken. They should indeed serve as a model for sustainability for college and university campuses across Ontario.
York University has become a leader in sustainability, with innovative curriculum, campus operations, green buildings and the commitment to helping shape sustainable livelihoods.
President Mamdouh Shoukri’s sustainability council has charted an innovative curriculum that emphasizes the University’s vital relationship with the greater Toronto area, produces some of the most advanced research and thinking on sustainability, and educates and trains the next generation of sustainability leaders. The strategy developed by the sustainability council illustrates the type of approach that should be adopted across Ontario’s urban centres where social, environmental and economic concerns are mutually addressed.
On Earth Day, York launched its zero waste program, which will divert 65 per cent of campus waste from landfill sites by 2013. The University’s Unplug initiative has already decreased campus energy use dramatically. It led to a 3.55 per cent reduction in energy consumption over the Family Day weekend, amounting to 22,729 kilowatt hours.
I appreciate the work that York University is doing with respect to sustainability.