A reminder to unplug! Save energy, turn off computers and appliances before the long weekend
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Happy Canada Day!
York community members are reminded to switch off and unplug before leaving for the Canada Day long weekend. It is also a good time to remind others in your area about the importance of shutting down computers, lights, small office or kitchen appliances and other personal electronics before leaving the office.
This simple gesture can yield tremendous results, given that staff and faculty operate more than 8,000 computers, and together the Keele and Glendon campuses have more than 140,000 internal lights.
The ability to shut down certain electrical devices will vary depending on departmental requirements.
Open forums Wednesday on the draft Sustainability Strategy
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Vari Hall
York University is hosting two open forums on Wednesday, May 31 to discuss the draft Sustainability Strategy that will guide the University in advancing sustainability into the near and long-term future. The purpose of the strategy is to communicate and implement a shared vision, inspire positive change, build capacity, empower people, harness innovation and creativity, and foster a culture of sustainability within and beyond the university.
More than 1,000 community members have participated in the Sustainability Strategy process since it began in the fall term. The consultation process kicked off with a community-wide visioning workshop, which was followed by a student workshop and additional workshops in key focus areas such as operations, curriculum, research, administration and social justice & human rights. This was followed by presentations that were made to each faculty council and a community-wide survey that was administered during the month of April.
Each open forum session will begin with a presentation on the Sustainability Strategy, followed by a Q&A session. Community members are invited to come for all or any part of the open forums.
Open Forum
Date
Time
Location
Keele campus
May 31
10am – 12pm
Kaneff Tower 626
Glendon campus
May 31
2pm – 4pm
York Hall A304
If you are interested in attending either of the sessions, please RSVP via the following links:
Open forums next week on the draft Sustainability Strategy
Share
Vari Hall
York University is hosting two open forums on Wednesday, May 31 to discuss the draft Sustainability Strategy that will guide the University in advancing sustainability into the near and long-term future. The purpose of the strategy is to communicate and implement a shared vision, inspire positive change, build capacity, empower people, harness innovation and creativity, and foster a culture of sustainability within and beyond the university.
More than 1,000 community members have participated in the Sustainability Strategy process since it began in the fall term. The consultation process kicked off with a community-wide visioning workshop, which was followed by a student workshop and additional workshops in key focus areas such as operations, curriculum, research, administration and social justice & human rights. This was followed by presentations that were made to each faculty council and a community-wide survey that was administered during the month of April.
Each open forum session will begin with a presentation on the Sustainability Strategy, followed by a Q&A session. Community members are invited to come for all or any part of the open forums.
Open Forum
Date
Time
Location
Keele campus
May 31
10am – 12pm
Kaneff Tower 626
Glendon campus
May 31
2pm – 4pm
York Hall A304
If you are interested in attending either of the sessions, please RSVP via the following links:
Professor Idil Boran holds panel at Bonn Climate Change Conference
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York University philosophy Professor Idil Boran held an official panel at the Bonn Climate Change Conference on building trust and inclusiveness in non-party stakeholder engagement in global climate action.
Idil Boran
An official side event of the 10-day UN climate conference running May 8 to 18, the panel “Marrakech Partnership: Building Trust and Inclusiveness in Non-Party Stakeholder Engagement” was held on Saturday, May 13 in Bonn, Germany. The panel was organized by Boran in partnership with Colorado State University and in collaboration with York University Faculty of Science Professor Dawn Bazely.
The panel brought together researchers across disciplines from Canada, the U.S., India, Germany and regional government representatives.
At this event, researchers and practitioners discussed the role of multi-stakeholder dialogues under the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action. They also discussed how new forums for non-party stakeholders can help address the climate action ambition gap and link climate action to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The Paris Agreement came into force in 2016. Now, work is underway for its implementation,” said Boran. “There is a clear sense that a strong and comprehensive global climate pathway requires building inter-linkages between governments, sub-national, regional, non-party actors and Indigenous communities. There is also much interest in connecting climate action to sustainable development goals.”
The global climate effort is becoming increasingly more inclusive, she said, which presents an enormous potential; however, this new scope of action is also uncharted territory. Because of this, new questions arise on how to achieve inclusiveness and fair representation of diverse voices, and how to build relationships of trust between diverse actors on a transnational scale.
“Philosophy has always been about tackling the toughest problems and search, against all odds, for a common ground to find answers. It was always meant to be a conversation with people from diverse backgrounds and with different skill sets,” said Boran. “It is deeply moving to be able to interact with practitioners, policy-makers, and researchers with a wide range of expertise and experiences. Doing so gives a sense of working together in a way that was not previously imaginable.”
This event is part of a larger research project led by Boran, who is set to spend three months in Bonn this summer and fall during her sabbatical research leave starting in July. During this time, Boran will work with an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the German Development Institute – Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik in Bonn. This will be followed by two more months as a researcher in residence at the Centre for Excellence – Normative Orders, Goethe University in Frankfurt/Main, where she will be working on her research manuscript. The objective is to develop a political theory of a global public sphere of climate action.
For questions about Boran’s research project, contact iboran@yorku.ca.
A reminder to unplug! Save energy, turn off computers and appliances before the long weekend
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Unplug
York community members are reminded to switch off and unplug before leaving for the Victoria Day long weekend. It is also a good time to remind others in your area about the importance of shutting down computers, lights, small office or kitchen appliances and other personal electronics before leaving the office.
This simple gesture can yield tremendous results, given that staff and faculty operate more than 8,000 computers, and together the Keele and Glendon campuses have more than 140,000 internal lights.
The ability to shut down certain electrical devices will vary depending on departmental requirements.
Three of York’s Lassonde School of Engineering Geomatics students – Stephen Kosmachuk, Justine Abdelshahid and Benjamin Brunson – have been selected as the winners of the 2017 Esri Canada Centre of Excellence (ECCE) App Challenge.
The App Challenge is an annual event for students studying at higher education institutes that are members of the ECCE program.
Lassonde students Stephen Kosmachuk, Justine Abdelshahid and Benjamin Brunson
The primary objective of the event is to challenge students to use their technical Geographic Information Systems (GIS) knowledge, creativity and ability to innovate and work together to produce a relevant and functional app using the Esri platform. This year’s theme was sustainable transportation.
Deteriorating transportation infrastructure is becoming an increasingly important issue in aging cities. Lassonde’s team developed an app that seeks to satisfy the need to gather and analyze crucial traffic hazard data on a continuous basis.
This will provide the public with a means to report traffic hazards to city officials and to provide urban planning experts with a means of intuitively organizing and analyzing the crowd-sourced information. Their app can be accessed here: https://esricanada-ce.github.io/ecce-app-challenge-2017/Team_Sweet_e_Motion/app.
The three Lassonde students have won a trip to the 2017 Esri User Conference in San Diego.
York University named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for 2017
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EARTHdayFEATURED
For the fifth year in a row, York University has been named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers. The announcement was made on April 21 at the University’s Earth Day celebrations by President-designate Rhonda Lenton.
“For the past four years, York has been named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers, and I am delighted to announce today that we have once again been named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for 2017, for our fifth consecutive year,” said Lenton. “This is a very exclusive list, with only a small handful of universities and colleges, and I think this achievement is a testament to the excellent work that has been happening here at York.”
President-designate Rhonda Lenton announced the Canada’s Greenest Employer 2017 designation during Earth Day events on April 21
The University was named along with 69 other organizations in a competition organized by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers project.
Employers were evaluated and ranked on their unique environmental initiatives and programs, success in reducing environmental footprints and employee involvement in sustainability efforts.
The Canada’s Greenest Employers distinction specifically recognizes York University for its Energy Management Program (a $40 million initiative that has reduced energy consumption by 30 per cent), the University’s Green Office, which encourages staff, faculty and students to volunteer as sustainability ambassadors and help manage various campus events focused on sustainability. It also noted the formation and work done by the President’s Sustainability Council, and the phasing out of the sale of disposable water bottles on campus. The program praised ZeroWaste, York’s formal waste reduction program that was established in 1990, which has achieved a 68 per cent waste diversion, eclipsing the original goal of 50 per cent by 2000.
Employers who make the Canada’s Greenest Employers list have developed exceptional, earth-friendly initiatives and are actively attracting people to their organizations because of their environmental leadership.
Adding the logo to your email signature
Members of the York University community can now include the 2017 Canada’s Greenest Employers logo in their email signatures.
Note that older versions of the logo from 2013 to 2016 can no longer be used, and should be removed from signatures when adding the new 2017 logo. Older versions of the logo should also be removed from websites and replaced with the 2017 logo.
Copy the logo to your hard drive by right-clicking on the logo and choosing “Save image as… “
Create your signature in Notes if you don’t have one already:
From the Actions menu, select More and click on Preferences…
Click on the Signature
Check the box for Automatically append a signature to the bottom of my outgoing email messages.
Make sure T (Text) is selected.
Type your signature in the space provided.
Add the logo to your signature:
Place the cursor where you want to place the logo (It would be better to create a new line at the bottom of your signature).
Change the T (Text) to Graphics by clicking on T and selecting Graphics.
Click on the Tree icon and navigate to where you have saved the logo on your hard drive and click Import.
Click OK.
Alternative way:
Update the following signature with your information
Select it and copy it to your clipboard.
Paste it into your signature box and press OK.
First name Last name • Title
Department, Division
YORK UNIVERSITY
Building •4700 Keele Street
Toronto ON •Canada M3J 1P3
T 416.736.xxxx F 416.736.xxxx
email@yorku.ca
Earth Day event celebrates York U’s sustainability leaders
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Martin Bunch, chair of the President’s Sustainability Council
The fourth annual President’s Sustainability Leadership Awards reception was held on Friday, April 21 in advance of Earth Day. The celebration took place at the new Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence at the Keele campus.
As part of the Earth Day event, it was revealed that for the fifth year running, York University was named among Canada’s top 100 Greenest Employers.
It also was announced that the Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence building, which is also known as “The Cloud” had received a coveted Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold designation. LEED is a third-party green building rating system used in over 160 countries.
Michael Kenny, PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Education; the Las Nubes Student Association; Joseph Sanguedolce, manager of custodial services; and Biology Professor Dawn Bazely were named recipients of the President’s Sustainability Leadership Awards by Faculty of Environmental Studies Professor Martin Bunch, who is chair of the President’s Sustainability Council. York Vice-President Academic and Provost Rhonda Lenton, who is the president-designate, presented the awards on behalf of President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri (who was unable to attend the reception). The awards consisted of a keepsake copy of a book on Las Nubes that was donated by the York University Bookstore, and a plaque bearing the recipient’s name. The plaques are being made out of reclaimed wood, which is consistent with the mission of sustainability.
Michael Kenny
From left: President-designate Rhonda Lenton, York PhD student Michael Kenny and Martin Bunch, chair of the President’s Sustainability Council
Michael Kenny has studied at York University since 2008 and is now nearing the completion of his third degree, a PhD this time. He has dedicated countless hours over the past nine years to improving sustainability at York
Kenny is a co-founder of Regenesis York, which has had an impressive record of sustainability initiatives and success under his leadership, including a student levy to support its sustainability work, a popular farmers’ market, a campus free store, a borrowing centre and more than one hundred sustainability-related events, including campus clean-ups, documentary film screenings, tree plantings and public talks.
He is being acknowledged for his success in building relationships with York University administrators to pursue sustainability at York and for his mentorship of younger students, who then go on to become champions for sustainability.
The Las Nubes Student Association
From left: President-designate Rhonda Lenton, Las Nubes Student Association representative Eric Rapelje and Martin Bunch, chair of the President’s Sustainability Council
The Las Nubes Student Association has worked to create greater accessibility for Las Nubes research, to provide York an option for fair trade sustainable coffee on campus and has helped to create opportunities for people to get involved in sustainable initiatives on campus and abroad.
The students are a constant presence in the Health Nursing and Environmental Studies Building and at events on campus where they raise funds to support sustainability initiatives associated with York University’s ecocampus, the Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor and the community partners in Costa Rica.
They have engaged with local Toronto artisans and sold their products at the Las Nubes Silent Auction, used coffee grinds to create coffee body scrubs, eliminating any waste involved in coffee production, and recently, they gave up their entire evening to volunteer at the Fisher Fund Wine Auction that raises funds for the Las Nubes Project. At the auction, they also acted as ambassadors for the University and offered a shining example of the quality, energy and dedication of York students.
Joseph Sanguedolce
From left: President-designate Rhonda Lenton, Joseph Sanguedolce, manager of custodial services, CSBO, and Martin Bunch, chair of the President’s Sustainability Council
Joseph Sanguedolce has made great efforts to support the ongoing green cleaning initiatives for York University. In addition, he is credited for continuing the process of positive change. His efforts include the reduction of the use of garbage bags, utilizing environmentally safer cleaning products, and driving the shift from paper towels to hand dryers at York University’s Keele and Glendon campuses.
In particular, he has been a key figure in implementing and supporting the ongoing efforts to make the University’s Zero Waste Program the success that it is today. Program support through Custodial Services was the primary requirement for Zero Waste to thrive and Sanguedolce was a key factor in this success.
In addition to implementing the program, he is constantly researching and sourcing new, more environmentally sustainable Green Cleaning Products.
Dawn Bazely
From left: President-designate Rhonda Lenton, Helen Psathas, director of environmental design and sustainability, and Martin Bunch, chair of the President’s Sustainability Council. Psathas accepted the award for Professor Dawn Bazely who could not attend the reception due to a previous commitment.
Professor Dawn Bazley, who teaches in the Department of Biology in the Faculty of Science, has made impressive and sustained contributions to sustainability research, teaching and outreach at York University. She has a record of outstanding teaching, is a highly regarded expert and leader in social media communications, and pursues knowledge mobilization activities and networking on climate change, global sustainability, environmental protection, and public engagement.
Dawn Bazely
She has demonstrated leadership in sustainability in many ways, including leading and championing many research and education projects on York University’s campuses. She championed and led the application process to certify York University as an official “civil society observer” of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change process, which made it possible for York U representatives to attend as delegates at the annual Conferences of the Parties (COPs).
Particularly impressive is her ability to build bridges between the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, and to bring non-governmental organizations, student groups, University staff and others into productive collaborations to advance sustainability at York, in the local community, in Canada and beyond.
York faculty, staff and students take part in the March for Science
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Earth Day (April 22) saw scientists from around the world take part in the March for Science, an event to highlight and celebrate the importance of science in our lives.
The event brought researchers, citizen scientists, academics and science buffs of all ages to the streets to demonstrate and defend the vital role science plays in our health, safety, economies and governments.
York U faculty, staff and students took part in Saturday’s March for Science in Toronto. Photo courtesy: Laurence Harris
Marches took place in 600 cities in 68 countries. The protest was mobilized to protest the policies of American President Donald Trump, who has slashed funding scientists and for climate change research, along with many other areas including deep cuts of more than 20 per cent to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Some 3,000 people took part in the Toronto March for Science, which closed Bay Street in downtown Toronto.
York University faculty, staff and students were in the thick of it. York Librarian John Dupuis was one of the keynote presenters at the Toronto March for Science. Dupuis is currently a science and engineering librarian at York University’s Steacie Library. Since 2013, he has been using his librarian superpowers to keep track of how governments are ignoring scientific and other evidence in their decision making or attacking science and the environment in their policies, first with the Stephen Harper Conservatives here in Canada and now Trump in the USA. He blogs at Confessions of a Science Librarian and tweets at @dupuisj.
More about the March for Science
The March for Science champions robustly funded and publicly communicated science as a pillar of human freedom and prosperity. Scientists around the world have united as a diverse, nonpartisan group to call for science that upholds the common good and for political leaders and policy makers to enact evidence-based policies in the public interest.
The March for Science is not only about scientists and politicians; it is about the very real role that science plays in each of our lives and the need to respect and encourage research that gives us insight into the world.
The event was not without controversy in that it has generated a great deal of conversation around whether or not scientists should involve themselves in politics. In the face of an alarming trend toward discrediting scientific consensus and restricting scientific discovery, scientists worldwide have a unified reply: “There is no Planet B.”
President’s Sustainability Leadership Awards to be presented on Earth Day
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EARTHdayFEATURED
York University’s 2017 Earth Day celebration will take place on Friday, April 21 from 11am to 12pm in the main floor lounge of the Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence.
The event will feature the presentation of the 2017 President’s Sustainability Leadership Awards, along with some announcements about sustainability initiatives at York University. Local, Fair Trade and organic refreshments will be served and faculty, staff and students are welcome to attend.
Created to celebrate the many champions of sustainability at York, the President’s Sustainability Leadership Awards recognize students, faculty and staff who are contributing to making the University a leader in sustainability among postsecondary institutions. This is the fourth year of the awards, with 15 awards given out over the past three years.
Following the event, community members are invited to participate in the annual 20-minute campus clean-up event at the Keele and Glendon campuses. The campus clean up starts at 2pm.
More information on the campus clean up, including a map of meeting spots, can be found here.
ving for the Canada Day long weekend. It is also a good time to remind others in your area about the importance of shutting down computers, lights, small office or kitchen appliances and other personal electronics before leaving the office.
For the fifth year in a row, York University has been named one of 
First name Last name • Title
York University’s 2017 Earth Day celebration will take place on Friday, April 21 from 11am to 12pm in the main floor lounge of the Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence.
