A new report highlights opportunities for Concordia to amplify its sustainability impact
As part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability, Concordia recently released findings from its Voluntary University Review (VUR), an institutional self-assessment that began in 2021.
The resulting report offers crucial insights into how the university can maximize its impact and engagement in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It documents Concordia’s current activities related to the 17 SDGs and identifies ways to deepen the university’s contributions to global efforts to promote equity, security, well-being and respect for planetary limits.
The findings are based on extensive consultation and analysis with the Concordia community through various activities, including the 17 Rooms exercise.
“The daunting nature of the challenges the world faces makes it vitally important that we, as a place of research and learning, but also as a large, socially responsible institution, lean into the work that the SDGs challenge and inspire us to do,” says Concordia President Graham Carr.
“This work is about more than a few spotlight initiatives. It’s about using all of our resources and capacities — our research, creation, teaching, procurement and campus operations to amplify our positive societal and environmental impacts.”
Michael Di Grappa, vice-president of services and sustainability, notes that the report comes at an opportune time. “The VUR is a valuable contribution to our thinking about what we can and should prioritize under a renewed Sustainability Action Plan, which the Office of Sustainability will be working on in 2025.
“We accomplished a lot under the first plan, and the VUR identifies areas we can target for further development in our next action plan.”
Key recommendations
Through in-depth consultations, three key recommendations emerged to enhance Concordia’s overall capacity for sustainable impact:
- Establish an SDGs-aligned impact agenda for Concordia that identifies priority areas for coordinated institutional action based on documented strengths.
- Organize the required infrastructure to deliver on this agenda, including increased support for research impact, cross-department teaching and campus-based projects.
- Develop new ways to ensure progress on and accountability for the agenda, including through robust indicators, progress reporting practices and stakeholder feedback loops.
In addition to identifying areas of concentrated activity, the report identifies gaps, opportunities and areas of strong community interest related to specific SDGs.
Gaps and opportunities
- Develop concerted strategies to address the effects of poverty on members of the university community.
- Deepen efforts around access to university education for underrepresented students.
- Organize work addressing inequalities more effectively.
- Equip students, employers and communities for transitions to a green and circular economy.
- Intensify collaborations and education linked to climate action.
- Formulate an institutional strategy related to preserving biodiversity.
“We should, and we must strengthen our commitment to what the VUR calls sustainable impact, that is, making tangible contributions to our society’s efforts related to just and sustainable transitions,” says Anne Whitelaw, provost and vice-president, academic.
Even in a period of fiscal constraint, we can find creative ways to make a difference, both individually and collectively.”
‘Charting a course for even greater impact’
The VUR exercise has already helped to spur action.
In early 2022, the Office of the Vice-President, Research, Innovation and Impact launched the Sustainable Transitions Team Research Initiative. It provides seed funding and dedicated support and training for interdisciplinary research team projects related to the 17 SDGs.
“In recent years, we have made significant advances in our research and graduate studies that align with the SDGs,” says Effrosyni (Faye) Diamantoudi, interim vice-president of research, innovation and impact. “The VUR helps us chart a course for even greater impact.”
Building on insights from the VUR consultation process, the office also recently launched Pathways to Impact, an initiative designed to support researchers and research institutes in maximizing the societal, environmental and scientific influence of their work.
Plans for additional VUR follow-up efforts are already underway, including the development of cross-cutting initiatives to address some of the gaps and opportunities identified in the report, a new campus lab program, a co-teaching initiative and a libraries-led open data initiative.
Learn more about Concordia’s Sustainable Development Goals.
