Sustainability isn’t just the stuff of science labs and lecture halls these days; some of the province’s biggest post-secondary schools are also forging a greener path when it comes to campus operations and infrastructure.
At the University of British Columbia, a range of initiatives show that the school takes its pledge to the planet seriously.
Last February, for example, the school partnered with Nexterra Systems Corp. and GE Power & Water to install a biomass gasification system at its Vancouver campus.
The $26 million facility, set to complete next year, will produce 2 MW of clean, cost-effective electricity to offset the university’s power consumption and generate enough steam to displace up to 12% of the natural gas UBC uses for campus heating.
“We are undertaking this initiative because, as a leading research university, we believe it’s important to set ambitious standards to address the realities of climate change and show it can be done,” said president Stephen Toope. “UBC has the expertise and passion to make its commitment to sustainability a continuing reality through the integration of teaching, learning, research and operations and through innovative technologies and partnerships.”
The University of Northern British Columbia has also chosen Vancouver-based Nexterra to supply and install a turnkey biomass gasification system to heat its Prince George campus and anchor its new Northern Bioenergy Innovation Centre. The facility will convert locally sourced wood residue into clean-burning “syngas” that will displace up to 85% of the natural gas used to heat the campus. The project, which is jointly funded by the federal and provincial governments, is expected to be completed by late 2010.
Meantime, the school boasts an innovative, low-emissions system that burns wood pellets produced by local forestry companies to heat one of its laboratories.
“Both systems are models for Canada and, indeed, North America,” said UNBC president George Iwama. “They are models for using local, renewable energy. They are models for energy efficiency and ultra-low emissions. They are models for how to integrate campus operations into teaching and research that is of tremendous value for our region.”
On Vancouver Island, the University of Victoria is also a hub of sustainable activity. Thanks to myriad green initiatives – among them sustainable transportation options (including a green vehicle fleet, cycling infrastructure and subsidized bus passes), food-waste composting initiatives and a campus-wide green cleaning products program – the school was recognized as one of Canada’s 50 greenest employers for 2010 by Eluta.ca.
“We are very pleased to have been chosen,” said Neil Connelly, director of campus planning and sustainability. “The award recognizes UVic’s strong commitment to integrating sustainability initiatives throughout our operations and across our campus, guided by the university’s sustainability policy and action plan.”
At Okanagan College, which has campuses in Kelowna, Penticton, Salmon Arm and Vernon, a group of staff and students is making strides toward becoming a sustainable institution.
Through its Three Steps Forward project, the college has implemented programs to increase recycling on campus, set new sustainability requirements for food-services operators and stocked its bookstores’ shelves with bamboo and soy clothing, as well as recyclable and compostable school supplies.
Additionally, in Kelowna, Okanagan College is working to complete construction on the city’s first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold-certified building.
When building wraps up in March, the 70,000-square-foot Centre for Learning – with electrical energy supplied in part by renewable resources, and heating and ventilation supported by a geothermal system that uses waste heat from an adjacent sewage treatment plan – will house approximately 800 students, creating an estimated $41 million in additional economic impact for the region annually.