Office of Sustainability Thrives at The University of Calgary: Partner Q and A

The University of Calgary has been a key Partner in the imagineCALGARY project, and is a leader in the sustainability arena. Joanne Perdue, Director of Sustainability at the University, recently shared her perspective on the role of the imagineCALGARY Partnership, the imagineCALGARY Plan and sustainability issues in general.

Q	Has the imagineCALGARY Plan influenced the development of The University of Calgary’s Office of Sustainability?
A	The University of Calgary’s campus sustainability initiative has been evolving for a number of years. Over the past year, since the inception of the Office of Sustainability, The University of Calgary has been focused on articulating a comprehensive framework for campus sustainability, setting strategic goals and developing an operational structure to move forward. The imagineCALGARY Plan provides a comprehensive comparative reference point that allows us to assess how well The University of Calgary’s goals align with the broader community goals. We can evaluate if we are on track, lagging, leading or missing elements.
Q	Overall, what benefits have you found in being involved in the imagineCALGARY Partnership?
A	Knowing there are 46 other organizations in the community striving for similar outcomes and working through the inevitable barriers is a powerful motivator. The potential scale of impact from our collective success is very inspiring.
Q	Do you see any particular challenges to using the imagineCALGARY Plan?
A	I would like to see a greater information exchange between Partners that are similar in size and operating contexts - perhaps annual or bi-annual progress reports and the opportunity for discussions at a working level on how organizations are specifically translating the goals into actions and overcoming barriers. An electronic newsletter or website with case studies on implementing specific initiatives that address imagineCALGARY targets is another option. An indirect challenge that The University of Calgary faces is that there are so many good programs that we would like to meaningfully participate in. For example, we are participating in a pilot project with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education to develop a comprehensive sustainability assessment tool for post secondary institutions. This is similar to LEED but addresses sustainability more comprehensively and in a context specific to educational campuses. Then there is LEED for new and existing buildings that provides another set of criteria and benchmarks. We have to be strategic in where we focus our resources to ensure we realize necessary progress.
Q	Would you encourage other organizations to become involved in the imagineCALGARY Partnership?
A	Yes. As an imagineCALGARY Partner, an organization can define its own roadmap for progress while participating in a collaborative effort that will define the future of this community. As imagineCALGARY evolves, the information exchange opportunities are tremendous which will strengthen the progress of each organization. Participation provides opportunities for learning from each other and for demonstrating organizational leadership.