Announcing the President's Sustainability Council
Dear Western Community,
Western has been a leader in many areas of environmental sustainability since it established the nation鈥檚 first College of the Environment in 1969. In 2017, we adopted a Sustainability Action Plan (SAP) with extensive engagement from students, staff, and faculty. The Sustainability Advisory Committee worked with university-specific departments and committees on campus as well as business organizations and government agencies in the community to produce a robust 20-year plan. We are grateful for their dedicated work. The full SAP document and annual reports can be found here: .
Western鈥檚 path to a sustainable future requires bold action, and so most recently we have established a Sustainability Engagement Institute led by Director Dr. Grace Wang. will provide leadership and collaboration on the SAP implementation and hold the university community accountable on progress toward a more environmentally sustainable and resilient campus. Our vision for sustainability honors the way sustainability is interconnected with our core values around social and economic justice. While living wages and social justice may seem distantly connected to carbon emissions, a sufficiently global and informed perspective reveals that a truly sustainable world must be as just as it is green.
Recognizing that the SAP has a 20-year timeline and that the work requires re-calibration and fine-tuning as we continue to learn news ways to address sustainability and become more resilient, I have decided to appoint a President鈥檚 Sustainability Council to coordinate the work across campus. I鈥檝e asked Dr. Wang to chair the Council which will include representation from across the university. The Council charge and charter can be found .
I have asked the Provost and Vice Presidents to recommend individuals, who by the nature of their positions, should serve on the Council. If you have interest in serving on this Council, please contact your VP or your shared governance representative.
Sincerely,
Sabah Randhawa