Student Initiative Launches Concordia Campus Sustainability Assessment
(Press release from Sustainable Concordia)
MONTREAL, January 29, 2004 – Members of the Sustainable Concordia Project (SCP) will publicly launch the Concordia Campus Sustainability Assessment (CCSA) on February 3rd between noon and 2 pm in the atrium of the J.W. McConnell Library Building, 1400 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West, in the presence of university officials, students and government representatives.
Students from universities worldwide are currently producing sustainability audits, though the CCSA stands out as the most comprehensive assessment of its kind, focusing not only on environmental factors, but also social and economic criteria. Recently, a database of campus sustainability assessments was compiled by Western Michigan University researcher Andrew Nixon, in which the CCSA ranked second out of the nearly 1,200 entries considered. “The Concordia assessment is in several ways a significant achievement for the international campus sustainability movement. Never before has an assessment of a college or university taken such a complete look at the institution’s policies and practices as they relate to sustainability,” Nixon says.
The CCSA is a comprehensive 400-page document that assesses how Concordia University functions in regards to social, ecological and economic sustainability. As a starting point, this tool provides a ‘snapshot’ of the university, and is meant to challenge Concordia to become a more sustainable institution. The CCSA includes 10 chapters representing different and integrated aspects of sustainability. Each chapter begins with a global, Canadian, and specific Concordia context, and ends with a list of recommendations on how Concordia could achieve greater sustainability.
This assessment represents the work of over 100 Concordia students from diverse academic backgrounds as well as staff, faculty and administrators. The upcoming launch will recognize the success of this student driven collaboration, and acknowledge the extent of what a small group can achieve with unified university support. “I am tremendously impressed with the interest and support this project has generated from all levels and across all sectors of the university community. Rarely have I seen students, staff and faculty collaborate so effectively on a student initiated project,” says Susan Magor, Director of Environmental Health & Safety, and dedicated member of the Sustainable Concordia Project Advisory Committee.
Source :
Melissa Garcia-Lamarca, (514) 848-2424, ext. 5829 or
Vera-Maria Zissis, (514) 602-6878