Resource Library

This study explores how CCEL efforts have increased the overall capacity for faculty members to navigate through the effects of the pandemic while achieving their goals and expectations. With this project, CCEL seeks to understand how their support has helped faculty members in pivoting to online community engaged learning, and if the inclusion of elements of place-based learning, contributes to increased opportunity for students and partners to engage.

Partner: UBC Centre for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL)
Keywords: social sustainabilitycommunity engagement, education and learning

This project explores the opportunities in Canadian law towards the shift from the linear economy to the regenerative, circular and sharing economy. It examines how existing policies promoting environmental sustainability in Canada and Canadian substantive law - property law, intellectual property law, contract law, consumer protection law and corporate law, can be deployed and reformed to facilitate the transition to the regenerative, circular and sharing economy in Canada.

Partner: Ecojustice
Keywords: leadership & behaviour change, sustainable development & green economy, waste management & recycling

Racialized and Indigenous communities (and other historically marginalized groups) are often disproportionately impacted by pollution and unsustainable resource development. Through the development of an interactive dashboard with maps that chart racialized, Indigenous, and lower-income communities and highlight their proximity to industrial polluters such as toxic waste facilities, landfills, or other environmentally hazardous activities, and impactful resource development projects, the study seeks to track the disproportionate impacts of environmental harms on historically marginalized groups in British Columbia (BC). By identifying the environmental racism faced by communities in BC, West Coast Environmental Law seeks to target their environmental legal aid efforts better to support the environmental protection and sustainability of marginalized communities. 

Partner: West Coast Environmental Law
Keywords: environmental racism, environmental justice, climate justice

Sustainable Product and Service Factsheets help inform more environmental, ethical, and social purchasing decisions in large public institutions across Canada, including cities, universities, and government agencies. More Canadian organizations want to align their purchasing with their sustainability goals and their staff needs simple tools to make sustainable choices when purchasing thousands of products and services every day. 

Partner: Canadian Collaboration for Sustainable Procurement (CCSP)
Keywords: social sustainability, supply chain management & green procurement, sustainable development & green economy

City governments globally are recognizing the benefits of living with nature, and are launching efforts to protect and regrow urban biodiversity. However, these efforts can reinforce existing inequities,  through green gentrification or ecosystem disservices (for example). How might we build cities that are biophilic, just, and equitable? This project offers a framework for understanding urban social-ecological justice and offers a practical planning tool based on a scoping review.

Partner: Urban Biodiversity Society
Keywords: biodiversity, ecological systems, social sustainability

The purpose of this project is to improve the individual and collective wellbeing of Indigenous, Black and People of Colour (IBPOC) staff and faculty at UBC through development of a podcast series focused on IBPOC wellbeing, equity, and community.

Partner: UBC Athletics & Recreation
Keywords: leadership & behaviour change, social sustainability, equity, inclusion, BIPOC

This project aims to understand ways in which the resources, materials, and facilitator training for a family health promotion program known as Healthy Together can be optimized by partner organizations to work for newcomer immigrants to Canada. The findings from the project have informed several recommendations in which the materials and facilitator training can be adapted to facilitate delivery for newcomer families to Canada.

Partner: The Bridge Youth and Family Services
Keywords: food systems, leadership & behaviour change, social sustainability 

Applying an equity, inclusion, and reconciliation lens this project reflects on the biases and discrimination long-established in the Real Estate sector. It demonstrates how systems of oppression and injustice have been challenged within the sector, equipping individuals and organizations with access to resources and positive examples. Includes an annotated bibliography, list of resources, glossary of terms and examples of initiatives explored by members of the Social Purpose Real Estate Collaborative.

Partner: Social Purpose Real Estate Collaborative (SPEC)
Keywords: leadership & behaviour change, real estate sector

This research project includes a jurisdictional scan of income-qualified home retrofit programs across North America and makes recommendations for better practices for an equity-focused program delivery model. Furthermore, an in-depth analysis of BC Hydro and FortisBC's Energy Conservation Assistance Program (ECAP) is completed and supported by a customer journey map to illustrate points of stress in the ECAP customer journey.

Partner: Ecotrust Canada
Keyword: leadership & behaviour change, real estate sector, retrofits