Textiles are one of the largest growing waste streams in the world and are expected to continue to grow due to more frequent consumption and greater demand from “fast fashion”. The objectives of this report are to provide research knowledge regarding mechanical and chemical textile recycling technologies commercially available and under development for prevalent fibres used in industry (polyester, nylon, cotton, wool), and potential impacts of dyes and finishing chemicals on recycling processes.

Partner: Metro Van
Keywords: waste management & recycling

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2018
Katherine Le

This project estimates the quantity of fat, oil, and grease (FOG) from household food waste entering the regional wastewater system of Metro Vancouver. The FOG loadings were calculated using data from food diaries where the residents of the region registered the food they disposed of ‘down the drain’ (i.e., through sinks, food grinders, and toilets), and the fat content of the food, using nutritional information databases. 

Partner: Metro Van
Keywords: food systems, waste management & recycling, water

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2018
Marco Vazquez Perez

For this project, a literature review was first conducted on the current use of surfactants in commercial products. Next a database was developed based on inventories taken from grocery stores, pharmacies, and general stores around Metro Vancouver with a focus on down-the-drain products containing high concentrations of surfactants. The ingredients of each consumer product were classified into specific surfactant groups and analyzed for potential load on Metro Vancouver's Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs), ecological toxicity, and methods for removing them from the wastewater stream.

Partner: Metro Van
Keywords: waste management & recycling, water

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2018
Jason Asnis

Transportation accounts for 42% of the Vancouver region’s total greenhouse gas emissions. While efforts to encourage alternative modes of transportation are ongoing, the private automobile is still the dominate mode of transportation in the Vancouver region and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Metro Vancouver is prioritizing the electrification of vehicles at both the corporate and regional level. This report aims to provide insight into best practices in EV adoption strategies in order to inform the development of a Metro Vancouver Electric Vehicle Roadmap.

Partner: Metro Van
Keywords: transportation

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2018
Sean Bailey

Dog waste has a high pathogen content and treatment methods must ensure that the potential to adversely impact human or environmental health is eliminated. Additionally, the sustainability of the program needs to be ensured by assessing the potential environmental, economic and social impacts as well as the logistical and regulatory considerations. In this study, the current management method in Metro Vancouver is evaluated alongside other treatment options.

Partner: Metro Van
Keywords: waste management & recycling

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2018
Kaitlin Lovering

Fungal pathogens are natural components of healthy forest ecosystems, nevertheless, they can have a negative environmental and ecological impact when large areas of forest are affected. The purpose of this project was to estimate the extent and virulence of K. deusta in the Metro Vancouver region, to characterize the rate of spread of the disease within and between trees, to determine if climate change may be a contributing factor to its virulence, and to identify strategies for the management of the disease within Regional Parks.

Partner: Metro Van
Keywords: ecological systems

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2018
Marieta Marin Bruzos

A leading education institution, the region’s largest employer, and a pseudo-municipality, the University of British Columbia (UBC) boasts a complex campus food system. Achieving sustainability in this sector is key not only to achieving the institution’s own health and environmental goals but affecting change at other levels of government. However, understanding the breadth of this system is challenging. Using an asset mapping methodology, this project visualizes UBC’s food landscape, focusing on what it has and in the process, illuminating gaps.

Partner: UBC Wellbeing
Keywords: food systems, sustainability in education

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2018
Wendee Lang

Beverage choices are influenced by the “food environment,” which is characterized by the variety, price and quality of food and beverage options present at the consumer level (National Collaborating Center for Environmental Health, 2015). The UBC Okanagan campus is unique in its setting and food environment. This is a preliminary report on the administration of the Perceptions of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Survey at UBC Okanagan. The final results from this project will inform implementation of a Healthy Beverage Initiative (HBI)  and guide the development of strategies that specifically enhance UBC Okanagan’s environment.

Partner: UBC Wellbeing & UBCO, Voice 4
Keywords: food systems, sustainability in education

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2018
Morgan Alford

This literature review explores the concepts of inclusive education and inclusive teaching within the scholarly literature from several different approaches and perspectives to help contribute to building a foundational understanding of what it means to engage in inclusive teaching in a university setting, and more specifically, to help create a shared understanding of what inclusive teaching could mean for the larger project of Inclusive Excellence (IE) at UBC.

Partner: UBC Wellbeing & Student Diversity Initiative
Keywords: social sustainability, sustainability in education

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2018
Michelle Gautreaux

The purpose of the project was to develop a community resilience framework (CRF) and explore the ways in which the Centre for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) at UBC contributes to the various processes, experiences, and outcomes linked to community resilience. The CRF is intended to serve as an assessment tool that can be utilized to facilitate reflexivity and collaboration that will enable the Centre to orient its programming toward building community resilience.

Partner: UBC Wellbeing & Centre for Community Engaged Learning
Keywords: social sustainability

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2018
Amber Heckelman

The aim of this project is to identify areas of needed support and build capacity around Teaching Assistant (TA) wellness in departments across UBC. Professional development programs for university-level teaching assistants often don’t included formal lessons on maintaining TA wellness. This gap in training places university level teaching assistants at risk of experiencing more stress and inappropriately addressing teaching related experiences that have a negative impact on their wellness.

Partner: UBC Wellbeing & Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTLT)
Keywords: social sustainability, sustainability in education

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2018
Nicole Malette

The idea for a Community of Practice (CoP) to support UBC student and faculty wellbeing developed in response to faculty members expressing a need to have a platform for sharing knowledge on how they can promote student and faculty wellbeing. Additionally, this CoP acts as an avenue for faculty and staff to engage and develop a sense of community around the topic of wellbeing and show the connection between wellbeing and social sustainability.

Partner: UBC Wellbeing & Dept of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
Keywords: social sustainability, sustainability in education

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2018
Minnie Teng

UBC Wellbeing operates across both the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses with the goal of enhancing the general wellbeing of all students, staff, faculty, and other members of the university community. This project sought to support the implementation of a university-wide Wellbeing Strategy, which focused on several aspects of wellbeing that were identified as key priority areas. The Wellbeing Strategy aims to develop a vision of wellbeing across the campus community to be implemented over the coming years and decades.

Partner: UBC Wellbeing
Keywords: social sustainability, sustainability in education

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2018
Isabella Picui

This report details a project to study the applicability of the WELL Building standard to UBC’s academic context. This project will contribute to UBC’s growing body of information on building design principles that support health and wellbeing, as well as greater understanding of the feasibility of utilizing a health focused building standard tool. The results will be used to inform the development of UBC’s Green Building Plan and further academic research, and support strategies such as the Okanagan Charter and the 20-year Sustainability Strategy. 

Partner: UBC Wellbeing & USI (Urban Innovation Research)
Keywords: social sustainability, sustainability in education, green buildings

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2018
Mina Parsian

This report was commissioned to determine the successes and challenges of partner engagement in UBC Thrive. As an annual health promotion initiative, Thrive is aimed at promoting strategies for improving the mental health of students, staff, and faculty. Thrive partners include individuals from various student, staff, and faculty groups and departments.

Partner: UBC Wellbeing & UBC HR
Keywords: social sustainability, sustainability in education

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2018
Nandini Maharaj

Using insights from behavioural and social science research, and best practices in existing programs, this analysis examines different pathways to energy efficiency in the District of West Vancouver. Current trends suggest that energy efficiency programs have been shifting towards the integration of behavioural-based approaches to achieve more significant impact. The recommended behavioural program for the District combines three key dimensions—community-based, outreach and competitions.

Partner: District of West Vancouver
Keywords: green buildings, leadership & behaviour change

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2018
Reagan Rockzsdfforde

On-demand mobility services have been seen as a way to reduce the cost of transit while improving the customer experience by using technology to request a ride. In 2018, TransLink launched the Bowen Island Pilot Project to test on-demand services. This report serves as a best practice review of on-demand mobility services to assist with future implementation of on-demand service in the Metro Vancouver region. The recommendations in this report are directed towards Bowen Island, BC, but are applicable to other areas with similar characteristics.

Partner: TransLink
Keywords: transportation

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2018
Zak Zenasni

A growing number of trips in Metro Vancouver are being taken through shared mobility providers such as bikesharing and carsharing. As these services become ever more present in our cities, and accessed by customers with mobile phones, the travel data generated has been flagged by regulators and transportation authorities as potentially valuable. To date, the data generated from these services has been sporadic and inconsistent. This report summarizes challenges with sharing data and examines several emerging technologies that could be part of a standardized sharing solution.

Partner: TransLink
Keywords: transportation

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2018
Rainer Lempert

This project explores the concept of mobility hubs in an effort to implement strategies and initiatives that prioritize low emission transportation modes in the long term. In existing research, mobility hubs are often defined as areas where a variety of sustainable transportation modes connect seamlessly. As such, hubs present an opportunity to integrate mobility options that utilize new transportation technology to help enhance user experience and travel resiliency to help cover first and last mile travel.

Partner: TransLink
Keywords: transportation

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2018
Saki Aono

The UBC Food and Nutrition Committee is a diverse group of faculty, staff and students with interest and expertise in food systems and food security. The committee developed an Action Framework for a Nutritionally Sound Campus. To achieve this goal, a literature and best practices review was conducted to inform recommendations for measuring food insecurity prevalence within the UBC community.

Partner: UBC Wellbeing
Keywords: food systems, social sustainability

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2018
Sara Kozicky

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