The Sustainability Scholars Program is an innovative paid internship program. We match UBC graduate students with on- and off-campus sustainability partners to work on applied research projects that advance sustainability across the region.
Apply your research skills to real-world sustainability challenges
Get paid and gain valuable professional work experience
Develop applied skills and knowledge under the guidance of a mentor
Build your professional network and enhance your career prospects

How It Works

The program is open to full-time UBC graduate students from any program or discipline. As a Sustainability Scholar, you work under the guidance of a mentor on an applied research project that supports their organization's sustainability goals.
learn more

Apply

UBC Sustainability Scholars work on applied research projects across a wide range of environmental, economic and social sustainability topics. See our list of current paid internship opportunities.
Learn more

Project Library

The Scholars Project Library contains hundreds of reports, charts, tool-kits, and more, documenting the applied research produced by Scholars since 2010. A useful body of knowledge to support further research around sustainability.
search now

Fraser Estuary Research Collaborative (FERC)

A new stream in the Sustainability Scholars Program focusing on applied research with the goal of restoring and protecting the endangered Fraser Estuary.
learn more

Partner with us

Partner organizations are essential to the UBC Sustainability Scholars Program. Partners provide work experience for UBC graduate students and benefit from their applied research.
Learn more

Meet the scholars

UBC Sustainability Scholars come from all kinds of backgrounds and academic disciplines. Scholars stand out for being passionate about sustainability, having a strong work ethic, and for their applied research skills.
Learn more

Fund scholars

Climate change, biodiversity loss, and growing inequality are some of the most urgent issues facing our world today. Support from donors will allow scholars to make a direct impact through organizations doing the on-the-ground work needed to address climate change and other critical sustainability challenges.
GIVE NOW

Program History

Sustainability Scholars’ projects have been helping to move the dial on sustainability across the region for over 10 years. Find out more about our history, milestones, and impact.
learn more

Project Library

Cultural considerations in private property tree planting

The primary objective of this report is to inform strategies for the City of Vancouver’s private property tree planting programs in order to help achieve Vancouver’s Greenest City target of 150,000 newly planted trees by 2020. This project examines cultural nuances, using interviews, surveys and relevant literature, within the Chinese and South Asian communities as they relate to private property tree planting.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: ecological systems, social sustainability

Ecological Systems
Human Well-being & Social Systems
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
PDF
2015
Gurtej Tung and Elaine Zeng

A Public Engagement Toolkit For Sea Level Rise

Coastal cities all over the world have begun planning for sea level rise out of the recognition of its potential impacts on our land, infrastructure and communities. Public participation is a key part of good planning processes; however, the scope and complexity of climate change demands that planners utilize innovative tools to communicate and engage with the public. This report includes the background, rationale and a roadmap to demonstrate how the recommended engagement tools can used in combination to achieve public participation on sea level rise. 

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: climate and renewables, leadership & behaviour change

Climate Change & Energy
Human Well-being & Social Systems
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
PDF
2015
Tina Barisky

New strategies for reducing potable water use in parks and golf courses

This report discusses the data that is collected by the city on water consumption in parks. The data itself, the collection process, storage, access and the people involved are included, along with some recommendations. 

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: lighter footprint, water

Production, Consumption & Waste
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
PDF
2015
Daniel Klein

A Work Commute Trip Reduction Strategy for The Vancouver Police Department: An Exploration of Opportunities and Barriers at the Graveley Campus

This report explores sustainable commuting options for the staff driving to and from the Vancouver Police Department’s (VPD) Graveley Campus. The VPD is striving to reduce its carbon footprint and by encouraging staff to “green” their commute, this project addresses both this goal and other strategies outlined in the 2015 VPD Business Plan.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: green transportation, transportation

Built Environment & Mobility
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
PDF
2015
Mania Nematifar

VF&RS Energy Usage Audit and Recommendations

This project is intended to help the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Service (VFRS) meet the City’s 2020 Green Buildings Goal. The report includes 1) an audit and assessment of current energy usage and practices at the firehalls; and 2) a technical analysis of recommendations for reducing GHG emissions. The results provide information to inform successful implementation of new systems, technologies, and best practices to reduce energy usage at the VFRS.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: green buildings, climate and renewables

Built Environment & Mobility
Climate Change & Energy
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
PDF
2015
Ashley Boulter

Developing an Outdoor Lighting Strategy for the City of Vancouver

Well-designed outdoor lighting can contribute to an accessible, healthy, and liveable city. At the same time, cities need to better understand and manage the negative impacts of unnecessary outdoor lighting at night on human health and safety, and on wildlife. The purpose of this project was to lay the groundwork for developing an outdoor lighting strategy by identifying precedents and best practices used in other jurisdictions and recommending ways City staff can move forward on the Vancouver Outdoor Lighting Strategy motion to council.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: climate and renewables

Climate Change & Energy
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
PDF
2015
Kathryn Lennon

Research to Support the Development of a Departmental Action Plan for Green Operations in Real Estate and Facilities Management

Vancouver has the goal of being the Greenest City in the world by 2020. In order to achieve this, the City has created both a public facing Greenest City Action Plan and an internal Green Operations Plan which looks at the City’s own operations. The Green Operations Plan includes both organization-wide Corporate Initiatives and more specific Departmental Action Plans. This report details the research conducted to develop a Departmental Action Plan for the Real Estate and Facilities Management department.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: green buildings, ecological systems, waste management & recycling

Built Environment & Mobility
Policy, Economics & Governance
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
PDF
2015
Andrea Bassett

Sustainable Procurement for Healthy Soils in Vancouver: Testing Compost Tea and Green Fertilizers

The Vancouver Park Board plays an important role in helping the City achieve its sustainability goals, and this includes the “greening” of Park Board operations through sustainable procurement and other means. This project includes the results from 1) testing a compost tea spray on golf greens with the aim of reducing overall fungicide required for maintaining high-quality golf greens; and 2) testing a selection of “green” fertilizers on a sports field with the aim of reducing overall fertilization required for maintenance of high‐quality sports fields.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: green buildings, social sustainability

Built Environment & Mobility
Ecological Systems
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
PDF
2015
Emme Lee

Developing a Rating System to Facilitate Greener Road Projects

This report outlines a sustainable infrastructure rating system to track the sustainability of the City of Vancouver’s infrastructure projects (primarily utility, sewer, water and road work) to provide direction to future projects. 

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: green buildings, green economy, sustainable development & green economy

Built Environment & Mobility
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
PDF
2015
Ariel Peixian Li

Identifying opportunities to green current practices in the design and construction operations of Engineering Services

This project focusses on the design and construction operations of the water, sewer and streets departments. The overall goal is to identify gaps in current practices and opportunities for using project management tools to address the identified gaps.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: green buildings, waste management & recycling, water

Built Environment & Mobility
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
PDF
2015
Raghav Grover

Coming to a Stop: All Ages and Abilities Bicycle Parking in New and Existing Development

Cycling is gaining speed in Vancouver, and ridership has increased significantly since 2008. Unfortunately, reports indicate that the quantity and quality of bicycle parking has been unable to match this upsurge in ridership. Issues such as bicycle theft, insufficient space, and inconvenient facility locations are frustrating cyclists and threatening to slow the gains in cycling mode share. This report aims to address these issues by focusing on off-street, residential bicycle parking, which is an area of particular concern amongst cyclists. 

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: green transportation, transportation

Built Environment & Mobility
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
PDF
2015
Patrick Bell

Form Follows Parking: using shared parking to mitigate negative impacts of excess parking

The report examines strategies used by cities from around the world to maximize the use of existing parking infrastructure in an effort to reduce the need for future parking construction and promote other forms of travel. These outlined strategies will then be applied to the West End neighbourhood in Vancouver in order to demonstrate how progressive parking policies can relieve parking shortages while still promoting the City’s sustainable transportation initiatives. 

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: green transportation, leadership & behaviour change, transportation

Built Environment & Mobility
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
PDF
2015
Neal Abbott

AAA Bike Facilities on Commercial High Streets and Pedestrian-Priority Spaces

This report focuses on the best practices of design, engagement, and evaluation of all-ages and abilities cycling facilities on commercial high streets and pedestrian-priority spaces to ensure safe, comfortable, and convenient cycling to destinations.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: green transportation, transportation

Built Environment & Mobility
Human Well-being & Social Systems
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
PDF
2015
Alix Krahn

Transportation Network Companies and the Ridesourcing Industry

New technological innovations in the passenger transportation industry in the form of “ridesourcing services” (also known as “ridesharing”) are disrupting and transforming the taxi industry. Using available research and data, this study reviews all the documented impacts of Uber, and how governments in North America are developing new approaches to regulate the emerging and controversial ridesourcing/ridesharing industry. 

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: green transportation, transportation

Built Environment & Mobility
Data & Technology
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
PDF
2015
Victor Ngo

Urban Agriculture Garden Guide

“Growing more food in the city” was identified as part of the City of Vancouver’s Greenest City 2020 Action Plan. Various steps have been taken to better support and work with residents and community groups that are interested in establishing food growing spaces in order to promote healthy urban systems and active living and wellness. This urban agriculture manual is intended to provide the necessary information to successfully apply for, design and construct an Urban Agriculture Project on City of Vancouver publicly owned land. 

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: local food, ecological systems, food systems

Built Environment & Mobility
Human Well-being & Social Systems
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
PDF
2015
Anezka Gocova

Application of Thermal Conversion Technologies to Demolition, Land Clearing and Construction (DLC) Waste at the Vancouver Landfill in Delta, British Columbia, Canada

This report includes 1) an assessment of the future composition and quantity of demolition, land clearing and construction waste in the Vancouver Landfill (VLF); 2) the chemistry of the wood waste at the VLF; and 3) a review of the applicability of common thermal conversion techniques (including incineration, gasification and pyrolysis) for wood waste treatment. 

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: zero waste, waste management & recycling

Production, Consumption & Waste
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
PDF
2015
Maryam Zoughi

Non-Market Multi-Family Housing Energy Retrofit Analysis

The City of Vancouver currently has 24,950 non-market housing units spread over 484 housing projects operated by 208 different organizations, and is actively pursuing the addition of 5,000 new housing units to their stock. The majority of these units were built between 1950 and 2000 and considering the advancements of mechanical equipment to cool and heat buildings built since then, these buildings have potential for energy savings and reduction of GHG emissions. This report includes a non-market multi-family housing energy retrofit analysis, and includes information on the state of the housing sector, current programs, energy efficiency retrofit program case examples, and recommendations. 

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: climate and renewables, green buildings

Built Environment & Mobility
Climate Change & Energy
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
PDF
2015
Hooman Shahrokhi

Opportunities and Regulatory Barrier for the Reuse of Salvaged Dimensional Lumber from Pre-1940s Houses

The report provides information for small project teams on how to access and process salvaged dimensional lumber. It also provides them with some recommended reuse opportunities for this lumber. In addition the report provides recommendations for the City of Vancouver and other governmental organizations to incentivize and facilitate salvaged wood reuse.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: zero waste, green buildings, waste management & recycling

Built Environment & Mobility
Production, Consumption & Waste
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
PDF
2015
Zahra Teshnizi

Workplace health and wellbeing program at UBC

The Healthy Workplace Initiatives Program (HWIP) is a health promotion program implemented by Human Resources at UBC. It is designed to address the university’s goal of being an employee-centered, socially sustainable community, of which health and wellbeing is an important component. The purpose of this project was to provide insight into best practices in order to enhance the programming capacity and increase the rate of success of the HWIP. Research included a best practices review of over 120 peer-review articles and development of an improved evidenced-based version of a stress model for the Workplace Experiences Survey.

Partner: UBC
Keywords: social sustainability

Human Well-being & Social Systems
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
PDF
2015
Shayesteh Jahanfar

Inquiry into Positive Organizational Development: Understanding Human Resources (UBC) Approach and Contributions to Social Sustainability at UBC

In this project, we have aimed to understand further how UBC’s Human Resources department has utilized positive psychology, strengths-based inquiry, and Appreciative Inquiry into four of its leadership programs aimed at UBC faculty and staff, namely the  Academic Leadership Development Program (ALDP),the  Appreciative Leadership Program, Managing@UBC, and the Community Leadership Program (CLP).

Partner: UBC
Keywords: social sustainability, sustainability in education, leadership & behaviour change

Human Well-being & Social Systems
UBC Sustainability Scholars report
PDF
2015
Frances Narwaez

Pages