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. Managed by the UBC Sustainability Hub.
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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Project Library

This project aims to develop and prototype a framework to evaluate justice and equity in climate policies at the City of Vancouver, including an exploration of participatory and collaborative methodologies. The prototype framework--developed via design thinking and an iterative approach--was delivered for internal use only. This executive summary includes key takeaways and recommendations to the City regarding best practices for equity evaluation in local government.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Funder: City of Vancouver
Keywords: climate action, diversity, inclusion, healthy city, justice & equity, evaluation, climate justice

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2023
Alida Oegema Thomas

This project explores the City of North Vancouver's building inventory and retrofit strategies, aiming to streamline their emissions reduction and fortify climate resilience. The focus is on bridging gaps in building stock analysis by classifying major structures by use and size, refreshing the multi-family building database, and investigating retrofit practices from foremost municipalities in Canada. The insights garnered will guide the City's strategy for retrofitting its prominent structures.

Partner: City of North Vancouver
Funder: BC Hydro
Keywords: green buildings 

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2023
Amir Kari

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the current landscape of electric vehicle (EV) charging retrofits in Multi-Unit Residential Buildings (MURBs) to identify the major barriers to successful retrofit support programs. These barriers were then contextualized to the City of New Westminster and a set of recommendations were developed to inform and guide city staff as they develop an EV charger retrofit strategy for MURBs.  

Partner: City of New Westminster
Funder: BC Hydro
Keywords: sustainable development & green economy, transportation, electric vehicles

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2023
Drew Seguin

The objective of this project is to conduct research and summarize opportunities for local governments to promote food-growing in Multi-Unit Residential Buildings (MURBs). The project utilizes a literature review, policy scans, and interviews with communities and governments to identify successes, challenges, and suggestions for food cultivation initiatives. Includes recommendations for the Township of Langley to enhance food security and address the climate crisis through the implementation and practice of residential food cultivation

Partner: Township of Langley
Funder: Township of Langley
Keywords: food systems, green buildings, social sustainability 

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2023
Muh Syukron

This project aims to improve the health of existing and new street trees in hardscape infrastructure in Vancouver through evaluation of research and best practices, comparison of peer municipal practices and case studies, and analysis of current city trends. Recommendations are provided for Vancouver's existing design and management standards and specifications for below and at-ground practices for existing street trees, newly planted street trees, and current sidewalk and boulevard design.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Funder: City of Vancouver & UBC
Keywords: climate adaptation, green infrastructure, climate resilience, urban forests

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2023
Elliot Bellis

The project aimed to enhance biodiversity conservation messaging in the Fraser Estuary, effectively communicating conservation efforts amidst ongoing biodiversity threats. Its objective is to raise awareness, shape attitudes, and prompt action toward biodiversity conservation in the region. The project outlined a six-step approach to crafting and delivering tailored conservation messages, emphasizing credibility, framing, storytelling, visuals, connections, and co-benefits for diverse audiences.

Partner: Garden City Conservation Society
Funder: UBC
Keywords: biodiversity, ecological systems, leadership & behaviour change 

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2023
Qingyang Li

This report examines the relationship between farming practices and shorebird conservation on the Fraser River Delta and globally. It includes a description of shorebird ecology, an outline of the state of shorebird habitat and agricultural land use on the FRD, and an analysis of current research on shorebird conservation. It concludes with research-based recommendations for farming practices to improve habitat for resident and migratory shorebirds on the Fraser River Delta.

Partner: Bird Studies Canada
Funder: UBC (Sitka Foundation)
Keywords: biodiversity, ecological systems, food systems 

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2023
Vincent Steinfeld

Energy upgrades and retrofits have been identified as key measures to reduce energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the building sector in Canada. This study aims to assess the cost-effectiveness and environmental impacts of energy-efficient new build construction on the Musqueam Indian Reserve. The findings can help the indigenous community select economical building energy upgrade measures to reduce building energy use and associated GHG emissions.

Partner: Musqueam Indian Band
Funder: BC Hydro
Keywords: green buildings, sustainable development & green economy 

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2023
Haonan Zhang

Southern Resident killer whales are an endangered population of orcas living in the coastal waters of southern British Columbia and Washington state. With only 74 individuals remaining, timely and meaningful action to protect this population is of critical importance. This report identifies the limitations of the Species at Risk Act and argues for expanding Southern Resident killer whale critical habitat into the Fraser River watershed to include Chinook salmon tributaries.

Partner: Raincoast Conservation
Foundation Funder: UBC (Sitka Foundation)
Keywords: biodiversity, ecological systems, endangered species

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2023
Dane Pedersen

This report provides recommendations to the City of Vancouver for an envisioned Green Roof Asset Tracker tool and program that would allow the City to quantify and qualify the benefits of green roofs in Vancouver across diverse categories, including stormwater management, biodiversity support, and climate change mitigation. Recommendations for program operational requirements and features of a public-facing green roof map are made based on a mixed-methods approach involving case studies.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Funder: City of Vancouver & UBC
Keywords: green infrastructure, land use planning, climate resilience, green buildings, sustainable development & green economy, water 

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2023
Emily Edwards

This project reviews passive solutions for addressing overheating and potential barriers for cooling retrofits. Existing multi-family buildings contribute significantly to emissions and exacerbate the impact of extreme weather. To meet 2030 climate goals, prompt retrofitting is vital. The study evaluated options such as behavior change, natural ventilation, green roofs, white roofs, green walls, exterior shading, and window treatments based on effectiveness, ease of retrofit, and cost.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Funder: City of Vancouver & UBC
Keywords: climate action, low carbon buildings, climate resilience, biodiversity, green buildings 

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2023
Atiyeh Baratloo

The Museum of Vancouver leads the Sustainable Arts and Green Ecosystems Project (SAGE). SAGE is a partnership of museums, galleries and theatres collaborating on development of tools to advance sustainability and circular design, construction and de-construction of staged events and exhibitions. This project assesses the sustainability of materials commonly used in staged events: wood paneling, lumber, and paints. These findings will be incorporated into the SAGE Exhibition Planning and Design Toolkit. For information on the full SAGE Project please visit [link].

Partner: Museum of Vancouver
Funder: UBC  
Keywords: green buildings, waste management & recycling 

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2023
Arash Khodadad

This project provides recommendations to develop a zero emissions municipal buildings policy for the City of Port Moody through the study and research of similar policies from other municipalities and reports by other public organizations. The project suggests carbon balance calculation as the key framework of the policy, including operational, embodied, construction and avoided carbon emissions in an attempt to record emissions from the whole building life cycle of the municipal buildings.  

Partner: City of Port Moody
Funder: BC Hydro  
Keywords: green buildings, municipal buildings, zero carbon 

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2023
Ying Kuk Sonia Tsang

This educational resource is a toolkit for engaging adults in British Columbia and beyond in meaningful, locally situated, and long-term climate action. The resource is comprised of four modules: Building Socio-Emotional Resilience to Engage in Climate Action, Climate Communication, Climate Justice, and Local Problems and Solutions. Each unit is comprised of a variety of information, videos, and activities that engage participants in climate action.

Partner: British Columbia Sustainable Energy Association
Funder: UBC  
Keywords: leadership & behaviour change, sustainability in education, climate action

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2023
Gabrielle Edwards

The Township of Langley is exploring a shared micromobility pilot program in support of its sustainability and transportation objectives. This report examines the experience of municipal staff involved in similar work in other jurisdictions, explains the perspective of private shared micromobility operators, and profiles some potential pilot program areas. It then makes key recommendations for the design and scoping of any potential shared micromobility pilot program in the Township.

Partner: Township of Langley
Funder: Township of Langley
Keywords: transportation, micromobility, active transportation, e-bike, e-scooter

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2023
Ruofan Wang

This project aimed to provide recommendations for cities to implement equitable home energy retrofit programs. As cities increase home energy retrofits, the program outcomes must be fair and just for rental residents, property owners and managers while reducing GHG emissions. We identified various retrofit packages that can reduce emissions and those with the highest impact, especially for equity-deserving groups. Strong laws, transition housing and incentives can ensure equitable program outcomes.

Partner: Integral Group
Funder: BC Hydro
Keywords: energy retrofits, green buildings

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2022
Vincent Chireh

This study aims to provide a roadmap for retrofitting existing mid-rise building retrofits in order to understand the required capital investment, energy savings, corresponding energy cost savings, and carbon footprint. The findings can assist policy-makers and other stakeholders in gaining a holistic view of energy retrofits and making better decisions on implementing energy retrofit measures to reduce utility bills and carbon emissions.  

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

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2022
Haonan Zhang

The purpose of this project was to undertake foundational research to inform the development of an engagement strategy to support behaviour change of campus community members in Scope 3 priority areas—food, waste, and transportation—on the UBC Okanagan Campus. This report provides an account of the current areas of engagement on campus, a brief review of the literature, existing challenges, and recommended actions moving forward.

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

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2022
Anjali Desai

The project reviews emissions modeling methods used in the textile and apparel industry to assess environmental impacts of textile waste end-of-life management strategies. Case examples are compared and approaches for performing emissions estimations based on industry standards and guidance are provided. This work contributes to the Textile Lab for Circularity's (TLC) project, Roadmap to Textile Recycling for Western Canada, which aims to inform strategic action planning to enhance textile diversion in the region.

Partner: Canadian Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC) - Textile Lab for Circularity (TLC)
Funder: UBC
Keywords: supply chain management & green procurement, sustainable development & green economy, waste management & recycling 

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2022
Katherine Le

This project aims to provide a high-level assessment of the Vancouver non-profit youth sector. Recognizing the profound issues impacting youth today, the City is entering a new era of engaging with youth and the non-profit youth sector. This project will help City staff to understand the scale of the sector, organizational strengths, factors impacting organizational capacity, and collaboration efforts in the sector.  

Partner: City of Vancouver
Funder: City of Vancouver
Keywords: diversity, inclusion, healthy city, leadership & behaviour change, social sustainability 

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2022
Claire Shepansky

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