Sustainability Scholars Program

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

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

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

“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

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

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

The report analyses key elements of sustainable design challenges and lessons learned on four LEED Gold Certified projects within four lower mainland health organizations. It also includes a post occupancy study of the facilities.

Partner: Fraser Health
Keywords: green buildings

As part of a broad strategy to reduce energy and greenhouse gas emissions, the City of Victoria is developing an online decision support tool to inform its residents of the potential benefits of investing in solar hot water and photovoltaics  systems for their homes and businesses. This report outlines the details of a solar benefit calculator that will help decision-making and ultimatley reduce energy use, utility costs and carbon footprints.

Partner: City of Victoria
Keywords: green buildings

This project evaluated a number of standards, technologies and methods for new home construction in the remote communities of the Great Bear Initiative Coastal First Nations in British Columbia. Current home construction in these communities does not address a number of technical, social, economic and cultural needs. Key issues to be addressed in new home construction, and recommended solutions are included in this report.

Partners: Pinna Sustainability, BC Hydro, Coastal First Nations
Keywords: green buildings, social sustainability