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 study compares an alternate test method (adenosine triphosphate, ATP) with the current method used by MetroVancouver (heterotrophic plant count, HPC) for monitoring bacteriological activity in the water transmission system to support continuous innovation of Metro Vancouver's water services. Includes a review of HPC and ATP studies, analysis of water quality data from Canadian municipalities, and results of preliminary ATP testing for the Greater Vancouver Water District transmission system.

Partner: Metro Vancouver
Funder: Metro Vancouver
Keywords: potable water, water treatment

PDF
2022
William Chen

Evaluation is essential for measuring progress on sustainable and equitable food systems. However, a key challenge remains developing relevant indicators to measure and track progress on social justice in the context of food systems planning. The objective of the Food Systems Planning Evaluation Framework is to map out potential future visions of food systems in BC, including agricultural-related activities and social justice indicators, and provide metrics on how these visions can be achieved.

Partner: Public Health Association of BC
Funder: UBC
Keywords: social sustainability, sustainable development & green economy, food systems

pdf
2022
Mia MacKechnie

As civil society organizations (ENGOs more specifically) are beginning to reckon with past mistakes and strive for equity and inclusivity, they need tools to create meaningful and lasting organizational change. For several years, Sierra Club BC (SCBC) has been working to decolonize the organization's efforts; this project is among those that are the direct result of this initiative. 

The purpose of 'Implementing a Pathway Together' is to identify and create innovative approaches to intercultural climate engagement by centering Indigenous and diverse lenses. This includes generating reflection, analysis, tools and practices, enabling ENGOs, educational institutions, and other NGOs more generally, to engage with and learn from diverse communities on the climate crisis. The project builds on collaboration with the UBC Sustainability Scholars program on A Pathway Together (2020 - 2021). The scholar will work with SCBC to develop a "process guide" exploring questions of authentic relationships, intercultural collaborations that are respectful of protocol, and how we might centre the SĆȺ ~work with the lands and waters in good ways. 

Developing climate solutions that work for everyone requires increased capacities to learn from and work with diverse knowledge systems and tell different kinds of stories about the climate crisis. Implementing a pathway together, for ENGOs and other climate-engaged organizations to work with Indigenous and other historically marginalized communities is imperative to forward their climate action goals on a foundation of social and environmental justice.
 

Partner: Sierra Club of British Columbia Foundation
Funder: UBC
Keywords:  leadership & behaviour change, social sustainability, decolonization

pdf
2022
Melissa Plisic

The purpose of this project is to (a) Identify and create innovative approaches to research, knowledge sharing, storytelling and engagement by centring Indigenous and diverse lenses, and (b) Re-story and model how to implement walking A Pathway Together collaboratively.

Through respectful Indigenous and intercultural approaches, and centering the Coast Salish protocol, a holistic understanding of the interrelationships is invited.  Re-storying our relationships through an older oral traditions lens models both knowledge translation and dissemination across diverse perspectives.  Storytelling relays the rich nuanced cultural data being offered, encouraging connections between the Fraser River estuary, river, ocean and all who live within these communities, both human and non-human.

Partner: Sierra Club of British Columbia Foundation
Funder: UBC (Sitka Foundation)
Keywords: biodiversity, ecological systems, indigenous Coast Salish & intercultural lens

2022
Fiona Kelly

This project investigates different ownership models for renewable energy projects with Indigenous involvement in Canada. The ownership models are presented through case studies of past and current projects with the majority of cases being for remote renewable energy projects. The report presents and explains the different models and their uses and explores common themes important to the success of projects in partnership with a First Nation or Indigenous community.

Partner: Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation
Keywords: leadership & behaviour change, social sustainability, sustainable development & green economy

PDF
2022
Arthur Bledsoe

This open-access toolkit is meant to serve First Nations across the Pacific Northwest as they navigate the creation and management of housing governance options for their communities. This includes an overview to better understand the housing system, a critical examination of why the current system does not work, and solutions for innovative community-centered housing governance models that are based in cultural wellbeing, economic security, and environmental sustainability.

Link to online toolkit: https://ecotrust.ca/toolkit/homelands/

Partner: Ecotrust
Keywords: leadership & behaviour change, social sustainability, sustainable development & green economy

2022
Ashli Akins

This project aims to investigate entry pathways of pharmaceuticals into Metro Vancouver wastewater to identify opportunities for source control interventions. A major component was understanding the current operation of the drug take-back program in BC. Recommended interventions included improvements in the drug take-back program promotion and operation and alternative strategies for the monitoring and risk assessment of chemicals. 

Partner: Metro Vancouver
Keywords: waste management & recycling, water, pollution
 

2021
Georgia Green

This project examines whether Metro Vancouver’s residuals (biosolids and drinking water treatment residuals) and Biosolids Growing Medium (BGM), can be used as components in growing media to enhance and optimize the performance of Low Impact Development landscapes within Metro Vancouver. Includes a review of existing regulations, current practices, and scientific literature. This project identifies opportunities for the use of residuals and BGM in addressing stormwater challenges in the region.

Partner: Metro Vancouver
Keywords: green buildings, waste management & recycling, stormwater

2021
Amzy Vallenas

This project explores best practices for policy and regulatory approaches for reducing embodied emissions in new construction and how these practices may be incorporated into a framework such as the BC Energy Step Code. The research identifies opportunities for local government and industry to reduce embodied emissions in new construction and makes recommendations to support the District of North Vancouver’s interest in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector.

Partner: District of North Vancouver
Keywords: green buildings, embodied emissions

2021
Amir Kari

This report examines the intersection between human rights and land use planning. It reviews key concepts, including the applicable legal framework, and considers practical issues in human rights and land use planning. The report aims to help the City of Vancouver identify actions and future work on this topic through provincial and municipal examples and recommendations on how a human rights lens can be applied to the City's work in land use planning.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: healthy city, land use planning, leadership, behavior change, social sustainability

2021
Stanley Omotor

Energy conservation plays a key role in reducing climate change. Unfortunately, energy conservation is a boring topic for most people. Smart speaker technologies have components that can make energy conservation more exciting. This project aims to explore critical design features of smart speaker applications that can be leveraged to increase engagement and promote behavioral change towards energy conservation.

Partner: BC Hydro
Keywords: leadership & behaviour change, sustainable development & green economy, water

2021
Qomaruliati Setiawati

The purpose of this evaluation was to determine whether the Mental Health and Substance Use (MHSU) Education Portal was effective at supporting MHSU education and service navigation for point of care staff and leaders at urban, rural, and remote sites within the Vancouver Coastal community of care. This includes evaluating the reach, relevance, and usability of the MHSU Education Portal, as well as identifying areas of improvement and highlighting gaps in content.

Partner: Vancouver Coastal Health
Keywords: leadership & behaviour change, social sustainability, sustainability in education

2021
Natasha Parent

Demolitions of homes built after 1970 are expected to increase in Metro Vancouver. This study aims to advance zero waste strategies in Metro Vancouver by examining the recycling and reuse potential of materials found in single-family homes built after 1970. The study focuses mostly on the diversion potential of wood materials because they make up the highest share of the regional construction and demolition waste stream by weight.

Partner: Metro Vancouver
Keywords: sustainable development & green economy, waste management & recycling

2021
Jacob Forrest

This project aims to understand global best practices for quantifying reuse and assessing their applicability to the Metro Vancouver region. The project looked at three reuse industries in Metro Vancouver (textiles, electronics, and furniture), identified the key players and attempted to collect data from these organizations. Also included are the challenges encountered and suggestions for quantifying reuse in the Metro Vancouver area.

Partner: Metro Vancouver
Keywords: supply chain management & green procurement, waste management & recycling

2021
Simone Rawal

Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) is a form of alternate fuel which is manufactured from Residual Waste and can be used by industries as a replacement for fossil fuel. This report aims to provide the City of Vancouver a better understanding of RDF products currently being produced around the world and identify key potential RDF consumer markets within British Columbia. The outcome of this project highlights exploratory options for reaching Vancouver's Zero Waste goals.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: climate mitigation, green economy, zero waste, sustainable development & green economy, waste management & recycling, Waste to Energy 

2021
Harshit Srivastava

Research for this project analysed the highest emitting building sectors in Kelowna, Penticton and Vernon and deveoloped retrofit strategies to mitigate this. The report shows that unless local governments obtain greater authority to require GHG emissions reductions from the commercial building sector and Multi Unit Residential Buildings, we cannot reduce GHG emissions from existing buildings 80% to 100% below 2007 levels by 2050.

Partner: Community Energy Association
Keywords: green buildings

2021
Parniyan Golkar

This is a framework for how to measure social capital, with a focus on community mobilization for climate action. Both an analysis spreadsheet with current data trends in the Vancouver context, as well as a report covering a literature review, the framework with a metric on how to generate indicators, an analysis of how social capital impacts community mobilization, and recommendations are offered.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: climate action, climate mitigation, equity, diversity, inclusion, leadership & behaviour change, social sustainability, social capital, community mobilization, trends in data

2021
Michael Unrau

The purpose of this report is to provide recommendations on how the City of Vancouver can collaborate and work alongside Indigenous communities, on whose unceded land it is located, to address and support social and environmental resilience. Can the City collaborate and foster relationships that uplift the Indigenous voice and protect sacred knowledge, for the combined goal of environmental and social resilience for futures to come?

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: climate mitigation, equity, diversity, inclusion, healthy city, leadership & behaviour change, sustainability in education, sustainable development & green economy

2021
Atlanta Grant

This project aims to assess the potential to reduce the embodied carbon emissions of low-rise residential construction using materials and products available to the Vancouver market. It provides a building supply inventory and information about local suppliers that can be used by local builders, developers, and designers to specify low carbon products. The results include recommendations for improving the embodied carbon footprint of low-rise residential buildings.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: climate mitigation, green infrastructure, low carbon buildings, green buildings, supply chain management & green procurement

2021
Shiva Zargar Ershadi

This project aims to review the existing literature on cycling data collection, examine Vancouver's existing practices and goals, and provide recommendations on improving cycling data collection practices within the City. It is important to ensure that collected cycling data is representative of the City's diversity. The report summarizes the context and provides recommendations on areas of improvement related to count data type, count location, frequency, context, and means of analysis.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: active transportation, climate action, equity, diversity, inclusion, transportation, data collection, cycling

2021
Amir Hassanpour

Pages