Having earned multiple national and global awards and recognitions for building construction and green energy initiatives, Humber Polytechnic and the University of Guelph-Humber have been leading sustainable campus development for over a decade. Our students have access to connect with and study in nature and to learn in buildings built to LEED platinum standards and the Canada Green Building Council’s (CAGBC) Zero Carbon Building Designs.
By integrating sustainability principles and climate action into Humber’s operations, learners experience a “living lab”- an environment where they experience climate action in practice.
Take a self-guided tour of how we are living our sustainability commitments by visiting the Campus Compass app and search for Sustainability Trail or visiting our Sustainability Trail webpage.
Humber Polytechnic Accelerates Plan to Achieve Net Zero in 2029
Humber Polytechnic is creating the blueprint on sustainability after establishing an aggressive timeline to reach net zero more than two decades earlier than its original goal of 2050.
Our Commitment: Humber students will learn examples of living sustainably through our campuses and healthy and equitable operations.
INNOVATIVE LEARNING SPACES & OPERATIONS
Through our intentional efforts, we model our values so that students can both witness and directly benefit from sustainability in action. Our sustainable practices extend beyond our infrastructure and buildings to the daily actions of our staff, the choices we make in purchasing, waste reduction, landscape management, and even the food we serve. We will continue to enhance our practices – such as leaning into electrification and other energy alternatives to allow us to go beyond net zero to net positive.
Humber has made aggressive energy and climate commitments and strives to build and operate low-impact campuses. This has led us to accelerate our progress to NetZero.
Humber’s Food Strategy and Vision is a holistic and strategic approach to on campus food that focuses on the principles of quality, equity and affordability, availability, accessibility, sustainable practices, cultural diversity, dietary preferences, and nutrition.
Humber is developing a procurement strategy and implementation plan that will drive social and sustainable purchasing practices, promote a circular economy, and build on current practices, including maintaining our FairTrade Campus designation.
Humber is refreshing its plans to play a leadership role in convening partners to advocate and create more sustainable transit for our students, staff, and communities who access our campuses.
Using a two-eyed seeing lens that braids the strengths of Indigenous and non-Indigenous worldviews, Humber is creating a Healthy Landscape & Biodiversity Plan that ensures its campus landscapes support ecosystems and biodiversity and includes nature-based climate solutions.
A unique tri-partnership between Humber Polytechnic, the City of Toronto, and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, the Humber Arboretum consists of ~250 acres of public gardens and natural areas located in the Humber River watershed.
With multiple waste reduction initiatives already underway, Humber is taking stock of how it might enhance its waste management systems to further reduce waste production and encourage reuse, recycling, composting, and circular economy principles on campus.
Launched in 2015, Humber’s Integrated Energy Master Plan (IEMP) is Humber’s long-term strategy to achieving significant reductions in energy, water, and greenhouse gas emissions so that Humber campuses embody sustainability.
By 2034, the Plan aims to reduce energy use by 50% per square foot, water use by 50% per student, and greenhouse gas emissions by 30%.