All campus development and operations begin by incorporating sustainability into the design and building process and connecting students to real-world learning opportunities. In all areas of our operations, we will prioritize the health of our people and the nature around us through collaborative and data driven decision making.
At Humber, we are stewards of the natural environment. We collaborate with campus partners to improve the health and resilience of the natural areas surrounding the College.
Stewardship of the natural environment and the regional biodiversity in which our campuses are located. We collaborate to protect and improve the health and resilience of these areas, which will improve the quality of campus and community life now and for future generations.
Humber Facilities Management incorporates several practices to maintain campus grounds in sustainable ways. These include:
Humber's 250-acre Arboretum has specific areas that have been designated as native plant materials only. This does not call for the removal of all exotic species, only of invasive ones.
In Humber's 2019-2024 Sustainability Plan, we have committed to developing a Sustainable Landscaping Management Program and a biodiversity management strategy.
Honey bees pollinate approximately 70% of the world's crops; without them, our grocery stores will be empty. Sadly, the gentle honey bee is quickly becoming extinct due to a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), which is mainly caused by the heavy use of insecticides (also known as Neonicotinoids). Urban beekeeping has become a great alternative and helps the honey bees thrive.
In an effort to rebuild the number of worker honey bees in our local area, we installed hives at North and Lakeshore campuses to provide a safe environment for honey bees to thrive. Visit the hives near the staff lounge at North Campus (second floor of K building) or Lakeshore Campus on the second floor of the L building.
Humber's Lakeshore campus is located within the traditional territory of the Ojibwe Anishinaabe, situated just west of Toronto and on the shoreline of Lake Ontario. The campus offers beautiful historic buildings and many ways to connect with nature, including Colonel Samuel Smith Park, which is one of Toronto's most diverse urban green spaces.
Next time you're at the Lakeshore campus, visit The Lakeshore Grounds Interpretive Centre to learn more about the natural and built environment and engage in cultural programming and exhibitions!
Humber's North and Lakeshore locations have participated in several campus cleanups. Each cleanup is registered with the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, a national conservation program that collects citizen science data about the litter collected and encourages Canadians to participate in their communities.
Humber’s Camp Choice is an initiative to help Indigenous youth build a successful future. Participants learn current Indigenous teachings, such as land-based ways of living, in a variety of engaging, hands-on workshops.
Humber offers a variety of programs and courses that focus on outdoor, experiential learning. Please visit the Teaching and Learning page for a full list.
Launched in 2016, the Forest Nature Program was created through health and wellness and Indigenous mandates. The program helps children explore nature and learn from and with the land. Humber students studying in the Early Childhood Education program also benefit from learning about the forest nature programs, as it is part of their placement opportunities. They help encourage play and outdoor learning with the children while creating new methods to enhance physical activity and wellness. In September 2019, the program received the Edward Burtynsky Award for excellence in environmental inquiry.
The Humber Arboretum is 250 acres of forests, meadows, wetlands, ponds and the Humber River. This public garden, conservation area, and educational center is a joint partnership between the City of Toronto, Humber College and Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). This unique tripartite agreement between the three entities protects and restores habitats for native plants and animals and provides various educational opportunities for students and the general public, including nature camps, weekly nature walks, elementary school programs applied research opportunities and much more. The Humber Arboretum is free to visit.
To learn more, please visit the Humber Arboretum’s website.
Located inside the Humber Arboretum is the Centre for Urban Ecology. The building is rated Gold by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and is home to the Arboretum’s educational programs and special events.
The Humber Pond plays a key role in managing runoff water from Humber College's north campus before it reaches the Humber River. The Humber Pond Revitalization Project is an innovative, collaborative initiative to improve water quality in the pond while increasing natural habitat for wildlife, providing new social gathering spaces for our community, and creating an outdoor classroom and living laboratory space for students.
Where does your food come from? Why does it matter? The new Humber Food Learning Garden is a space for students and community members to learn about sustainable urban agriculture, local food security, and growing and harvesting their own fresh, healthy food in whatever space is available to them.
Developed by the University of California at Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, the Humber Arboretum's Learning by Leading™ Program is based on the idea that students learn best by taking leadership in helping to solve real-world problems. The Humber Arboretum was selected as the only public garden in Canada to be part of a pilot project to create a network of Learning by Leading™ programs at public gardens across North America.
By incorporating sustainability into our standard operating practices and requiring our suppliers to adhere to specific sustainability requirements, we are creating a healthier and more environmentally responsible working and learning environment at Humber.
We want to have broad access to Good Food (“food that fundamentally respects human dignity and health, animal welfare, social justice and environmental sustainability”) on our campuses that celebrates our cultural diversity, health and well-being. Some of the places on campus that support this value are highlighted below.
The Humber Room and Gourmet Express
Grab a delicious vegetarian to-go meal at Gourmet Express or enjoy a dine-in experience at our on-campus restaurant, the Humber Room. Located at North campus, both options offer healthy dishes prepared by culinary students and Fairtrade products. Check out all of the student-made campus food at Hungry Humber.
Soup Bar
In collaboration with Ignite, Humber College and Feed it Forward, Soup Bar is available to everyone and operates as a grab and go initiative. Creations range from a classic Chicken Noodle to Thai Coconut Curry and use food donated by local restaurants, businesses, and the Humber Arboretum’s Food Learning Garden. You can find frozen 1L soups in Soup Bar freezers at the IGNITE Student Centre (KX202) at the North Campus and L Commons 2nd floor at the Lakeshore Campus.
The Spot
Located in the Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation at North campus, The Spot offers a daily menu featuring a vegetarian, vegan and meat option based on seasonal and local ingredients. You can also choose the dine-in experience to reduce single-use waste!
Our goal is to educate the Humber community to be able to apply social and sustainable purchasing practices in order to promote a circular economy. To formalize our commitment, sustainability standards are now factored into our purchasing RFP matrix.
What is Social Procurement? Social procurement represents the clear choice by an organization to support social goals through their purchasing of goods and services. This can be done by embedding the delivery of social and sustainable outcomes within tenders and processes.
What is Sustainable Procurement? Sustainable procurement means making sure that the products and services we buy are as sustainable as possible, with the lowest environmental impact and most positive social results.
Our current goals in this area are:
We have begun the work to develop a guiding document(s) and update the Procurement Policy. Stay tuned for updates. Contact us for more information!
We are proud to hold the designation of Fair Trade Campus at our North and Lakeshore locations. The Fair Trade Campus Steering Committee ensures that Fairtrade certified products are available on campus and raises awareness about making conscious consumption choices. Visit our Fair Trade Campus page to learn more and find out where you can purchase Fairtrade products on campus.
Where can I buy Fairtrade products on campus?
North campus:
Lakeshore Campus:
Look for the Fairtrade symbol when shopping and check out our Sustainable Features map for directions!
As an academic institution, we use a lot of paper. In our Sustainability Plan we have commitments that will result in campus-wide actions to reduce our paper use. Some of these commitments include evaluate and right-size printers across all areas, fleet review and balancing; track printing data and share with community; and, increase use and familiarity of electronic signatures.
Everyone can take simple steps to reduce their personal paper use. Here are some approaches to try:
Read our guide for faculty on how to go paperless in the classroom!
We have made aggressive energy and climate commitments, which means we continue to build and operate low-impact campuses that support health and wellbeing, equity, diversity and inclusion, learning, innovation and community.
Our strategic priorities in Climate Action & Building Environment are:
We continue our work accomplishing the goals outlined in Humber's Integrated Energy Master Plan (IEMP) created in 2015 to meet significant energy efficiency, greenhouse gas and water reduction goals by 2034. The IEMP is leading us to ensure our buildings will be among the most efficient in the world.
Humber is continually working to embody our institutional value to preserve our collective future. All campus development and operations begin by incorporating sustainability into the design and building process and connecting students to real-world learning opportunities. Humber's Integrated Energy Master Plan (IEMP) represents Humber's long-term strategy of achieving significant reductions in energy, water, greenhouse gas emissions and contributes to global sustainable development goals.
Created in 2015, the IEMP outlines a comprehensive plan to meet significant energy efficiency, greenhouse gas and water reduction goals by 2034. The IEMP ensures that our new buildings are among the most efficient in the world.
Humber has completed several new buildings and retrofits which exemplify our approach to campus buildings and energy. Learn more about some of them here.
Building NX deep energy retrofit
Completed in 2019, Building NX at the North Campus was transformed from being one of the campus’ most inefficient, to becoming Canada’s first retrofit to achieve a Zero Carbon Building (ZCB)– Design certification from the Canada Green Building Council. The renovated building uses 70 per cent less energy than it did before, making it not only the College’s most energy efficient building, but also one of the most energy efficient in North America.
Building N
Completed in 2017, this project involved replacing the entire building envelope. The heating and cooling systems were renewed. All efficiency measures combined have reduced the building's energy consumption by 30%.
Learning Resource Commons North Campus
Humber's largest construction project to date, the Learning Resource Commons (LRC) opened in January 2015, and has become the main entrance to the college at the North Campus. Features of the LRC include a 100kW PV system on the roof, a 947 m3 green roof, low flow fixtures, low VOC materials and occupancy sensors. It is LEED Gold certified.
Barret Centre for Technology Innovation
Opened in 2019, the Barrett CTI is LEED-Platinum certified and is a net-zero energy building. Sustainability features include a passive heating and cooling system, high-performance roofing system, hydronic in-floor heating, and green roof. Humber honours Indigenous voices and experiences with the second installation of the college’s Indigenous Cultural Markers (ICMs) in the Barrett CTI. It was designed by Anishinaabe architect Ryan Gorrie and helps place the college in the context of the long history of Indigenous peoples in what is now called the Greater Toronto Area.
Center for Urban Ecology - Humber Arboretum
Completed in 2007, the CUE is LEED Gold certified and in 2010, the CUE won an Ontario Association of Architects Design Excellence Award.
The CUE has many sustainable features including green roof, connected underground cistern, slatted solar awning, energy efficient radiant floor heating, a thermal chimney and a computerized system that automatically opens windows as needed.
Water is a precious resource. Our campuses are situated along Gabekanang Ziibi (the Humber River watershed), providing a home and habitat to 600 bodies of water, 755 species of plants, 42 species of fish, and over 185 animal species. This territory is subject to the Dish With One Spoon Treaty which reflects that people do not own the land but belong to the land as a relative and protector of land for future generations.
Water conservation is an integral part of campus life. New buildings are designed with water efficiency in mind and water use is monitored in all facilities to track and manage peak demand. All new buildings have green roofs that provide an effective way to collect and slow rainwater.
We actively reduce the amount of water used in grounds maintenance by optimizing landscaping to reduce watering frequency for plants and lawns. We work continuously to educate our students and staff about water conservation, reminding them that simple daily acts, like bringing a reuseable water bottle everywhere you go, turning off taps and reporting malfunctioning plumbing, play an important role in protecting our shared resource.
The Humber community has eliminated well over 6 million single use plastic water bottles from landfills since 2014 through the use of our water refill stations.
With nearly 80,000 full and part-time students travelling to and from campus on a regular basis, transportation management is a major focus at Humber. We actively support energy-efficient forms of transportation, such as public transit, bicycle commuting and carpooling. By managing transportation demand; reducing traffic congestion; and enhancing campus security, we are steadily improving our environmental outcomes and making our campus cleaner and safer for the Humber community.
There are secure, indoor bike parking facilities at both Lakeshore and North campus that you can register for! The cost for the year is $12 - pay online through MyHumber and contatct parking.sales@humber.ca if you have any questions.
Learn more about How to Register and Pay for Secure Bike Parking.
Check out these maps that show you where there is bike parking on campus:
Here are a few resources for planning your route to work, school, shopping, or simply to explore:
There is a self-service bike repair station at each of the Lakeshore and North campuses for everyone to use. They are located:
Bike Share Toronto
A Bike Share station is available at the Lakeshore campus and Humber staff can receive a 20% discount on yearly memberships when they sign up with their Humber email. Visit Home | Bike Share Toronto to sign up.
We are excited for the Finch West LRT (expected completion is in 2023). This new LRT route will provide transit from Humber College to Finch West Station and essential links to TTC Line 1, York and Peel Region local transit.
Each campus connects to multiple transit routes including the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), Brampton Transit and Mississauga Transit (MiWay).
View transit routes and campus maps to plan your routes.
Purchase the TTC Full-Time Student Photo ID at any time during the year at Bathurst Station. You can also get a photo ID on campus during the fall semester; follow @SustainHumber to find out when the next TTC campus visit is.
There are a number of different TTC passes you can purchase on PRESTO:
Humber has several electric vehicle (EV) dual charging stations across both campuses. The first four hours of charging are free and parking fees apply as usual.
North Campus
Lakeshore Campus
Please note: You do not need to reserve these spaces in advance.
Smart Commute
Humber College has partnered with Smart Commute, a program geared towards promoting and encouraging sustainable transportation to help Humber reduce traffic and parking congestion, improve air quality, reduce GHG emissions, and allow our community to have a more enjoyable commute.
Carpool Matching Program
Smart Commute offers a free app to help you explore your options for sustainable travel across the GTHA. Sign up for the app (iOS, Android) to:
How to use the app:
Carpool Parking Program
Humber Parking services offers carpool members the option to split a parking permit which saves everyone money on parking (on top of already saving money on gas). To sign up for the program, read the corresponding policies:
Humber is continuously working to reduce, reuse and recycle. With the volume of waste generated by the campus population and Humber’s daily operations makes waste management an on-going priority. Fortunately, the waste produced in a college environment is well suited to management and recovery, as most of it is clean (non-hazardous) and can be easily separated for recycling.
Humber is constantly expanding its waste management program and has introduced holistic solutions to reduce waste production and encourage reuse, recycling and composting on campus.
Humber College and the University of Guelph-Humber received new centralized four-stream sorting stations in 2020.
These stations include compost in key areas and clear signage to make sorting waste as easy as possible.
The previous bins have been donated, and the new stations are made of recycled milk jugs!
Before you dispose of items on campus, please ensure you are following the easy-to-read signage to help us divert waste from landfills.
Choose to reuse
Reduce the amount of waste you create by choosing reusable options. Bring a reusable bottle and use our free water refill stations, bring a zero-waste lunch and use a microwave station, and email sustainability@humber.ca if you're interested in grabbing a reusable cutlery kit. There are so many ways we can lead a zero-waste lifestyle. What will you be reducing this year?
#ReuseHumber Reusable Container Programs
Both North and Lakeshore campus have their own unique #ReuseHumber reusable container program which students, staff and faculty are invited to participate in at the campus they are on.
What goes in our recycling bins?
Approximately one-third of what we put in the recycling bin doesn't belong there. Please ensure you are reading the signage above each bin to clarify what belongs where.
Why do coffee cups go in the garbage?
Coffee cups have a wax lining, making the cup waterproof but challenging to recycle. The coffee cup belongs in the garbage bin while the coffee cup lid goes in the recycling bin, and the paper sleeve goes in the paper bin.
PPE Recycling
During the course of the pandemic, masks, gloves and other single-use items were essential in staying safe. Bring your used PPE items to be recycled at the following locations:
Battery Recycling
Batteries contain toxic chemicals, so it’s very important that you recycle them properly! Bring your batteries to the following battery-recycling bin locations:
Pen Recycling
Humber disposes of over 40,000 pens a year, so we recycle all kinds of writing instruments, including:
Bring your used writing instruments to a drop-off location on campus, and we’ll make sure they’re appropriately recycled:
For Humber staff and faculty, we created DIY Collection Box for your offices! There is a limited supply, so please contact sustainability@humber.ca for more information.
You can donate your used textbooks and positively influence global education AND environmental sustainability! So far, Humber’s Textbooks for Change program has diverted over 4000 pounds of used book materials from landfill.
If your textbook is less than 15 years old, drop it off at one of our on-campus locations:
North campus:
Lakeshore campus: