Efforts in environmental sustainability at Carleton have achieved high ranks in the 2020 UI GreenMetric World University Rankings.
Launched in 2010 by the University of Indonesia, the rankings compile self-reported data from universities around the world. The data—based on infrastructure, energy, waste, water, transportation, and education—is used to create an ordered list of institutions from around the world.
Carleton finds itself first in Ontario and second in Canada only to Université de Sherbrooke in Quebec, receiving an overall rating of 57 out of the 900 institutions included in this year’s rankings.
Philip Mansfield, manager of Carleton’s sustainability programs, submitted data on Carleton’s behalf.
“It’s certainly an indication that some of the work we’re doing in energy reduction, among other pieces, is working and is in line with some of the expectations from that ranking perspective,” he said of the 2020 ranking.
Carleton has now submitted data to UI GreenMetric for four years, scoring consistently high during that period.
However, Mansfield noted that while Carleton did well this year relative to other Canadian schools, the university fell a couple of places overall compared to previous years.
“That’s mainly because we’re seeing more universities submit data to the [GreenMetric] rankings,” he said.
As more universities submit sustainability data, Mansfield said requirements for GreenMetric’s ranking have evolved.
“Every year, they add more questions and they try to broaden out what sustainability means, making it easier to tell the story of the university,” he said.
Mansfield added many of UI GreenMetric’s criteria might be invisible to students and staff on campus. Data regarding the “number of renewable energy sources on campus” or “ratio of total carbon footprint divided by campus population” are examples of figures students can’t see, he said.
Other aspects of the sustainability awards criteria can be more apparent to students, such as the ratio of open space to total campus area.
Gia Lalsingh, a first-year cognitive science student at Carleton, said the university’s success and awards in sustainability efforts are something that stood out to her when she started studying at Carleton.
“I do find that compared to other campuses I’ve been on, Carleton definitely offers a good ratio of green open space,” Lalsingh said.
Lalsingh said the cafeteria’s waste reduction efforts in the dining hall is another impressive aspect of Carleton’s sustainability efforts.
While some students feel the cafeteria’s waste management system is an example of Carleton’s sustainability efforts, Sophie Price, a second-year journalism student and member of Climate Action Carleton said she has bigger sustainability plans for the school.
“Carleton offers many small-scale efforts that are more visual but might have less of an impact,” Price said.
Climate Action Carleton is currently one of the clubs working with the Carleton University Student Association on a divestment campaign to encourage the university to divest from fossil fuels.
Price said she was shocked by Carleton’s high ranking for its sustainability efforts, mostly because there are other schools in Canada that have committed themselves to sustainability efforts such as divesting from fossil fuels.
In April 2020, Guelph University in Ontario successfully approved a motion to divest from fossil fuels over the next five years.
Though Carleton’s five-year sustainability plan does not currently feature divestment, goal 1.2e in the plan indicates the school will “review and explore opportunities for the adoption of socially responsible investments.”
Despite the fact that the school has not yet committed to divestment, Mansfield said the GreenMetric rankings show progress.
“[They’re] a good barometer of the university’s overall sustainability,” he said.
Featured image from file.
