Planning and Administration
Presentation to the Board of Governors
In June 2024, the Sustainability Office presented the Sustainability Action Plan to the Board of Governors, marking a significant milestone in the university’s commitment to sustainability. This presentation reinforced the importance of aligning long-term institutional strategy with sustainability objectives outlined in the Plan.
Taking the Sustainability Action Plan on the road
Support from TMU leadership and departments is critical to ensuring sustainability remains a key priority in long-term strategic planning for the university. That’s why the Sustainability Office conducted a series of Sustainability Roadshow events in 2024, introducing TMU’s new Sustainability Action Plan to key university departments, including Financial Services, Internal Audit and Custodial and Groundskeeping. These roadshows aimed to engage units on the critical roles they play in advancing sustainability within their respective operations. This engagement is an ongoing initiative, and future roadshows will continue to be part of the Office’s efforts to integrate sustainability into everyday university functions.
TMU achieves AASHE STARS Gold ranking
TMU hit another sustainability milestone in 2024, receiving its first ever Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (external link, opens in new window) (AASHE) Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) Gold ranking. A measure of a college or university’s long term sustainability performance, TMU’s STARS Gold ranking reflects the university’s alignment with sustainable industry best practices and acknowledges that here at TMU, sustainability is not just a priority, but a core value woven into the fabric of the institution.
Notably for TMU’s 2024 submission, the planning and administration portions of the university’s STARS ranking saw the greatest improvement from the original 2020 submission, highlighting TMU’s ongoing progress integrating sustainability into the university’s core operations and administrative activities.
Formation of four new sustainability subcommittees
With a mandate to further embed sustainability across our campus, in 2023 TMU formed the Climate Change and Sustainability Advisory Committee (CCSAC) to serve as a forum for the university community to advance climate action on campus. To further advance the work of CCSAC, four new subcommittees were formed, including:
Energy and Decarbonization Subcommittee
Finance Subcommittee
Platinum STARS Subcommittee
Zero Waste and Circularity Subcommittee
Each subcommittee is composed of diverse members from across the university, including students, faculty and staff, fostering a community-driven approach to sustainable solutions for the environmental challenges facing TMU’s campus. These subcommittees play a vital role in shaping strategic sustainability decisions and providing feedback that informs larger institutional efforts.
UN Sustainable Development Goals related to these initiatives
