Campus as a Living Lab
Campus as a Living Lab (CLL) projects aim to advance sustainability on campus through experiential learning that engages staff, students and/or faculty in using the campus as a testbed for addressing sustainability challenges.
CLL projects can be part of coursework, student-led initiatives or faculty-led research.
WHAT’S ON THIS PAGE
What’s a Living Lab?
Broadly, CLL projects involve experimentation of new ideas and solutions in a real-world environment on campus, be they buildings, classrooms or offices and relate to human and/or environmental well-being or any of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The projects allow students to engage in applied research with subject-matter and technical experts, developing and demonstrating real-world solutions on campus.
CLL Objectives & Values
Below is a subset of core objectives and values. Not all will be included in every project.
Objectives
- Advance place-based multidisciplinary research and experiential education that mobilizes sustainability practices and programming
- Foster critical inquiry, analysis and adoption of sustainability practices into the fabric of U of T: campus planning, operations, academics, administration and governance
- Involve responsible use of U of T infrastructure, data and information for collaboration, co-creation, innovation and demonstration of research on leading-edge solutions (technical, social and ecological)
- Collaborate with people on and off campus to address campus-based sustainability challenges: researchers, students, faculty, instructors, staff and potentially external partners
- Enable co-creation, knowledge transfer and impact on learning and research within and beyond U of T
CLL Benefits for Students
Improved technical and group project skills
Application of knowledge and education to real-world sustainability challenges
Networking opportunities with staff, faculty or other U of T community members
Potential engagement with interested external partners
Project Spotlight
The U of T community has led a range of Campus as a Living Lab projects. Explore our CLL projects database or learn more through a few highlighted projects below.
Circular fashion on campus: the creation of a self-sustaining clothing swap locker
As an outcome of this CLL project, lockers at New College Residence and Sidney Smith Hall were repurposed by School of Environment staff as clothing swap outposts during Sustainability Week in March 2025. This course-based CLL project, part of ENV 461, aimed to minimize waste and maximize the lifespan of clothes. The pilot’s results are currently under review by staff.
Self-cleaning solar panel coating project
In 2023, two PhD students tested their research to create specialized, self-cleaning nanomaterials on the rooftop solar panels at the Exam Centre. It was the first time they conducted a field trial of their own work, funded by a climate positive energy grant. The coating allowed the building’s existing solar energy infrastructure to generate five per cent more power.
Battery-powered EV rapid charging stations installed on St. George campus
The world’s first battery-powered electric vehicle fast chargers are located beneath King’s College Circle on the St. George campus. The chargers utilize technology co-developed by experts at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and Jule, a company co-founded by a U of T alumnus. Besides being able to charge a car battery in under 30 minutes, the supercharging stations serve as a living lab to test future thermal innovations jointly developed by U of T researchers and Jule.
Review of food packaging used by Food Services at the University of Toronto St. George Campus
Current food packaging products and processes at residential dining halls on the St. George campus are reviewed for sustainability, with recommendations for more environmentally friendly alternatives where improvements are identified. In 2026, all dining halls at the St. George campus will use reusable china and reusable take-out containers. The course-based CLL project is part of ENV 461.
Investigating the Scope 3 Emissions and Climate Impacts of U of T’s Food Services
Students calculated scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions generated by U of T’s Food Services operations in a single year and proposed ways to reduce them, including removing lamb and reducing beef from the menus. Future work will explore emissions reductions through menu and ingredient adjustments. The course-based CLL project is part of ENV 1103.
Questions?
For information or to discuss an idea for a CLL project, contact the CECCS Secretariat.