Citizen

The University of Toronto community works actively with private, public and civil society partners on sustainability issues, projects, and coalitions. In this respect, members of our academic community in groups large and small act as agents of change in the service of sustainability.

This page links to a collection of stories about some of the efforts undertaken by members of our community.

‘A sustainable life for ourselves and the planet’: U of T researcher on religion’s role in saving the environment

Sometimes religion doesn’t catch up to current circumstances as fast as it should.

That’s according to Tanhum Yoreh, a scholar of religion and environment at the University of Toronto.

Yoreh’s new book, Waste Not: A Jewish Environmental Ethic, aims to build bridges between ancient wisdom and contemporary global challenges so that faith communities have accessible pathways to environmental engagement.

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‘Change agent’: U of T alumna helps companies, public sector plug into into energy efficiency

Kady Cowan clearly remembers the guilt she felt secretly stuffing granola bar wrappers in her pocket.

She was hiding them from the late Henry Kock, an avid eco-activist and naturalist who was best known for cultivating trees from seed in Canada. He lived a life practically free of waste and his home had no garbage cans – leading Cowan to become a trash smuggler.

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U of T student creates renewable energy information hub for Canadians

A University of Toronto student is bringing together homeowners and solar panel installers in an attempt to increase the use of sustainable energy systems in residential homes across Canada.

Rylan Urban, a second-year student in the Master of Science in Sustainability Management program, launched Energyhub.org a year ago and has since helped broker over $1 million in residential solar sales across five provinces.

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Cities need to innovate to improve transportation and reduce emissions: U of T expert

Mobility is essential to urban life. It contributes to people’s ability to access work, food, education, leisure and more. It also contributes to climate change.

According to C40 Cities, cities are both a significant contributor to the climate crisis, responsible for 70 per cent of the world’s CO2 emissions, and the place where actions can make the greatest difference.

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More plastic than fish? Business leader and philanthropist Wendy Schmidt talks ocean health at U of T event

By 2050, there could be more plastic in the world’s oceans by weight than fish.

This was just one of many shocking statistics philanthropist Wendy Schmidt presented at a recent University of Toronto School of the Environment lecture titled “What We Don’t Know About the Oceans Can Kill Us.”

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U of T’s Centre for Sustainable Health Systems to focus on reducing health-care sector’s environmental impact

Nearly five per cent of Canada’s carbon footprint is generated by the health-care system. For Fiona Miller the irony of being part of the business of promoting health while producing harm has become the catalyst for the launch of the Centre for Sustainable Health Systems at the University of Toronto.

“Once you see sustainability as a dimension of quality it shifts thinking among health system professionals and encourages mobilization,” said Miller, a professor at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

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