The Research Subcommittee aims to support and bring together sustainability researchers into a community of practice and enhance relevant research initiatives. The Research Subcommittee incorporates aspects of Campus as Living Lab (CLL) which is one of the four cross-cutting themes under CECCS.
Research Subcommittee Goals
To support and bring together sustainability researchers into a community of practice and enhance relevant research initiatives
Urban Climate Action Network
The Urban Climate Action Network (UCAN) is an initiative within the University Climate Change Coalition (UC3), a coalition of 23 research intensive universities in North America. UCAN is committed to climate action and cross-sector collaboration by creating university-city collaboratives aimed at helping cities achieve their already existing climate targets. As of now, six UC3 universities have agreed to join UCAN: the University of Toronto (U of T), the University of British Columbia (UBC), the University of Arizona (UA), the University of Michigan (MICH), Rutgers University (RU), and Drexel University (DU).
To create the U of T node of UCAN, Professor John Robinson, Co-Chair of the CECCS, has started discussions with the Environment and Energy Division of the City of Toronto about a formal partnership between U of T and the City. This will include a strong focus on living lab activities, specifically in relation to The Atmospheric Fund of Toronto (TAF) and the City Climate Plan.
Learn more about the Urban Climate Action Network here.
See also the Urban Climate Action Project website here. The Urban Climate Action Project (UCAP) brings the expertise and capacities of the University of Toronto to the table by developing a university/city partnership to tackle challenges of implementing TransformTO.
Sustainability-Related Institutional Strategic Initiatives (ISIs)
Institutional Strategic Initiatives (ISIs) are large-scale, cross-divisional, and interdisciplinary initiatives that tackle society’s grand challenges such as climate change, inequality, or infectious diseases. Created in 2019, the ISI office coordinates resources and streamlines the process of building, growing, and maintaining collaborations across disciplines and sectors. It supports U of T’s capacity to launch, grow, and sustain innovative strategic research initiatives. The ISI office is housed within the Division of the Vice-President, Research & Innovation at the University of Toronto. Working across faculties and with affiliated hospitals, VPRI is the administrative support hub for U of T’s research and innovation activities, helping researchers at every stage by providing advice and resources. There are over twenty initiatives under the ISI portfolio, with three focused particularly on sustainability: Climate Positive Energy, Mobility Network, and Sustainable Development Goals @ U of T.
The Climate Positive Energy ISI focuses on mitigating and adapting to climate change through re-envisioning energy systems and facilitating equitable transitions to sustainable energy.
It links researchers developing social, scientific, technical, economic, and policy solutions around a common goal – supporting Canada and the world in achieving net-negative carbon emissions by 2050 while mitigating inequities in access to energy and the consequences of production.
The Mobility Network ISI is a multidisciplinary, collaborative, and diverse network of mobility and transportation researchers that connects the U of T’s exceptional strengths in data sciences, engineering, and social sciences to address the technological, social, environmental, and health disruptions facing society globally. It provides the evidence and decision-support needed for effective and lasting societal change, having profound implications for individual well-being, resiliency, sustainable and just urban growth, and prosperity.
The Sustainable Development Goals @ U of T ISI aims at producing a vision for advancing the UN SDGs at U of T, centered around peace and prosperity for people and the planet. It will build on existing research initiatives and will form new interdisciplinary and global partnerships.
Website: https://isi.utoronto.ca/
Existing ISIs: https://isi.utoronto.ca/initiatives/
Read more: https://cpe.utoronto.ca/, https://sdgs.un.org/
University of Toronto Research Expertise
Clean Tech University of Toronto Research Expertise (Updated February 2022)
Sustainability University of Toronto Research Expertise (Updated February 2022)
Updates to the above documents should be directed to: colin.swift@utoronto.ca
Membership
| Faculty | Alumni | Student | Staff |
| Name | Affiliation | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Fiona Miller (Chair) | Professor and Chair in Health Management Strategies, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health | Faculty |
| Aimy Bazylak | Associate Professor, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering | Faculty |
| Amanda Harvey-Sánchez | PhD Candidate, Anthropology | Graduate Student |
| Tenley Conway | Professor, Department of Geography, Geomatics & Environment, UTM | Faculty |
| Erica Di Ruggiero | Director of the Centre for Global Health, Dalla Lana School of Public Health | Faculty |
| Irena Creed | Professor, Department of Physical & Environmental Services, UTSC and Associate Vice President, Research and Innovation, UTSC | Faculty |
| Kenneth S. Corts | Professor and Vice-Dean, Research, Strategy, and Resources, Marcel Desautels Chair in Entrepreneurship, Rotman School of Management | Faculty |
| Barbara Fallon | Social Work and Associate VP, Research | Faculty |
| Vinita Haroun | Director, Centre for Research Innovation and Support | Staff |
| Kent Moore | Professor, Department Chemical and Physical Sciences, UTM and Associate Vice-Principal, Research & Innovation, UTM | Faculty |
Project Manager: Ayako Ariga