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Home / 2016 / July / 20 / UBC Okanagan reduced carbon footprint in 2015
Environment & Sustainability

UBC Okanagan reduced carbon footprint in 2015

July 20, 2016

UBC Okanagan reduced its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 17 per cent between 2014 and 2015.

As detailed in its 2015 Carbon Neutral Action Overview Report, the reduction equates to 524 tonnes of GHGs, roughly the equivalent of the annual emission of 111 passenger vehicles or 1,213 barrels of oil.

“UBC’s commitment to sustainability has achieved ambitious emissions reductions that support federal, provincial, and municipal climate and sustainability goals,” says Deborah Buszard, UBC Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Okanagan campus.

As part of its commitment to GHG reduction, UBC Okanagan contributed $2.3 million in land for a new transit exchange on campus, which is being built in cooperation with the governments of Canada, British Columba and the City of Kelowna.

“Transit improvements are key to further reducing GHG emissions and UBC Okanagan is an important transit hub for the region,” says Buszard. “On behalf of UBC students, faculty and staff, thank you to the federal, provincial, and local governments for supporting increased transit capacity at the University and in our community.”

The campus’ carbon neutral report was part of UBC’s annual submission to the BC government’s Climate Action Secretariat. The province has committed to reducing its GHG emissions by 80 per cent below 2007 levels by 2050.

“In 2015, the campus undertook a number of specific actions to ensure that we can continue to meet our GHG reduction goals, including replacing aging water heating equipment, lighting retrofits, and the use of digital over paper technology,” says Associate Director of Sustainability Operations Leanne Bilodeau. “Moving forward, we will focus on our whole systems goals, which will help us further reduce energy demands and GHG emissions.”

The Carbon Neutral Action report is available at: sustain.ok.ubc.ca/reports/cnar

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Media Contact

Matthew Grant
Associate Director
Public Affairs

The University of British Columbia
Okanagan campus
Tel: 250-807-9926
E-mail: matthew.grant@ubc.ca

Content type: Media Release
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About UBC Okanagan

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose traditional, ancestral and unceded territory the campus resides. The most established and influential global rankings all consistently place UBC in the top five per cent of universities in the world, and among the top three Canadian universities.

The Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

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We respectfully acknowledge the Syilx Okanagan Nation and their peoples, in whose traditional, ancestral, unceded territory UBC Okanagan is situated.

 

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