Over the past decade, greenhouse gas and the Kyoto Protocol have become household names, and environmental sustainability has exploded as one of the pivotal issues of our generation. U of T’s response to this movement is directed by the Sustainability Office, launched at St. George in 2004, with a mandate to “substantially reduce the consumption of energy and other resources at the University of Toronto.” UTM started its own office in 2004, and UTSC in 2007. All three participate in a board that helps coordinate efforts.
“We act as a think tank, where we partner with other faculty members and different departments, and we research how we can make the university more sustainable,” said Stuart Chan, sustainability coordinator at St. George. “We refine and try to test programs using concepts at different sites. If they are successful, we replicate them at other sites.”
But the Sustainability Office can’t enforce measures, and its scope is limited to departments who come to them.
“We don’t have any authority to tell people to do different things, so we have a lot of partners,” said Chan. “Let’s say a department is interested in reducing electricity costs—then we would work with them to identify things they’re interested in, and in that process we teach them about some of the other issues they may be missing in their scope.”
“In another model, we go in with all materials ready, and we just give it to them and they run it.”
U of T’s architectural diversity also presents a challenge. “There are so many different types of spaces and uses that it’s really hard for us to come up with one solution that fits all—actually, it’s impossible,” said Chan.
Still, Chan said, his office has had a significant impact on reducing energy consumption. According to the St. George office, projects over the past 15 years have lowered U of T’s energy consumption by 14 per cent. Most of them are retrofits, adding or substituting new parts to old buildings.
In 2006, they spearheaded an ongoing retrofit of the St. George campus, installing more energy-efficient lighting in Robarts, the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, and the Medical Sciences building. The office has also replaced 18 air-conditioning units with more energy-efficient models, improving their efficiency by 30 per cent.
The two measures are expected to reduce emissions by 3,100 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, a measure that encapsulates all greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. The emissions savings are equivalent to taking 600 cars off the road.
The St. George office has completed a recent analysis of greenhouse gas emissions and energy use, and Chan said he expects it to be posted within the next week. As of press time, the latest data available was for the 2005-2006 school year.
Danny Harvey, an expert on sustainable buildings, is a professor of geography and planning at U of T. Harvey strongly criticizes the university’s efforts: “True sustainability isn’t savings of five to 10 per cent, true sustainability means 50 to 70 per cent energy savings. Anything else is just delaying inevitable collapse.”
“I suppose they’re doing the conventional, no-brainer things,” said Harvey. “Lighting is easy to do, and there’s immediate payback.”
Harvey argued there is ample opportunity for real energy savings at U of T, which require substantial innovation and commitment that has yet to be seen.
“If the university wants to distinguish itself, it has to go beyond what everyone else is doing. In Sidney Smith, for example, with a innovative retrofit you could cut heating and lighting by 90 per cent, and you could probably cut the cooling load by about 20 per cent.”
He elaborated on what a stronger commitment would involve. “If the university is actually committed to sustainability, then no new building will go up without a 50 per cent reduction in energy consumption from the conventional rate.”
“If you set that up from the beginning as a rule, it changes the whole nature of the design process,” Harvey said.
“Frequently, the energy-sustainable building doesn’t cost any more, or the additional costs will pay for themselves within a year or so.”
