ÉTS sustainable development highlights for 2020!
Accomplished by a dedicated community
Thursday, December 17, 2020
As we near the end of 2020, a year that has seen its fair share of challenges, ÉTS would like to direct your attention to a sector where there is good news to share! The actions taken by ÉTS in the area of sustainable development have produced a significant positive impact on the environment and on society.
The following are some of the highlights for 2020 in the area of governance and each of the four underlying pillars of our sustainable development approach.
Governance
- Adoption of a new Plan d’action en développement durable 2020-2022; (2020-2022 Sustainable Development Action Plan – in French)
- Adoption of a seal for recognizing sustainable development actions on campus;
- First two meetings of the Sustainable Development subcommittee, made up of students, professors, employees and management personnel;
- Hiring of a Sustainable Development Communication Advisor and formation of the Sustainable Development Team;
- Recipient of the “Transition écologique” (ecological transition) award from Concertation Montréal;
Teaching
- Beginning of work aimed at creating a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering degree program;
- Creation of a tool for identifying the stages of sustainable development by the Co-operative Education Service;
- Creation of a sustainable development co-op work term bursary that will be awarded for the first time in 2021;
Research
- Arrival at ÉTS of the Centre d’études et de recherche intersectorielles en économie circulaire (CÉRIÉC – Centre for intersectoral study and research into the circular economy);
- Creation of the Marcelle-Gauvreau Engineering Research Chairs program, including two new chairs related to sustainable development, held by Professors Annie Poulin and Martine Dubé;
Community
- Development of a new park between Pavilion D and Student House, creating a vibrant outdoor green living space in the heart of the campus;
- Unveiling of the work of art entitled "Réaction en chaîne" (“Chain reaction”) by the Artist Ludovic Boney, at the centre of the new park;
- Integration of an art mural at Resto-pub 100 Génies;
- Acceptance and co-financing of a highly visible mural through the Ville de Montréal’s Programme d’art mural (mural art program), to be completed in 2021 at the corner of rue Peel and rue William;
- Adaptation of Rendez-vous culturels de ÉTS (ÉTS cultural gatherings) to virtual mode (two virtual comedy club events);
- Production of a catalogue of the ÉTS art collection;
Operations
- Production of the first greenhouse gas inventory for the year 2018-2019;
- Adoption of a new Plan de gestion des matières résiduelles 2020-2023 (2020-2023 waste management plan – in French).
ÉTS is mindful of the impact of its activities and proud of how productive it has been this past year, and is eagerly looking forward to pursuing its commitments in the area of sustainable development in 2021!