University of Alberta - Sustainability Council
The Sustainability Council works with all University of Alberta faculties to spark learning, discovery and citizenship for sustainability. Facilitating a central conversation for research and teaching on sustainability, we provide students with courses and experiential learning that lead to meaningful careers.
The Sustainable Development Goals align with the university’s vision to build one of the world's great universities for the public good. As part of placing Canada on the forefront of global change, through discovery and learning, our academic community is helping to pave the way toward achieving the Global Goals.
The Sustainability Council works with University of Alberta International to support research and teaching on the SDGs. By maintaining a membership in the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, we give faculty, staff and students access to an international platform for sharing knowledge, funding opportunities, research collaborations and events.
Students also have opportunities to learn experientially about the SDGs throughout the year. Sustainability Awareness Week (fall term) and International Week (winter term) put a focus on issues of sustainable development with events like the Global Goals Talks. The World’s Challenge Challenge and Certificate in Sustainability get students out of the classroom to work on real solutions.
Also in coordination with University of Alberta International, we are evaluating the university’s efforts through the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. These are the world’s only global performance tables that assess universities against the SDGs, evaluating impacts in research, outreach and stewardship.
Learn more about all of these programs, and about the University of Alberta students and researchers who are advancing the Sustainable Development Goals: uab.ca/sdgs
Our Organization
The Sustainability Council is led by an academic team including our director, Robert Summers, and associate directors representing different campuses and disciplines. Our staff are based in the University of Alberta’s historic North Power Plant. Apart from developing and running academic programs and events, we represent academic sustainability on the institution's working groups and committees.
Our programs include undergraduate SUST courses and the embedded Certificate in Sustainability, an academic bi-weekly lecture series, the graduate student internship Sustainability Scholars, and the experiential learning program Campus as a Living Lab.
Learn more at: ualberta.ca/sustainability/about