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George Brown College
Green Plan Update– 2013
GeorgeBrownCollege Green Plan Update | 2
Introduction
As George Brown College moves forward on its journey towards 2020, the College has committed to “create a
college experience that enhances student satisfaction … by ensuring resources are used as responsibly, ethically
and efficiently as possible.” This includes the need to operate facilities as efficiently as possible, reducing waste
and conserving resources. This approach is at the basis of the College’s environmental commitments as outlined
in this Green Plan.
Another key element in the College’s Road Map 2020 is the commitment to “Guide the financial and physical
resources of the organization so that it can grow responsibly and in a manner that enhances the college
environment to the benefit of the entire George Brown College community.” An important part of this is the need
to oversee stewardship of the college’s physical growth. That’s why the Green Plan sets the bar high in terms of
how the College can work to model environmental sustainability.
Building on this theme, environmental sustainability of the College’s built environment supports the College’s
intention to “create campus environments that are innovative, creative and nurture graduates… and to provide
students with environments — inside and outside classrooms and labs — that are highly conducive to learning”.
As a LEED Gold certified building, the new Waterfront Campus is a model for how the College will grow into the
future, demonstrating best practices in terms of “green”, high performance buildings that promote healthy indoor
environments proven to increase learning outcomes as well as to increase staff productivity.
This Green Plan II represents an evolution of Green Plan I especially in terms of defining tactics and goals for
integrating environmental sustainability into the College’s culture through the Go Green Campaign. By
increasing awareness of how individuals can model environmental stewardship in their personal and professional
lives, we can all help to advance the College's Green Plan commitments.
The College has made good progress onmany fronts to fulfill its Green plan goals but there is still work to do.
This Green Plan II is the green road map that the College will follow to continue on its journey to become a
greener College.
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Contents
Introduction
Background
George Brown College Sustainability
Guidelines
Facilities Management
ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE
WATER CONSUMPTION
WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RECYCLING
HOUSEKEEPING AND GREEN CLEANING
Policies and Practices
ISSUE:
ISSUE:
ISSUE:
ISSUE:
GREEN PURCHASING
PAPER CONSUMPTION
GREENING FOOD SERVICES
TRANSPORTATION
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Background
In 2005 staff interest let to the establishment of a “Green Team” as part of the College Council structure. The
ideas and energy of this group was able to accomplish some results but they did not have a direct accountability
within the overall college structure.
As a result, in 2006 the College formalized creation of the Green Team as an official committee of the college. It
is Co-Chaired by the Vice President of Corporate Services, Eugene Harrigan, and the Dean of the Centre of
Construction and Engineering Technologies, Nancy Sherman. The Green Team includes representatives from
across all areas of the College, including faculty and administrative staff.
The main goals of the Green Team are to:
-
Develop the College’s Green Plan to promote the use of environmentally sound practices campus-wide;
-
Be accountable for implementation of the Green Plan and measure progress over time;
-
Engage and educate the College community in conservation and demand management practices aimed at
reducing the College's overall ecological footprint;
-
Identify opportunities for transforming the College’s campi into learning laboratories for demonstration of
sustainable technologies;
-
Support faculty in developing curricula to prepare students with skills required to tackle the challenges of
a sustainable society;
Leverage and align college-wide Green initiatives with the college’s strategic plan.
In 2007 George Brown College released its first Green Plan Framework. It summarized the College’s “baseline”
environmental performance across a number of key indicator areas, including energy and water consumption,
waste management and recycling, food services, housekeeping and transportation. The Green Plan Framework
provided the foundation upon which the College’s Green Plan I was developed.
In 2008 George Brown College released its first Green Plan I (2008-13) which included environmental objectives,
targets and measurable outcomesfor reducing the College’s environmental impacts over a five year period. Itset
targets in a number of areas including facilities and operations, green purchasing, policies and practices. It also set
goals to encourage greening of academics and the curriculum.
This updated Green Plan II (2013-17) includes revised targets for reducing the College’s environmental impacts.
It also summarizes progress achieved to date, identifies areas where further work is needed to advance the
College’s environmental sustainability goals, and includes some new areas of focus such as communications and
engagement initiatives.
George Brown College
Sustainability Guidelines
GeorgeBrownCollege recognizes that Colleges have a major role in the education, research and information
exchange necessary support society’s transition to an equitable and sustainable future. The following
Sustainability Guidelines are the underpinnings upon which specific Green Plan goals are based.
Institutional Culture of Sustainability
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-
Initiate, promote and conduct programs that promote sustainability in co-operation with academic and
administrative departments and engage and educate the College community in conservation and demand
management practices aimed at reducing the College's overall ecological footprint.
Demonstrate Environmental Stewardship
- Work to reduce the College’s ecological footprint by establishing institutional policies and promoting
practices for resource conservation, recycling, waste reduction and environmentally sound operations.
-
Implement the College’s Green Plan, including an ongoing process of sustainability measurement,
implementation and evaluation, understanding that the Green Plan is dynamic document which will change
over time in response to changing needs.
Green the Curriculum
- Develop “green” curriculum to produce expertise in fields related to sustainable development and support
faculty in developing curricula to prepare students with the knowledge and skills needed to tackle the
challenges of a sustainable society, while enabling them to benefit from the economic opportunities that will
arise as a result of solutions they develop and implement.
Inter-Professional Approaches
- Encourage inter-professional approaches to applied research, education, policy formation and information
exchange on sustainability issues, including development of opportunities for transforming the College’s
campi into learning laboratories for demonstration of sustainable technologies.
Maintaining Momentum
- Support the College’s Green Team to maintain momentum in promoting sustainability at the College and to
inform and support each other’s efforts in fulfilling the expectations of this Policy.
Facilities Management
Energy and Climate Change
Energy and Climate
Change
TOTAL KWH
2005 – 2006
Total Square
Feet:
1,250,000
2011 – 2012
Total Square
Feet:
1,350,000
21,786,000
23,470,717
3
% Difference
7.73%
3
TOTAL NATURAL GAS
1,958,000 m
METRIC TONNES CO2E
7973
6465
-.019%
ENERGY INTENSITY PER
SQUARE FOOT (EKWH/SF)
33.61
30.25
-10%
1,681,267 m
Green Plan I Targets
- Increase energy efficiency of existing College buildings.
- Maintain greenhouse gas emissions at 2006 levels.
- Reduce consumption of energy from fossil-fuel based sources.
-14.13%
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George Brown College Carbon Footprint Breakdown
9,000
Matric Tonnes C02e
8,000
7,000
6,000
5,000
CO2e Natural Gas
4,000
CO2e Electricity
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
2005-06 2006-07
2007-08 2008-09 2009-10
2010-11 2011-12
Green Plan I Energy Results
- The College has exceeded its goal and successfully reduced its carbon footprint by 20% compared to 2006
levels in spite of adding approximately 100,000 square feet of buildings (excluding the Waterfront Campus) and
increasing occupancy as student population has increased from approximately 18,000 to 28,000 full time
students.
- The College has also achieved its Green Plan Phase I goal to reduce energy consumption per square metre,
having increased energy intensity (Giga Joule1 per square metre) by 10%.
44,000,000
43,000,000
42,000,000
41,000,000
40,000,000
39,000,000
38,000,000
34.00
33.00
32.00
31.00
30.00
29.00
28.00
6
-0
05
0
2
7
-0
06
0
2
8
-0
07
0
2
9
-0
08
0
2
0
-1
09
0
2
1
-1
10
0
2
ekWh per square
foot
Total e-kWh
George Brown College
Total Equivalent Kilowatt Hours
2
-1
11
0
2
Fiscal Year
Green Plan II Future Plans
- Work with the College’s Green Team to implement a demand management and conservation program to reduce
total energy consumption at the college
- Continue with the implementation of energy retrofit plans for 200 King and 160 Kendal as recommended in
previous energy audit reports. Current estimates indicated that these retrofits would result in a GHG reduction
of approximately 790 metric tonnes which is almost 10% of the College’s current carbon footprint.
- Seek out financial mechanisms and governments incentives to support funding of energy retrofit plans.
- Ensure that renovations to new College buildings (leased and owned) include installation of state of the art
energy efficiency measures.
- Link building automation systems for disparate College campus buildings to enable a coordinated approach to
tracking and managing energy consumption.
- Investigate opportunities for more pilot or demonstration scale renewable energy projects on campuses and
consider more purchase of clean energy from renewable energy sources.
1
A gigajoule (GJ) is a metric term used for measuring energy use using a single number to represent all your energy sources. 1 GJ is
equivalent to the amount of energy available from either: 277.8 kWh of electricity, or26.1 m3 of natural gas. Ref: Natural Resources Canada:
http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/commercial/technical-info/tools/gigajoule-definition.cfm
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Water Consumption
Objective: Use Water Efficiently
Baseline and Current Water Consumption Rates
Water
Consumption
2006 – 2007
Total Square
Feet:
1,250,000
2011 –
20012 Total
Square Feet:
1,350,000
TOTAL CUBIC
METRES
97,088
130,765
CUBIC METRES
PER SQUARE
FEET
0.08
0.098
% Difference
34.8%
24.8%
Per Capita Water
Consumption
5.39
5.03
George Brown College Water Consumption
Cubic Metres (m3)
160000
0.1100
140000
0.1050
120000
100000
0.1000
Total
0.0950
Per Square Foot
80000
60000
40000
0.0900
20000
0
0.0850
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
Green Plan I Water Results:
- Overall water consumption has increased 34.8% in total reflecting the increase in building footprint of 100,000
square feet. However, on a per capita basis, water consumption has actually decreased slightly.
- Water consumption has increased primarily in 300 Adelaide and 215 King St. and can be attributed to new
cooking facilities for the Culinary Arts program and in The Chef’s House Restaurant.
- Water consumption at 200 King and the Casa Loma Campus has stayed more or less the same over the last 4
years despite increased FTE student occupancy levels from 16,000 – 20,000.
Cubic Metres per Square Foot (m3/sf)
GBC Water Consumption Per Square Foot
0.45
0.40
0.35
1 Dartnel
0.30
160 Kendal
175 Kendal
0.25
500 MacPherson
0.20
200 King
0.15
215 King
0.10
300 Adelaide
0.05
0.00
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
Green Plan II Water Target:
- Maintain or reduce water consumption on a square foot basis.
Green Plan II Future Plans:
- Water fixtures in renovated and leased spaces (193 and 222 King St. E.) will all be high efficiency.
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Waste Management and Recycling
Objective:
- Use materials efficiently
- Minimize waste and maximize recyclability
GBC Total Waste and R
Diversion Rate
Total Waste to
Landfill (MT)
Metric Tonnes Per
Capita
2009-10
49%
471.99
0.021
2010-11
47.70%
550.3
0.023
2011-12
63.00%
594.87
0.021
E-Waste
0.30%
Paper Shredding
1.76%
Sheet Metal
0.39%
CCET Di
0.70
Organics
17.45%
Cardboard
19.97%
Paper, Cans &
Bottles
19.92%
Green Plan I Targets
- Increase total diversion (recycling rate) to 70%
- Reduce total waste stream (garbage/waste and recycling) per capita by 15% over 3 years
- Reduce hazardous substances/materials on campus
- Increase recycling and salvage of construction and renovation by 25% over 5 years
Results:
- The College’s recycling rate has increased from 49% to 63% over the last 3 years.
- Amount of waste generated increased in the last 3 years however the amount per capita has decreased.
Green Plan II Targets:
- Achieve 70% waste diversion
- Reduce total waste by 10%
- Divert 100% of electronic waste
- Divert 25% construction and renovation waste
Green Plan II Future Plans
- Develop a College-wide communications and education campaign to inform the community about the College’s
recycling and waste management goals.
- Expand food waste collection to also include pre-consumer food waste, Student Association-run cafeterias,
post-consumer food waste from College cafeterias and leftover food from meetings and events
- Install recycling bins at outside locations including the 2nd floor patio at 200 King and “Moose Park” at Casa
Loma Campus
- Reduce the number of black garbage containers outside of classrooms and at miscellaneous locations around the
college
- Collect wood/saw dust from Casa Loma Campus for inclusion in the organics diversion stream.
- Start a battery collection program operated out of the Health & Safety offices at both campuses
- Recycle non-clinical wax from the Denturism Program.
CCET W
2.49
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Housekeeping and Green Cleaning
Green Plan I Objective:
- To demonstrate best practices in terms of environmental sustainability in terms of products and processes used
in the College's Housekeeping program and thus ensure a college environment with indoor air quality that is
comfortable, clean and safe.
Results:
- 90% of the cleaning products used by the College have either Green Seal or Eco-Logo certification.
- 200 King is using a chemical-free, water based aqueous ozone multi-purpose product for all cleaning which
eliminates the need for even certified green cleaning products.
- New steam vapour vacuum cleaners use no chemicals and are excellent for cleaning carpets, upholstery and
difficult to clean surfaces like elevator tracks.
Green Plan II Future Plans:
- Expand use of aqueous ozone cleaning product at all campuses.
For more information contact: Anthony Scarlato, Manager of Housekeeping
Policies and Practices
Issue: Green Purchasing
Objective: To reduce the environmental impacts associated with the College’s purchasing decisions, including
“upstream” impacts related to the extraction of natural resources, manufacturing, transportation and packaging,
and “downstream” in the final disposal, recycling and reuse of products.
Results:
- The College has a Green Purchasing Policy which specifies environmental attributes as preferable (recycled
content, recyclability, LEED Criteria, toxics contents, local, environmentally friendly, etc.) It also makes
recommendations regarding purchase of various product categories that should meet the standards of thirdparty environmental certification programs, including for: paint; furniture, fixtures, floor coverings;
computers and electronics; appliances and equipment; housekeeping and cleaning products and services; and
wood products/lumber.
-
The College has Green Purchasing Sustainability Guidelines for furniture, fixtures and equipment. These
guidelines which are also made available to contractors, specify certain criteria that should be met in terms of
a product’s manufacturing process, off-gassing properties and in terms of recycled material content and being
locally manufactured. Categories include wood products, carpets and flooring and paints and coatings.
-
The College’s Policy and Procedures for Purchasing ITS (Information Technology Services) Equipment
includes specifications that equipment meet certain levels under the EPEAT(Electronic Product Assessment
Tool) program
-
The College has a Paper Use and Purchasing Policy that includes guidelines for College use of paper. The
College has also switched to photocopy paper which has 30% Post Consumer Waste (PCW) recycled content
and is either certified by the forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or the Sustainable Forests Initiative (SFI).
Green Plan II Future Plans:
- Ensure the consistency in terms of the weighting of environmental criteria when carrying out Technical
Evaluation of proposals received in response to Requests for Proposal and Quotes. Where feasible, increase
weighting for environmental criteria to 10% of total points.
GeorgeBrownCollege Green Plan Update | 10
-
Reduce paper consumption associated with proposals by requesting vendors not to submit a copy of the
College’s RFP with submissions and requesting that all paper submissions be printed double sided.
For more information contact: Wray Hodgson, Manager, and Purchasing
Issue: Paper Consumption
Green Plan I Goal: To reduce total consumption of paper by 15% over 5 years and to purchase paper that has
been manufactured with minimal impact on the environment.
Progress to Date:
- Over the last four years the College’s photocopy paper has increased by 10.2%; however, per capita paper use
has decreased by approximately the same amount.
GBC Photocopy #
Sheets
Grenville Printing #
Sheets
Total # Sheets
Photocopy Paper
Photocopy Paper
Per Capita GBC
Per Capita (GBC &
per Capita
Photocopy Sheets
Grenville)
Grenville
2009-10:
17,977,000
9,827,612
27,804,612
1,159
749
409
2010-11
21,277,838
11,280,772
32,558,610
1,163
760
403
2011-12
21,679,241
10,617,675
32,296,916
1,114
774
379
2012-13
19,971,392
10,667,347
30,638,739
1,057
689
368
10.19%
-10.17%
Green Plan II Future Plans:
- Launch a Photocopy Paper Challenge to all departments to reduce paper use by 15%.
-
Be more proactive in encouraging faculty to provide course outlines on-line and to accept and mark
assignments electronically.
-
Consider adding a surcharge to departments for paper use to serve as an incentive to reduce paper
consumption.
-
Start tracking student paper consumption such as in the Learning Commons and Computer Labs and other
classroom with printers
- New campus locations at Waterfront Campus, 193 and 341 King do not allow single (personal) printers.
For more information contact: Geoff Swift, Senior Manager, Business Services
Issue: Greening Food Services
Green Plan Objective:
To reduce the environmental impacts of the College’s food service operation by modeling environmental
sustainability practices.
Green Plan I Results:
- The College developed a Green Meeting Guide
that is used as a resource by the College community in
planning events and functions with minimal impact on the environment.
-
Only Fair Trade certified (organic and shade-grown) coffee is used in College-run cafeterias and for catering.
-
Customers are offered 10 cent discount for bringing their own reusable coffee/tea mug to the cafeteria.
-
The use of Styrofoam in College food services has been eliminated; take out containers in College run
cafeterias are biodegradable as are all coffee cups.
-
The College no longer uses bottled water for office catering; bulk water is provided instead.
-
New vending machines with healthier food options have been added to St. James campus as a pilot.
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-
We switched to single serve Pizza Pizza servings instead of a whole mini-pizza box reducing cardboard use.
-
Used vegetable oil is collected and sent to a local chicken farm where it is used as a feed additive.
-
All pre-consumer food waste is collected for compost including from Tim Horton's/
-
Condiments are served in bulk rather than single serve packages.
-
All napkins are 100% recycled, unbleached napkins.
Green Plan II Future Plans:
- Be a resource to the Student Association in helping them to specify environmentally friendly food service
options for their food service vendors such as at La Doice Vita. For example, an effort needs to be made to
eliminate use of Styrofoam take-out containers.
-
Start with the Waterfront Campus, efforts will be made to track purchase of local (Ontario) food and
percentage of "sustainable" food.
For more information contact: Geoff Swift, Senior Manager, Finance
Issue: Transportation
Green Plan I Objective:
- Encourage alternatives to conventional vehicle use.
Progress to Date:
- The College has added over 40 new bike parking spots on Casa Loma and St. James Campuses.
-
The College provides incentives for public transit by providing discounted TTC Metropasses for students and
employee as well as a College discount for Auto Share membership.
-
College is working with Smart Commute Toronto to develop an overall Sustainable Transportation Strategy.
Green Plan II Future Plans
- Set-up an on-line Smart Commute Car Pool Zone for College employees.
-
Investigate possibility of putting shelters over some of the bike parking racks.
-
Explore feasibility of designated carpool parking for carpoolers.
-
Make special parking spots available at Casa Loma Campus for hybrid vehicles and car pool cars.
- Encourage employees to take advantage of the City's Activate Your Commute web-site and resources.
For more information: Contact Stephanie Foster, Green Team/ Sustainability Coordinator.