At the core of McGill’s priorities is a commitment to create a safer, healthier planet; in fact, over one-fifth of McGill faculty and staff are either engaged directly in sustainability research or support it through related work. Across our faculties and disciplines, hundreds of researchers are seeking to understand the environmental, economic and social dimensions of sustainability.
They are making important progress in conserving our ecosystems, reducing plastic waste in our environment, and developing solutions to mitigate climate change, to name just a few areas of impact. Andrew Gonzalez, Liber Ero Chair in Conservation Biology, heads up a lab exploring what can be done to prevent irreversible biodiversity loss. Nathalie Tufenkji, BEng’00, Canada Research Chair in Biocolloids and Surfaces in the Faculty of Engineering, is seeking solutions to the global crisis of plastic pollution in soils and freshwater. And McGill researchers led by Engineering Professor Benoit Boulet, MEng’92, Director of the McGill Engine Centre, have developed more affordable and efficient technology to power electric buses and trucks.
Last year, McGill’s expanding sustainability efforts were given a huge boost through a landmark $15-million philanthropic investment from agri-food entrepreneur Marc Bieler, DipAgr’58, BA’64, and his wife, Marie Bieler, BSc(Agr)’80, that will bolster interdisciplinary teaching, research and experiential learning at the McGill School of Environment. In recognition of this extraordinary gift, the School has been renamed the Bieler School of Environment.
“As someone whose career connects him to the land, Mr. Bieler understands that we must find solutions to the environmental perils we face, and he recognizes that McGill has the expertise to do that,” said Frédéric Fabry, BSc’88, MSc’90, PhD’94, Director of the Bieler School of Environment.
“With its world-class expertise across a broad range of disciplines, the Bieler School now has the capacity to equip a new generation of environmental leaders with the skills, agility, and global perspective to tackle the environmental challenges of today and tomorrow.”
Likening his gift to a pebble tossed into a pond, Bieler hopes that it will motivate others to support the School’s important work. “Knowledge is power, and I have great confidence that this investment will propel the School’s important contributions to new levels of excellence and encourage others to support its vital work.”
Commitment to combat climate change
Recognizing that decelerating climate change starts at home, McGill has set three ambitious goals in its new action plan, the McGill University Climate & Sustainability Strategy 2020-2025: to attain a Platinum rating from the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) by 2030, to become a zero-waste operation by 2035, and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.
The University’s Board of Governors has also approved an ambitious action plan to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of its endowment through the removal of highly carbon intensive companies, along with a significant increase in the portfolio’s investments in renewable energy, clean technologies, energy efficiency, green building, pollution prevention, sustainable water and other low-carbon funds.
McGill’s Green Century Fund
Likewise, recognizing that a growing number of philanthropists share its commitment to environmental sustainability, McGill introduced an innovative investment option for donors making endowed gifts of $100,000 or more. They can now choose to have the funds placed in a new segment of McGill’s overall endowment fund: the Green Century Fund. Its holdings are invested in global equities that exclude companies that produce or have reserves in fossil fuels, or that generate power using thermal coal.
“So many McGill donors share our firm commitment to a healthier future for our world,” says Marc Weinstein, BA’85, BCL'91, LLB’91, Vice-Principal, University Advancement. “With the Green Century Fund, their donation can grow over time in a portfolio that is aligned with that goal.”