UBC one of Canada’s Greenest Employers in 2016
It’s Earth Day at UBC, and we are celebrating UBC’s research and work in the realm of climate change, forests and trees. Find out all the great ways to join the celebration here.
On this Earth Day, we are pleased to share with you that UBC has been named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers in 2016, for the fifth year in a row.
Some of UBC’s green initiatives include:
- UBC was the first university in Canada to create a sustainable development policy in 1997, followed by the opening of the first Sustainability Office in 1998.
- UBC became the first Canadian school to sign the International Sustainable Campus Charter and join the International Sustainable Campus Network.
- UBC manages a longstanding “Sustainability Coordinator Program“, involving over 80 staff and faculty who promote and implement sustainable initiatives in their departments.
- UBC adopted the LEED Gold certification standard for all new construction and major renovations of institutional buildings — the University has eight LEED certified buildings thus far (with 15 registered) is preparing to install 20 electric vehicle charging stations as part of a provincial wide initiative, which will be available for employee use.
Read the 2013/2014 Annual Sustainability Report to learn more about UBC’s sustainability efforts, or visit sustain.ubc.ca.
To see all of this year’s Greenest Employers, visit http://www.canadastop100.com/environmental/.
Other Green Initiatives at UBC
- UBC trees are well cared for. Learn how UBC arborist Shawn Riberdy keeps our campus green.
- UBC is taking steps towards climate action. Bud Fraser of Campus & Community Planning discusses his role in cutting GHG emissions.
- Hear UBC experts discuss their work on forests, trees and climate.
- UBC Botanical Gardens’ Dr. Tara Moreau sheds light on her relationship with trees, climate change and campus.
- Forestry’s Sara Barron highlights why urban tree cover is more than just a sustainability issue.
UBC named one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers 2016
UBC has been recognized as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers in 2016, as ranked by Mediacorp Canada Inc. This prestigious contest rewards Canadian companies that stand out through their efforts to create diverse, inclusive workplaces.
Why UBC was selected as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers 2016:
- UBC organizes an annual Gender Diversity in Leadership Forum to connect female faculty members to leaders in their faculty as well as within the university, and maintains a Leadership Advisory Group, responsible for expanding existing leadership opportunities at UBC and increasing diversity in related succession pipelines
- UBC offers an Equity Enhancement Fund to help promote initiatives that contribute significantly to the enhancement of equity and diversity at the university — funds of up to $25,000 per project are available at the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses
- UBC appointed a Director of Intercultural Understanding Strategy Development to help develop a framework for advancing UBC’s commitment to intercultural understanding, which acknowledges the existing and growing diversity of the university’s student body, faculty, and staff — as part of this initiative UBC conducted interviews with faculty and staff and organized student focus groups in order to identify barriers to intercultural understanding on campus
UBC a Top Employer for Young People in 2016
UBC has been recognized as one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People in 2016, the only post-secondary institution to be named to the list. This special designation recognizes the employers that offer the country’s best benefits for younger workers.
UBC received this award, for its work on attracting and retaining young employees, for the fourth year in a row. Some of the services that UBC offers to support young employees:
- a Postdoctoral Fellows Office, which acts as a resource centre to help postdocs expand their professional skills; and
- employees can take advantage of a variety of learning and development programs, including Coaching@UBC, career and personal development workshops, and an academic leadership development program for faculty.
New grads who work at UBC can continue to benefit from many aspects of the university experience, including access to UBC Library, Canada’s second largest research library; access to one of Canada’s largest intramural programs; opportunities to participate in on campus clubs and events; and opportunities to work with or alongside some of the world’s best researchers and innovators.
UBC a Top Employer for Young People in 2015
UBC has been recognized as one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People in 2015, the only post-secondary institution to be named to the list. This special designation recognizes the employers that offer the country’s best benefits for younger workers.
UBC received this award, for its work on attracting and retaining young employees, for the third year in a row. Some of the services that UBC offers to support young employees:
- a Postdoctoral Fellows Office, which acts as a resource centre to help postdocs expand their professional skills;
- employees can take advantage of a variety of learning and development programs, including Coaching@UBC, career and personal development workshops, and an academic leadership development program for faculty; and
- “Hot Lunch,” a cross-campus networking initiative that provides staff with opportunities to connect with colleagues in other departments.
New grads who work at UBC can continue to benefit from many aspects of the university experience, including access to UBC Library, Canada’s second largest research library; access to one of Canada’s largest intramural programs; opportunities to participate in on campus clubs and events; and opportunities to work with or alongside some of the world’s best researchers and innovators.
UBC named one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers 2015
UBC is proud to be named as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers in 2015, as ranked by Mediacorp Canada Inc. This prestigious contest rewards Canadian companies that stand out through their efforts to create diverse, inclusive workplaces.
“What an honour! This award recognizes employers that have exceptional diversity and inclusiveness programs in the workplace,” said Dr. Sara-Jane Finlay, UBC’s Associate Vice President, Equity and Inclusion. “At UBC, we strive to create an environment that recognizes the importance of excellence, equity, and mutual respect for our students, faculty and staff.”
Some of the reasons why UBC was selected as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers 2015:
- established an Equity and Inclusion Office, which encourages dialogue on equity and inclusivity on campus and provides education and training to heighten awareness of human rights, equity and diversity across campus — the office also meets with all new academic heads to discuss the advancement of equity and diversity at UBC.
- through the university’s Equity Enhancement Fund, sponsored six on-campus projects that increased awareness of equity and diversity, including the Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy school’s “Inclusive Campus” campaign to promote equity in the participation of students with disabilities in health and human service professional programs
- the university organizes campus-wide barrier-free recruitment and selection workshops and is currently working on initiatives to advance the recruitment and selection of persons with disabilities, in partnership with local community organizations.
- appointed a Director of Intercultural Understanding Strategy Development to help develop a framework for advancing UBC’s commitment to intercultural understanding, which acknowledges the existing and growing diversity of the university’s student body, faculty, and staff — as part of this initiative UBC conducted interviews with faculty and staff and organized student focus groups in order to identify barriers to intercultural understanding on campus.
- also maintains an Aboriginal Strategic Plan to enhance recruitment, support and advancement of Aboriginal staff and faculty.
- organizes an annual Gender Diversity in Leadership Forum to connect female faculty members to leaders in their Faculties as well as within the University, and maintains a Leadership Advisory Group, which is responsible for expanding existing leadership opportunities at UBC and increasing diversity in related succession pipelines.
- offers “equity briefings” for search committees responsible for senior-level academic positions.
- welcomed additional facilitators of the university’s “Positive Space” campaign, which aims to make UBC a more receptive and welcoming place for LGBT individuals — and has offered approximately 180 workshops to staff and students on LGBT issues since 2002.
For more information on UBC’s people practices, please visit Focus on People.
UBC one of Canada’s Greenest Employers in 2015
UBC has been named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers in 2015, for the fourth straight year.
UBC’s many sustainability oriented initiatives include the Sustainability Coordinators Program involving over 80 staff and faculty, the Sustainability Ambassadors Peer Program for students, and, as part of the “zero waste” program, achieving a waste diversion rate of 67%.
Other green initiatives include:
- UBC was the first university in Canada to develop a sustainable development policy in 1997, followed by the opening of the first sustainability office in 1998.
- UBC partnered with other BC-based universities in 2008 to write and sign the “Climate Change Statement of Action for Canada” that commits signatories to develop emissions reductions and develop annual greenhouse gas inventories.
- Over 1,000 UBC employees participated in the spring and fall Bike to Work Week campaigns – riding over 10,000 kilometres. UBC was recognized as best workplace and best in the higher education category for its participation levels.
- In support of a provincial-wide initiative, the University has installed 20 electric vehicle charging station that are available for use by employees with electric vehicles.
- UBC’s new “Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility” uses clean wood chippings and sawmill residues to generate up to two megawatts of energy for the Vancouver campus, producing enough electricity to power 1,500 homes as well as reducing the university’s natural gas consumption by 12 percent.
Read the 2013/2014 Annual Sustainability Report to learn more about UBC’s sustainability efforts, or visit sustain.ubc.ca.
UBC named one of BC’s Top Employers in 2015
UBC has been named one of BC’s Top Employers in 2015, for the ninth consecutive year.
UBC was recognized for:
- Supporting employee learning through tuition waivers and in-person and online learning and development opportunities
- Tuition support and scholarships for the children of faculty and staff.
- Helping older employees plan for life after retirement
- Offering employees access to on-site fitness facilities as well as year-round outdoor hiking and walking trails.
UBC has over 23,000 faculty, staff and student employees at our campuses in Vancouver and Kelowna, as well as the distributed medical program, hospital, farm, forest and other locations. We are the largest employer of students in the province of British Columbia, with over 9,000 student employees.
Learn more about UBC’s Outstanding Work Environment, part of UBC’s Strategic Priorities.
Read more about BC’s Top Employers Awards at http://www.canadastop100.com/bc/.
UBC a Top Employer for Young People in 2014
UBC has been recognized as one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People in 2014, the only post-secondary institution to be named to the list this year. This special designation recognizes the employers that offer the country’s best benefits for younger workers.
UBC offers diverse learning and development opportunities, including leadership development through the Community Leadership Program and Leave for Change, Managing at UBC (for new managers), free one-on-one coaching, and an academic leadership development program for faculty. In addition, UBC has established a Postdoctoral Fellows Office, which acts as a resource center to help postdocs expand their professional skills.
New grads who work at UBC can continue to benefit from many aspects of the university experience, including access to UBC Library, Canada’s second largest research library; access to one of Canada’s largest intramural programs; opportunities to participate in on campus clubs and events; and opportunities to work with or alongside some of the world’s best researchers and innovators.
UBC one of Canada’s Greenest Employers in 2014
UBC has been named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers in 2014, for the third straight year.
UBC’s many sustainability oriented initiatives include the Sustainability Ambassadors Peer Program for undergraduate students, the Sustainability Coordinators Program for employees, and establishing LEED certification levels in all new buildings.
Other UBC green initiatives include:
- Committing to aggressive campus-wide greenhouse gas reduction targets with the goal to be a net positive energy producer by 2050.
- Developing an in-house UBC Green Office & Assessment & Certification program to help departments to “green” their own operations and how to become more sustainable.
- Opening the Sustainability Education Resource Centre, staffed by students who provide one-on-one guidance to their fellow students about sustainable options in their curricular and extra-curricular activities
- Sustaining the new “Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility,” which clean wood chippings and sawmill residues to generate up to two megawatts of energy for its Vancouver campus, producing enough electricity to power 1,500 homes as well as reducing the university’s natural gas consumption by 12 percent
Visit the UBC Sustainability site for full information on UBC’s sustainability initiatives, or visit the Mediacorp site for more information on this award.
UBC is one of Canada’s Top Employers For Young People
UBC has been recognized as one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People in 2013. This is the first time UBC has been named to this list.
Canadian organizations are named to this annual list primarily because of the opportunities they provide to develop skills and experience, such as learning programs, work learn opportunities, and educational assistance. The judges also consider perks like onsite fitness and recreation facilities, vacation time, and social opportunities.
UBC offers diverse learning and development opportunities, including leadership development through the Community Leadership Program and Leave for Change, Managing at UBC (for new managers), free one-on-one coaching, and tuition waivers that cover fees for UBC’s academic and continuing studies courses. Additionally the university’s size and breadth enable young people to explore diverse roles and stay at the same organization.
UBC offers a wide range of opportunities to young staff, faculty and postdoctoral fellows.
New grads who work at UBC can continue to benefit from many aspects of the university experience, easing the transition from student to professional life. Some of these benefits include access to UBC Library, Canada’s second largest research library; access to one of Canada’s largest intramural programs; opportunities to participate in on campus clubs and events; and, opportunities to work with or alongside some of the world’s best researchers and innovators.
Compared to many employers, UBC provides an experience that’s “not your typical day-to-day.” It’s up to you to explore the possibilities. Interested in learning more? Check out the UBC Zone at Career Days October 2 and 3, 10 am to 4 pm in the SUB Concourse and Ballroom.