On March 27, Niagara College deepened its commitment to sustainability, signing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Accord and the Nature Positive Pledge.

“Niagara College is very proud to sign the SDG Accord and Nature Positive Pledge, both of which align with the commitment to environmental sustainability in our Strategic Plan,” said President Sean Kennedy. “We are committed to stewarding our unique and beautiful campuses with a keen awareness of our impact on the environment.”

The SDG accord signals the College’s commitment to embedding the UN’s 17 urgent calls to action within its education, research, leadership, operations, administration and engagement activities to help tackle climate change. The Nature Positive Pledge links NC to a global higher-education collective – Nature Positive Universities – working to restore species and ecosystems on campuses.

Kennedy and the College’s Executive Team signed the agreements in NC’s newly renovated Office of Sustainability. The refreshed space – a collaborative workspace for the sustainability team – is located at the Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake, a UNESCO-designed World Biosphere Reserve and a living laboratory for students in leading-edge environmental programs.

Moving the College toward broader, net-positive sustainability impacts are central to NC’s strategic direction and are being powered by the work of Taryn Wilkinson, NC’s Manager of Sustainability, and her team.

“NC’s pledges to the SDG Accord and Nature Positive Universities reflect the work we have undertaken over the past several years – and continue to do – to better our communities and our environment through enhancing sustainable practices on our campuses,” said Wilkinson.

Wilkinson’s work to enhance the culture of sustainability of the College includes developing and actioning a Sustainability Plan. The revised plan – informed by broad consultation with the NC community – will launch later in 2023 and establish the priorities for the next five years.

“We are so proud to see more and more of our members signing the SDG Accord. With each new signatory, we can achieve more as a sector to contribute to positive change for people, communities, and the planet,” said Denise Amyot, President and CEO, Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICAN). “Congratulations, Niagara College on taking this important step to mark the global leadership of Canada’s colleges and institutes in sustainability.”

In addition to a commitment to annual reporting, the College will join the SDG Accord Community of Practice. The group is a collective of post-secondary institutions – organized by CICAN – who meet regularly to discuss the important role that education plays in advancing the SDG’s.

The Nature Positive Pledge also commits NC to benchmarking the impact that its campuses have on the natural environment on an annual basis by incorporating a biodiversity baseline, targets, actions, and reporting into their practices.

“The Nature Positive Pledge solidifies NC’s role as leaders in the Niagara community when it comes to addressing climate and biodiversity crises and efforts to sustain more resilient ecosystems,” said Al Unwin, Dean, Business and Environment Division, whose work is deeply entwined with the SDG’s. Unwin was a member of the Canadian delegations at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Switzerland in March, 2022, and UN Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biodiversity in Montreal in December, 2022. The Montreal-Kunming Global Biodiversity Framework agreement was finalized at COP, setting firm global targets to protect nature over the next decade.

Niagara College has a full-time enrolment of more than 9,500 students from over 80 countries, who study in 130 diploma, certificate and bachelor degree programs at specialized campuses in Welland and Niagara-on-the-Lake. Niagara College is also involved in educational projects and partnerships around the world and is consistently ranked among Canada’s top 10 colleges for research funding. Learn more at niagaracollege.ca.