The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) has been named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for 2025 by Canada’s Top 100 Employers. This annual award celebrates employers across Canada who demonstrate outstanding leadership in advancing green initiatives and environmental consciousness throughout their organizations.
For BCIT, this recognition reflects the Institute’s commitment to social equity as an extension of sustainability and environmental stewardship.
“We are proud to be recognized once again as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers,” says Chris Hudson, Vice President, BCIT People, Culture, and Inclusion. “At BCIT, being a green employer isn’t just about protecting the environment – it’s about creating a more equitable and inclusive world for everyone.”
Embracing social equity as a green employer
“Sustainability and environmentalism are similar, but what truly sets them apart is the social equity piece,” explains Dr. Jennie Moore, Institute Sustainability, BCIT.
As one of BC’s largest post-secondary institutes with five campuses and over 45,000 students enrolled each year, a holistic and practical approach to sustainability guides how BCIT creates a supportive environment for everyone to thrive. From operations and infrastructure to learning and teaching, sustainability is woven into every aspect of BCIT.
The Institute’s IDEAS initiative – encompassing principles of Indigenization, inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility, sustainability, and student wellbeing – provides an interconnected lens to orient how we work, think, and engage socially. IDEAS represents an ethic of care and accountability which leads to collective, positive impact extending across the BCIT community and beyond.
In illustrating the application of IDEAS, Jennie’s work begs the question: “What kind of contribution are our graduates going to be making to lead purpose-driven careers that build a better world?”
“We want them to see sustainability not as an add-on, but as an essential lens through which to view their work and their role in society,” explains Jennie. To further bring this goal to life, BCIT recently launched a sustainability community of practice for instructors who have an interest in embedding environmental wellness and social responsibility into their curriculum.
Likewise, the soon-to-be completed 12-storey Tall Timber Student Housing on the Burnaby Campus will offer accessible, affordable housing for nearly 470 BCIT students – doubling the on-campus housing capacity. The building is designed to meet the highest level of the BC Energy Step Code program, and also serves as an innovative model for sustainable construction in BC. Throughout the construction period, the Tall Timber Student Housing project also functioned as a Living Lab of sustainability for students, faculty, researchers, and industry partners to collaborate, learn, and innovate.
“Overall, there has been a move toward greater collaboration when it comes to sustainability efforts”, says Jennie. “No matter what job you’re in at BCIT, being a good steward of the Earth and contributing to a better future goes collaboratively with being in this sector.”
Read the full article from Canada’s Top 100 Employers about BCIT as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for 2025.
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Quick facts:
- BCIT Sustainability Vision: BCIT launched its first Sustainability Vision in 2020, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.
- BCIT IDEAS: At BCIT, everyone has a role to play in advancing principles of reconciliation, inclusion, equity, accessibility, sustainability, and student wellbeing.
- BCIT Centre for Ecocities: Worked with over 30 municipalities across BC to measure their consumption-based carbon and ecological footprints and help plan transformations to sustainable living.
- Clean Energy Champion award recipient: BCIT has been recognized by BC Hydro for its commitment to investing in clean energy and reducing green-house gas emissions. The BCIT decarbonization roadmap targets a 50% reduction in green-house gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 and 100% by 2050.