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Sustainability in our School

The School of Construction and the Environment is concerned with the natural environment, the built environment and the relationship between them. We work to embed sustainability across our curriculum and programs. We foster sustainability in education and operations. We are a leader in sustainability education and training.

Sustainability Highlights

Ecocity World Summit

The School of Construction and the Environment had submitted a bid in collaboration with Tourism Vancouver and the Vancouver Convention Centre West to host the Ecocity World Summit in 2019. Due to the School’s leadership in education and training for sustainable built environments, Vancouver successfully won the bid to host the next Ecocity World Summit from October 7 to 11, 2019. The BCIT community and its many partners participated at this opportunity to connect individuals and organizations to likeminded people around the world.

Since 1990, this globally focused conference has run every two years in such diverse locations as Melbourne, Australia and Abu Dhabi, UAE, and we were delighted to bring it to Vancouver. The conference brought together over 1000 delegates from around the world to discuss issues of urban sustainability. The theme was ‘Socially Just and Ecologically Sustainable Cities’. The School had taken the lead to convene the conference program. At the Summit, BCIT was also excited to launch the Centre for Ecocities.


Sustainability Speaker Series

The Sustainability Speaker Series highlights exciting topics in sustainability that are relevant to the students in the School of Construction and the Environment.

BCIT faculty receives international award for Open Educational Resources textbook

Congratulations to BCIT alumna and Forest Resources faculty Julia Alards-Tomalin’s Open Education Resource Textbook Buds, Branches, and Bark: A Guide to Winter Identification in the Pacific Northwest for being named...

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BCIT alumna Molly Hudson inspires progress as VP of Sustainability and first woman Chief Forester at Mosaic Forest Management

From a tree planter nearly two decades ago to her new role as Vice President of Sustainability and Chief Forester at Mosaic Forest Management, Molly Hudson carved an uncharted path...

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BCIT recognized as a top performer in the 2023 Sustainable Campus Index

Once again, BCIT has been recognized by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) as a top performer in the 2023 Sustainable Campus Index (SCI), tying for fifth...

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BCIT collaborates on International Ecological Footprint Learning Lab

The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) is collaborating with York University and the University of Iceland on an International Ecological Footprint Learning Lab project. This project, led by York...

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Protecting the planet: BCIT Ecological Restoration alum looks to Indigenous land stewardship with hope for the future

In fall 2021, an extensive ecological restoration project was initiated to rebuild and conserve the foreshore area of Granite Falls in Say Nuth Khaw Yum Provincial Park. Led by Tsleil-Waututh...

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The School of Construction and the Environment adopted a Sustainability Framework to inform all educational programs, research and operational activities. The Sustainability Framework is premised on the global challenge to live within the Earth’s carrying capacity, to provide equal opportunity to the world’s population, and to account for all costs and benefits of decisions. Learn more about the Sustainability Framework and the International Ecocity Framework.