In 1997, UBC became the first Canadian University to adopt a sustainable development policy. A year later, Dr. Freda Pagani was entrusted with the task of creating an organization that would implement this policy by coordinating sustainability initiatives across campus. This was a challenging task, as there were no funds available in the university budget. So Dr. Pagani and her colleagues came up with an idea; they would initiate programs to help the university cut down on its energy and water use by 20% over five years, and part of the savings would fund the office. The Campus Sustainability Office (CSO) was established in 1998 as a selffunded entity with the vision of “earning the respect of future generations for the ecological, social and economic legacy we create”. Since then, UBC has become Canada’s leader in campus sustainability.
• from: UBC Sustainability • document: UBC Sustainability Office • in detail XlnkS610 XlnkC17CA