Sustainability plans

Our vision

UNB is a leader in sustainability and environmental stewardship across universities in Canada.

Our goals

UNB will become carbon neutral, will effectively adapt to climate change, and will achieve a high sustainability rating from a reputable external body.

Our long-term targets

• To achieve carbon neutrality by 2050
• To attain a Gold sustainability rating by 2030

How did we get here?

From 2016-2020 UNB Sustainability engaged with the campus community to create a UNB Climate Change Action Plan and a UNBF (Fredericton-specific) Campus Sustainability Plan. These plans are sister documents that work together to help reach our vision and goals.

The UNB Climate Change Action Plan focuses on our goal of achieving carbon neutrality and effectively adapting to climate change, while the UNBF Campus Sustainability Plan focuses on our goal of achieving a high sustainability rating. UNB Sustainability is currently working to develop a UNBSJ Campus Sustainability Plan by 2021 that will help further advance our goal of achieving a high sustainability rating.

Achieve carbon neutrality by 2050

A UNB Climate Change Action Plan was published in 2020 and is currently guiding UNB towards becoming a carbon neutral institution by 2050, and adapting to climate change.

UNB's Climate Change Action Plan is focused on the following areas on our two campuses:

Reducing carbon emissions

• Energy and Infrastructure
• Transportation
• Education and Programs
• Waste Management
• Sustainable Grounds

Adapting to climate change

Attain a Gold sustainability rating by 2030

UNBF’s Campus Sustainability Plan serves to guide the Fredericton Campus towards a more sustainable future. It provides UNB with strategic direction for achieving sustainability objectives in the following areas:

• Academics
• Engagement
• Operations
• Planning and Administration

In order to assess the existing levels of sustainability in the above areas at UNBF, a third-party sustainability assessment was conducted.

The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), a program of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), was selected for measuring sustainability at UNB. STARS was chosen as it is a transparent, self-reporting, sustainable assessment tool specifically designed for universities and colleges.

UNB first completed STARS in 2017 to gain baseline sustainability information for the Fredericton campus. This assessment method will be used every three years to measure UNB’s progress of sustainability. STARS has five possible ratings; increasingly they are:

• Reporter
• Bronze
• Silver
• Gold
• Platinum

As of 2021 UNBF and UNBSJ have both achieved a Silver rating from STARS.

UNB Sustainability is currently working to develop a UNBSJ Campus Sustainability Plan. Together, the UNBSJ and UNBF plans will guide us toward meeting our target of attaining a Gold sustainability rating by 2030.

Together, UNB’s Climate Change Action Plan and each of the Campus Sustainability Plans will help support the mission of UNB “to inspire and educate our people to become problem solvers and leaders in the world, undertake research that addresses societal challenges, and engage with our partners to build a more just, sustainable, and inclusive world.”