Subcommittees
Awards Subcommittee
The ESAC Awards Subcommittee adjudicates the following sustainability awards: TRU Environmental Sustainability Achievement Awards, Tom Owen Environmental Sustainability Award, and the Herbinlay Happy Planet Award. For more information on these awards, go to the Awards page.
Biodiversity Subcommittee
The Biodiversity Subcommittee reports to the Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee (ESAC) and is committed to maintaining and enhancing ecosystem health on the TRU campuses, and increasing biodiversity awareness and initiatives on all campuses. Biodiversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth, and can encompass the evolutionary, ecological, and cultural processes that sustain life. By understanding the threats to biodiversity, we can work to change our actions and help ensure the survival of species and the health and integrity of ecological systems.
Core Theme Planning Subcommittee
The Sustainability Core Theme Subcommittee advises on the alignment of sustainability with TRU’s vision and sustainability goals. It reviews sustainability indicators and recommends appropriate measures and tools as well as mission fulfillment threshold ranges and five-year targets. This Subcommittee works with ESAC and the Associate Vice President of Campus Infrastructure, the Sustainability Office and Ancillary Services to prepare the annual core theme workbook.
Sustainability Education in the Curriculum Subcommittee
The Sustainability Education in the Curriculum subcommittee (SECS) reports to the Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee (ESAC) and is committed to providing TRU faculty and programs with evidence-based curriculum and teaching practices to foster sustainability-related content, processes, and practices within courses and programs. SECS also encourages faculty and programs to engage with and integrate the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into curriculum and assess progress towards achievement of them.
Sustainable Purchasing Subcommittee
Every purchasing decision is also a sustainability decision. Every time anyone - whether as an individual or as an organization - purchases anything, they are making a decision that affects all three of the pillars of sustainability: economic, environmental, and social. Too often, purchasing decisions are overly swayed by economic factors, while discounting the environmental and social consequences of that decision. This subcommittee will attempt to provide tools and help guide members of TRU in making sustainable purchasing decisions that factor in all three of these considerations using a more balanced and long-term approach. Members of this subcommittee will attempt to help guide decisions that affect the broader TRU community and which are fair, open and transparent.
Zero Waste Subcommittee
The Zero Waste Subcommittee provides oversight for implementation of TRU’s Zero Waste Plan, ensuring timely progress is made on established targets. The group is responsible for identifying gaps in performance and identifying/researching additional resources that may be required to adjust course in meeting those targets.
