McGill University, Canada

Catalysing community: The Nature of McGill’s Sustainability Projects Fund

The Sustainability Projects Fund (SPF) is a unique tool to spark student engagement on campus. Created in 2010 from a shared vision of students and staff, the SPF builds a culture of sustainability on McGill’s campuses through the development and seed-funding of interdisciplinary projects. With an annual value of $1 million, the SPF is the largest dedicated campus sustainability fund of its kind in Canada and is committed to collaboration between students and the University in its financing, decision-making, and project implementation. The Fund has supported 370 projects ranging from student-run gardens to widescale compost infrastructure. Importantly, the SPF gives students a chance to try out their ideas and make a tangible change in their campus community.

Students learn throughout the process of crafting, tweaking, and executing their idea. Fund staff coach them through many aspects of their projects, such as personnel management, communications, procurement and budgeting, and reporting.

Top 3 Learnings

1. Providing funds for sustainability represents a catalyst with community benefits beyond the funded projects themselves.
2. Encouraging collaboration between students, staff, and faculty through funding for sustainability projects is highly effective.
3. It is beneficial to hire full-time staff to steward campus sustainability funds.