{"id":111455,"date":"2026-09-08T11:36:55","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T15:36:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=111455"},"modified":"2026-09-08T17:02:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T21:02:16","slug":"brock-earns-international-recognition-for-climate-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2026\/09\/brock-earns-international-recognition-for-climate-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Brock earns international recognition for climate action"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brock University\u2019s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and advance sustainability have been recognized in the 2026 Sustainability Campus Index<\/a> for the first time.<\/p>\n

The University\u2019s SPARK (sustainability, performance, adaptation, renewal and knowledge) initiative has been featured in the index\u2019s Institutional Highlights as an example of innovative and high-impact work in the campus operations area.<\/p>\n

Published by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the Sustainable Campus Index recognizes top-performing sustainable colleges and universities around the world overall and in 13 impact areas, as measured through the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS).<\/p>\n

\u201cRecognition through the Sustainability Campus Index, both as a university and for the SPARK initiative, underscores Brock\u2019s long-standing commitment to sustainable practices and the meaningful progress being made across the institution,\u201d says Vice-President, Administration and Services Scott Johnstone.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A sweeping LED lighting upgrade, part of SPARK, is cutting energy use across the campus, showing that sustainability can be bright, efficient and impactful.<\/p><\/div>\n

Launched in 2025, the $100-million SPARK initiative<\/a> aims to position Brock as a leader in climate action. The program is projected to reduce campus greenhouse gas emissions by 83 per cent in three years, surpassing the University\u2019s initial target of a 75 per cent reduction by 2030 compared to a 2013 baseline. The initiative will also cut energy use by 60 per cent. The initiative is also projected to reduce Brock\u2019s deferred capital renewal by more $225 million by 2034, improving the long-term health of campus infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cDecarbonization and transformation involves the co-operation of our Brock community and beyond,\u201d says Associate Vice-President of Facilities Management Mary Quintana. \u201cThrough our collective actions, great and small, we continue to make a significant impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brock currently holds a Silver rating in the STARS program<\/a>, the internationally recognized self-reporting tool that serves to engage, recognize and measure long-term sustainability goals of higher education institutions.<\/p>\n

The University has also been included in the Quacquarelli Symonds Sustainability Rankings for the first time in 2026<\/a>. Placing at number 26 in Canada and number 606 in the world, the recognition marks a significant milestone as Brock\u2019s first-ever participation in the influential global assessment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brock University\u2019s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and advance sustainability have been recognized in the 2026 Sustainability Campus Index for the first time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":109648,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7484,1],"tags":[15252,9916,53,7628,14713,5536,14863,44,9917,15251],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111455"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111455"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111455\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111465,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111455\/revisions\/111465"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}