SP0151: Vision 2020 Action Teams

In 2010, McGill University adopted a Sustainability Policy, setting the aspiration of achieving “the highest possible standards of sustainability both on its campuses and in its day-to-day activities.” From this momentum, the McGill Office of Sustainability (MOOS) and the Sustainability Projects Fund (SPF) were born and McGill’s first Sustainability Strategy, Vision 2020, was created. SPF-funded projects Vision 2020 (SP0057) and Vision 2020 #2 (SP0104) made possible the development of this strategy, and set up the structures for implementation of an initial round of Priority Actions for the 2014-2016 period. 

Later, in February 2012 MOOS’s Vision 2020 development team was initiated, engaging the McGill community in developing: i) a vision, ii) a set of goals, and iii) a priority action plan for sustainability. 

The original Vision 2020 project was facilitated by a 10-person core team and guided by a 25-member steering committee made up of people from all walks of life at McGill. Through events such as world café-style discussions, flash consultations, one-on-one interviews, and working groups with key community members, the Vision 2020 team developed one long-term vision, 23 long-term goals, and a set of 14 priority actions for the 2014-2016 period to bring McGill closer to its ambitions for a sustainable future. This phase of the Vision 2020 project concluded with approval of the Vision 2020 Sustainability Strategy and its accompanying Priority Action Briefs by McGill’s senior administration in Spring 2014 and the formal launch of the Sustainability Strategy to the McGill community in Fall 2014. Implementation of the Priority Actions has continued since then.

In Spring 2016, preparation began for the creation of the next Action Plan for the 2017-2020 period. The Vision 2020 Action Teams project will ensure that this is not a purely administrative exercise by developing clear ways for individuals—especially students—to contribute to the development and implementation of the Priority Actions.  

Resources from the SPF will be used to create a Vision 2020 Intern position as well as to partially fund a new Vision 2020 Coordinator position. These individuals, in collaboration with staff at MOOS, will be in charge of putting together five Action Teams to catalyze progress in the five categories (Research, Education, Connectivity, Operations, Governance and Administration) identified by the Vision 2020 Sustainability Strategy. These teams will be comprised of students, faculty, and administrative staff. 

These Action Teams will be mandated to:

• Engage the community in developing Priority Actions for 2017-2020, which will be crafted so that they can be broadly implemented in a variety of scales and contexts (eg. from a student society to a department to an operational unit); 
• Recruit, inspire, and guide interested parties toward tangible ways to help advance the Priority Actions of the Vision 2020 Sustainability Strategy;
• Provide meaningful ways for interested individuals to participate (eg. ASR, internships, local pilot projects, awareness & behaviour change campaigns, etc.)

It is the goal of the Vision 2020 Action Teams SPF Project to “close the gap” between the institutional and grassroots approaches to sustainability, ensuring that Vision 2020 becomes embedded in McGill’s organizational culture for many years to come.