Accelerating Climate Change Education for the Next Generation of Professionals

Canada’s first Bachelor of Sustainability and Financial Management (SFM) is a partnership between the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) and the School of Environment, Enterprise, and Development (SEED) at the University of Waterloo. The program was designed in response to a growing demand for financial professionals who can integrate people, profit, and the planet into the bottom line.  The SFM program is now in its fifth year, with growing enrollment. 

The SFM program is ideal for students eager to dive deep into sustainability, addressing environmental and social priorities alongside responsible business practices. Recognizing the importance of embedding these topics across all accounting and finance programs (not just SFM), and with support from the ACE Project, SAF’s Sustainability Working Group is creating new content, case studies and resources to expand sustainability learning opportunities for all students and embed sustainability values and principles throughout.  

Supported by SAF’s Hub for Sustainability Integration, a revamped course in Sustainability Consulting (AFM 499) attracts students from SAF and beyond and provides opportunities for them to explore climate and sustainability issues for real-world clients. 

  For more information about climate adaptation curriculum work being done in SAF, contact Professor Adam Vitalis.

The University of Waterloo School of Architecture (UWSA) is a nationally and internationally recognized leader in design education, known for its cutting-edge research and teaching in construction, development, built heritage, green architecture, visualization, prototyping, and computer-assisted design. 

As architecture in Canada rises to meet the climate challenge, UWSA—supported by the ACE Project—is taking bold steps to embed climate knowledge and skills across its curriculum. This includes enhancing existing courses and exploring innovative new topics such as Climate Resilient Buildings and Climate Stories. 

Engagement has been central to this work. In March 2025, UWSA brought together students, staff, and faculty for a collaborative workshop to pinpoint where climate adaptation and architectural education intersect. Discussions centred on five key priorities for the school: 

• Embedding climate-centred learning objectives across all courses 

• Reinforcing the role of ecosystems as integral to “cultural history”  

• Advancing Indigenous, decolonial, and land-based learning 

• Linking materiality, decarbonization, and just transitions 

• Strengthening interdisciplinarity and community partnerships 

Building on these insights, UWSA is now partnering with professors of core courses to revise syllabi and ensure stronger alignment with these climate priorities—positioning graduates to lead in a rapidly changing world. 

UWSA is also hosting a lecture series focused on climate adaptation and events so far have included talks on adaptive landscapes, climate and Indigenous science  and architecture in the climate crisis . You can find recordings of all of the lectures here. Stay tuned for information about upcoming lectures in the 2025-26 school year. 

For more information about climate adaptation curriculum work being done in UWSA, contact Professor Jane Mah-Hutton. 

The University of Waterloo’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) is home to one of Canada’s largest and most respected engineering programs. Offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in architectural, civil, environmental, and geological engineering, CEE blends theoretical learning with hands-on experience through co-op, capstone projects, and innovative courses. A standout example is CIVE 230: Engineering and Sustainable Development, where second-year students investigate topics of interest to them and compile their findings into an e-book—most recently, City-to-City Learning: How Global Cities Compare Metrics to Drive Sustainability.

Civil and environmental engineers are identified in Canada’s National Adaptation Strategy as a key professional group to advance climate adaptation nationwide. With support from the ACE Project, CEE has reviewed its undergraduate curriculum to identify gaps and opportunities for integrating climate adaptation, and published an account of this mapping process in the paper Accelerating Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) Education for the Next Generation of Engineering Professionals.

CEE’s climate integration strategy includes:

• Consulting with faculty members to identify ways to embed climate adaptation and sustainability in their courses
• Developing a new second-year design course to give environmental engineering students a strong foundation in climate and sustainability
• Creating a series of modules aligned with Engineers Canada’s principles of climate adaptation, to supplement existing courses and project work.
• Exploring the redesign of a classroom space to support hands-on, indoor/outdoor climate and sustainability learning

Through these initiatives, CEE is preparing the next generation of engineers to address the climate challenges of tomorrow.

For more information about climate adaptation curriculum work being done in CEE, contact Professor Bruce MacVicar , Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Waterloo’s Department of Systems Design Engineering (SYDE) is a globally unique interdisciplinary department, offering flexible and innovative programs dedicated to understanding and designing complex systems. Blending engineering, mathematics, and social sciences, SYDE equips students to think holistically, apply design thinking, and develop creative solutions to real-world challenges. With its emphasis on systems thinking, the program is ideally positioned to prepare a new generation of engineers to tackle climate change—yet with support from the ACE Project, SYDE is taking a closer look at how climate adaptation can be more deeply embedded across its curriculum. 

In the first year of the project, SYDE mapped existing climate and sustainability content, identified gaps, and hosted a curriculum retreat to address climate adaptation and other emerging issues. Three new compulsory courses grounded in environmental science, sustainability, and climate change were approved and will be rolled out to the Fall 2026 cohort.  

Alongside these changes, to build capacity to ensure that climate adaptation becomes an integral part of systems designing engineering education, SYDE has recruited new faculty with climate adaptation expertise and hosted several events including boot camps, panel discussions and guest speakers to spark discussion and interest in climate risk and adaptation among faculty members and students. 

For more information about climate adaptation curriculum work being done in CEE, contact Professor Lisa Aultman-Hall. 

The University of Waterloo’s School of Planning is Canada’s largest and one of its longest-established planning schools, known since its inception in 1969 for combining conceptually rich education with applied experience through co-op jobs, internships, and community-based projects. Strong connections with the planning profession ensure that the School’s undergraduate and graduate Planning programs—including the BES, MA, and MES—meet the highest standards, with accreditation from the Canadian Institute of Planners. The PhD (Planning) program offers opportunities for advanced research in an interdisciplinary learning environment. 

Recognizing climate change as one of the most pressing challenges facing the profession, the School of Planning is committed to integrating climate considerations across all levels of study, alongside other urgent societal priorities such as affordable housing, environmental conservation, active transportation, and equity. 

 A decade ago, the School introduced PLAN 652 Climate Change and Community Planning at the graduate level. Now, with support from the ACE Project, it is embedding targeted climate adaptation knowledge and skills more deeply into the curriculum, including a new compulsory undergraduate course, PLAN 348: Planning to Confront Climate Change and updates to PLAN 210 (Community Design Fundamentals). 

Graduate students have been supporting this work by investigating key competencies needed for future planners and developing/identifying teaching resources to strengthen climate adaptation content in Planning courses—equipping future planners to navigate a rapidly changing world. 

Professor Mark Seasons, the Director of the School of Planning is looking beyond the boundaries of UWaterloo to understand how Planning schools across the country are addressing climate change. Access his recent article co-authored with Elisabeth Infield and Ward Lyles, “Teaching climate change planning: fostering hope while building capacity”.  

For more information about climate adaptation curriculum work being done in the School of Planning, contact Professor Mark Seasons. 

The University of Waterloo’s School of Pharmacy is shaping the future of healthcare through experiential learning, impact-driven research, entrepreneurial culture, community partnerships, and academic excellence.

In 2025, the School received a grant from the University’s Sustainability Office to enhance the integration of sustainability and climate change into the PharmD curriculum—part of a broader national conversation among pharmacy schools in Canada. Using this funding, the School hosted a faculty and staff training workshop in July 2025 to explore how best to embed planetary health and climate topics in pharmacy education.

The workshop was facilitated by Randilynne Urslak and Shellyza Sajwani from the University of Ottawa, who are leading research on pharmacy education and planetary health. Their recent publication, A Scoping Review of Planetary Health Education in Pharmacy Curricula, provided context for the session. Through presentations, case study discussions, and interactive activities, participants examined how climate change intersects with pharmacy practice, exploring both mitigation strategies and adaptation approaches.

This “train-the-trainer” workshop came at a pivotal time, aligning perfectly with the start of the School’s curriculum renewal cycle and laying the groundwork for integrating planetary health and climate change concepts into PharmD courses in the years ahead.

For more information about climate curriculum work being done in the School of Pharmacy, contact Professor Allison Slater.