This message was originally published in the Daily Bulletin.
The Sustainability Office is thrilled to share the release of Waterloo’s 2025 Environmental Sustainability Report. Prepared by the President’s Advisory Committee on Environmental Sustainability (PACES), this annual report presents progress toward the 27 objectives within Waterloo’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy (ESS). This year marks a significant milestone as Waterloo’s first ESS comes to a close, with an updated version forthcoming in early 2026.
As of 2025, 22 out of 27 objectives have been completed or are mostly complete, and the remaining 5 are in progress and on their way to completion. There is much to celebrate about Waterloo’s sustainability progress over the last decade: strengthening sustainability in our academic mission, mobilizing significant funding to support decarbonization efforts, implementing foundational guidelines to support our operational practices, and engaging thousands of employees and students through programming, campaigns and events.
“I am extremely grateful for the support from across the campus to make progress on our sustainability goals,” says Mat Thijssen, Director of Sustainability.
“Sustainability is a shared responsibility across Waterloo, and I appreciate the continued effort from academic and operational project partners, committees, and working groups, as well as hundreds of employees and students who make amazing contributions.”
While progress has been made despite the challenges faced over the past several years, there remains much work to be done. The updated Environmental Sustainability Strategy, which will be released in early 2026, will build upon campus successes achieved and lessons learned to clearly map out the long-term sustainability vision for Waterloo, the next phase of action, and how the community can work together.
In the spirit of transparency, Waterloo’s data and progress indicators are available in greater detail, including methodologies, interactive dashboards, and downloadable data sets. For more information, please visit the Environmental Sustainability Report webpage.