Waterloo releases 2026 Environmental Sustainability Report
The University of Waterloo has released its 2026 Environmental Sustainability Report, highlighting progress, challenges, and next steps across campus sustainability efforts.
The report summarizes action from 2025 across the 12 core directions in Waterloo’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy, including academic mission, operational practices, and campus engagement. This is the first report with the updated strategy, so some indicators will be in transition.
Some highlights from this year's report include:
- 866 academic courses related to the UN SDGs
- 380 researchers exploring the UN SDGs
- 9.3% increase in GHG emissions (from Scope 1/2 sources)
- 3.3% increase in energy intensity since 2015
- >20% departments Green Office Bronze certified or higher
- 87% of community trips to campus made using a sustainable mode of travel
- 40% of food purchased by Food Services is locally sourced or sustainably sourced
Other highlights include the emphasis on sustainability in the Campus Plan, completion of the MC/QNC heat recovery project, release of Shift:Mobility, piloting the Sustainability Integration in Curriculum grants, and the first cohort of students completing the Sustainability Leadership Certificate.
Read the full report and explore the interactive dashboards to learn more about Waterloo’s sustainability performance, ongoing initiatives, and opportunities to get involved.