Shift:Neutral climate action plan

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Overview

Shift:Neutral 2.0 is Waterloo's second institutional climate action plan, outlining key areas of climate action across campus operations.

University of Waterloo stands at a crossroads of campus development. Guided by the new Campus Plan, the coming decades will require major investments into renewal of buildings and infrastructure, and growth and modernization to meet future needs. At the same time, the world continues to accelerate, if unevenly and inconsistently, toward a clean energy future. Together, this creates an opportunity and an imperative to imagine the campus of the future as an efficient, resilient, and decarbonized community.

Developed through extensive internal consultations throughout 2025 and 2026, Shift:Neutral 2.0 builds on the first climate action plan to clarify long-term outcomes, outline the key components that will be part of the roadmap of transition, and build strategies for implementation.

Given the global pace of change around climate policy, clean technology, energy markets, and the rapidly changing climate itself, it is important that Shift:Neutral, while action-oriented, be a living document. This version covers the 2026-2030 timeframe, to be updated every five years to determine new project opportunities and course-correct the long term roadmap as needed.

Outcomes

Shift:Neutral aims to support six important and interconnected outcomes:

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Decarbonization

Achieve deep GHG emissions reductions consistent with reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 across direct and indirect sources.

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Cost Effectiveness

Pursue cost-effective solutions and strategies, keeping lifecycle costs comparable to those under a risk-adjusted business-as-usual case.

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High Quality Spaces

Renew and modernize spaces to support teaching and research, reducing deferred maintenance and improving occupant comfort.

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Energy Security

Reduce energy consumption and create reliable and diversified energy sources to withstand disruption and change.

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Resilience

Improve campus preparedness and manage increasing direct and indirect climate extremes and environmental impacts.

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Reputation

Enhance Waterloo’s reputation for innovation and empower creativity by using the campus as a Living Laboratory.

Action Roadmap

Shift:Neutral is organized around a roadmap with seven major areas of action across three themes:

USE LESS ENERGY

1. Sustainable Buildings: Waterloo will pull back its rate of growth and ensure any new construction meets stringent sustainability standards

2. Energy Efficiency: Waterloo will improve the energy efficiency of its buildings, to minimize the amount of energy that needs to be decarbonized

CLEAN ENERGY SYSTEMS

3. Modern District Energy: Waterloo will phase in the conversion of a hot water district energy systems, phasing out gas, and prioritizing geo-exchange and other low-carbon thermal energy

4. Renewable Energy: Waterloo will deploy solar photovoltaic on rooftops, parking lots, and select open spaces to provide clean power

BALANCE AND OPTIMIZE

5. Load Balancing: Waterloo will integrate energy storage, load controls, and fuel switching to manage costs and increase control over electric infrastructure

6. Indirect Emissions: Waterloo will continue to work to reduce other sources of emissions from transportation, its supply chain, waste, and other sources

7. Climate Adaptation: Woven through each of the above action areas, Waterloo will plan for changing climate conditions and increase resiliency

Roadmap of action, displaying icons representing 3 major themes with seven actions, including Use Less Energy, with icons for sustainable buildings and energy efficiency, Clean Energy Systems, with icons for modern district energy and renewable energy, Balance and Optimize, with icons for load balancing and indirect emissions, and with climate adaptation woven throughout

How you can help

Students and employees are a critical part of Waterloo's journey. The plan will involve support through everyday actions like turning off lights and equipment, travelling sustainably, reducing waste, and sustainable purchasing. It will also expand opportunities to be more directly involved, for example through the Green Office, Green Labs, and Green Residence initiatives.

Waterloo reports annually on its progress against all directions in the Environmental Sustainability Strategy.

Check out the actions taken and the energy and emissions impacts.

There are many existing initiatives underway already.

Find clubs, programs, training, and resources to get involved on campus.

How many emissions do you produce each year?

Visit the Project Neutral tool and input your information to estimate how many emissions you create and opportunities to reduce.

FAQs

Find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Waterloo's Shift:Neutral Climate Action Plan.

What does "carbon neutral" mean?

Carbon neutrality means:

  • reducing actual emissions as far as possible, and
  • purchasing credits that support emissions reductions beyond the campus to address the remaining emissions.

Offset examples include reforestation, agricultural management, renewable energy, or carbon capture projects, among others.

What are other universities doing?
  • Many universities are undertaking a similar process to develop climate action plans, and some have had longstanding climate action plans.
  • All universities in Ontario agreed to develop roadmaps to low-carbon campuses.
  • Many leading institutions are developing ambitious plans toward carbon neutrality.

How does Waterloo compare to other campuses?

It is very difficult to compare directly, given the different size, climate patterns, teaching and research focuses, and other factors that would influence a campus' energy and carbon intensity. For example, institutions in a warmer climate would require less heating, which is a substantial source of emissions, and institutions which conduct less laboratory-based research would generally require less energy.

In addition, emissions from electricity are highly dependent on how that electricity is generated. States and provinces that have clean electricity grids, such as Ontario, have lower emissions, whereas many universities in Canada and the United States may rely on coal-powered electricity grids. Emissions for campuses may vary considerably even if they use the same kilowatt hours of electricity.

If you are interested in comparing with other campuses, you may be interested in using the public database of the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS), developed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. STARS attempts to normalize some of these variables to enable better comparison.

Why are certain emissions excluded?

The first phases of Shift:Neutral focus on emissions from natural gas, fleet fuel, and electricity (referred to as Scope 1 and 2 emissions through the Greenhouse Gas Protocol). While there are many other sources of emissions on campus, the following are some reasons that early emphasis of the plan focuses on these more direct emissions:

  • Natural gas, fleet fuel, and electricity are more directly influenced and controlled by the University and are the majority of the University's carbon footprint
  • Waterloo may not have enough data for detailed tracking and measurement of other emissions sources
  • Separate but related plans to tackle other sources of emissions may be more effective or appropriate

What has been done in the past?

While Waterloo has never had an action plan, the University has completed many projects that reduce energy intensity and emissions from operations. Some examples include:

  • Heat recovery systems and condensate return systems in the district energy network
  • Changes from high-pressure to low-pressure steam for district heating
  • Integration of variable-flow/speed equipment where possible
  • Improving insulation of steam lines
  • Replacement of more energy-efficient computing equipment
  • Small solar energy projects
  • Ongoing LED lighting retrofits

Where can I learn more about climate change?

Climate change is a complex topic, with many different elements. If you'd like to brush up on everything from the science to the solutions, there are an abundance of online and print resources available.

Some suggested locations could include:

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the most widely cited global authority which synthesizes scientific literature on climate science and provides periodic updates for policymakers
  • Sarah Burch. Understanding Climate Change: Science, Policy and Practice. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2014. (Available through Library - one of Waterloo's own researchers!)
  • Paul Hawken, ed. Drawdown: The most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming. New York: Penguin Books, 2017. (Available through Library)
  •  Climate Action Waterloo Region lists information about local climate change reduction efforts
  • Many government agencies post information about climate change, such as through the Region of Waterloo, and Environment and Climate Change Canada.