This month, Osgoode began a strategic planning phase. The strategic plan sets out the big-picture goals and direction of the law school for the next three years, and student participation in this plan is highly encouraged. In response to this call for participation, a number of Osgoode students have formed a working group made of 1L, 2L and 3L students, with the intention to encourage Osgoode to make sustainability and climate change a priority in the planning phase and the resulting strategic plan.
The ultimate goal of the students is that Osgoode incorporate specific action items into the strategic plan that make Osgoode a leader on climate action and sustainability, in line with some of the most progressive law schools in the world. Given the urgency of climate change, we believe that it is imperative that Osgoode begin taking substantial steps to reduce its carbon footprint. Our proposals could easily be adopted immediately as they are efficient and cost-effective––some might even save the school money.
What can you do? Send us your feedback on our proposal outlined below and find out how to get involved by emailing osgoodeenvironmentallawsociety@gmail.com. In addition, we encourage you to add your own voice to the strategic planning session by reaching out to Dean Condon (lawdean@osgoode.yorku.ca) and indicating your support for prioritizing climate change and sustainability leadership at Osgoode. Our collective voices have the power to substantially impact the future of this school. Don’t feel like drafting your own email? Use ours:
Dean Condon,
I am writing to indicate my support for the student proposal on increasing environmental sustainability at Osgoode Hall. Climate change is one of, if not the most pressing issue of our generation, and it is imperative that we begin taking steps to reduce our carbon footprint. Osgoode Hall has the capacity to make substantial changes that could have a profound impact. This must be made a priority in the upcoming strategic planning session.
Thank you,
Signed
We are calling on the administration to take the following actions:
- Modify travel expenditure policies to encourage travel by train or bus over air travel. Adopting travel policies to limit air travel would have a significant impact on Osgoode’s carbon footprint.
- Invest in electric car charging stations in the parking lots surrounding Osgoode and create incentives to take transit. Currently York University only has one charging station, which is significantly below the norm for many universities across Canada.
- Improve sustainability at Passy Apartments. Equip each apartment with a compost bin and update heating and air systems to allow students to control the heat and air conditioner.
- Stop serving red meat immediately and transition away from serving animal products at staff meetings and school events. Animal agriculture is a predominant contributor to climate change and habitat destruction through the destruction of forests and nitrous oxide production, a potent greenhouse gas.
- Stop the sale of plastic water bottles.
- Replace any incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents or light-emitting diodes (LED). Osgoode should transition to LEDs, or compact fluorescents for any lights in the school that do not have these energy-saving bulbs.
- Use environmentally friendly and non-toxic cleaning products. We echo the York University Green Cleaning Initiative’s 2008 report which recommended a switch to “Green Seal” products to be used by cleaning services staff.
- Conduct waste audits regularly and encourage the proper disposal of litter and recycling. Create awareness around recycling by promoting, and making public waste audits at Osgoode, and update garbage bins throughout the school to include a composting section and adequate recycling sections in each bin.
The full list of recommendations will be made available to the student body.