Meeting today's needs with tomorrow's in mind
Think Facilities Services: think applied sustainability. The essence of what we do is to sustain the campus in support of the University’s mission. The University is sustainable in one sense given unlimited resources and an accommodating planet. Our resources – materials, money, time – are limited and we are realizing that our environment may be far less accommodating of our activities than we imagined. We have to meet today’s needs with tomorrow’s in mind. Our goal, then, is to improve campus sustainability.
To improve campus sustainability we must: produce less waste, recycle things, conserve energy and use it more efficiently, cut less grass, design less maintenance-intensive landscapes, plant more trees, use benign cleaners, use dust filters, improve air quality, take transit, reduce impermeable surface, manage our storm water, build green buildings, go for walks, make the place safer, eliminate environmental contaminants, and so on.
Every department in Facilities Services is working to achieve improved sustainability. This means we are attending to the environmental, social, economic and health dimensions of our services in order to contribute positively to the quality of a person’s University experience. That’s what we mean when we characterize ourselves as customer-focused.
Please refer to our department sections to learn about their activities. Let us know if there are things we are not doing or could be doing better or differently in order to improve sustainability.
Custodial Services look after cleaning the University’s buildings primarily.
Facilities Development oversees the planning, design and construction of new buildings and infrastructure; as well as the renovation of existing facilities beyond interior work. The upgrading of existing infrastructure is also under the purview of this department.
Maintenance, Utilities & Energy
Maintenance, Utilities & Energy Management is responsible for the operation and maintenance of campus buildings. The Utilities and Energy Management section ensures that those buildings are supplied with energy, water and steam.
Planning & Renovations attends to building design, space planning, architectural and interior design services, renovation planning and design, signage, furniture acquisition and standards.
Postal Services picks up and delivers all mail within the M3J 1P3 postal code. It also manages the Inter-University Transit System (IUTS) which makes print and audio-visual resources available between universities.
This site is intended to:
- notify and educate the University community about what we are doing to improve campus sustainability;
- invite and encourage you to work with us.
Customer Resources
Internal
- President's Task Force on Sustainability
- Institute for Research and Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS)
- York Centre for Applied Sustainability (YCAS)
- Cycling
- Smart Commute - North Toronto, Vaughan
- York Planning, Budget and Accountability Report
- Las Nubes Coffee
- Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES)
- Masters in Environmental Studies Business and Environment Diploma
- Schulich School of Business
- Business and Sustainability Graduate Program Specialization
- York University Development Corporation (YUDC)
- York University Health and Safety Committee (YUFA)
External
- Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR)
- Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE)
- Green@Work Magazine
- International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
- National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE)
- World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
- World Resources Institute (WRI)
- Sierra Youth Coalition
- zerofootprint
Know of a good link that should be featured? Email us.
