Sustainability Survey - Engaging Our Community in the Sustainability Transition
Our university is made up of its students and staff—and we cannot achieve a sustainable future without their involvement. Understanding what matters to our community is essential for making meaningful progress.
That’s why we are launching a Sustainability Survey to gather insights from students and employees. The results will help guide our sustainability efforts, ensuring that the actions we take reflect the values and priorities of those who study and work here.
The survey is based on the responses of focus group discussions that took place before Summer 2025 with both UM students and staff to explore their knowledge, perceptions, attitudes, and actions regarding sustainability. Key themes and initiatives were identified in the focus group discussions, including reducing plastic packaging in catering, promoting plant-based food options, adopting sustainable travel practices, integrating sustainability into educational curricula and capacity-building training, improving waste management, enhancing mental health and wellbeing for students and staff, and phasing out partnerships with the fossil fuel industry. Respondents also noted limited visibility of sustainability efforts in certain faculties and emphasized the need for increased awareness through more frequent and effective communication.
In addition, the discussion focused on identifying barriers, enablers, and actionable steps to support our sustainability goals that can help inform future decision-making and support the execution of the sustainability strategy, including policies aimed at transitioning to a fossil-free society. Participants identified key themes and initiatives across research, education, and operations, as well as assessed the willingness to contribute to these efforts in various capacities.