By cinchoo on April 22, 2025
We’re pleased to announce that for the 14th consecutive year, UBC is recognized as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers in 2025!
Canada’s Greenest Employers is an annual competition that recognizes Canadian employers leading the nation in creating a culture of environmental awareness, developing exceptional sustainability initiatives, and attracting employees because of their environmental leadership.
The competition evaluates organizations based on (1) their unique environmental initiatives and programs; (2) their success in reducing their environmental footprint; (3) the degree to which employees are involved in and contribute their skills to environmental programs; and (4) the extent to which their initiatives are linked to their public identity and attraction of new employees.
Three reasons why UBC is selected as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers this year:
- UBC offers a wide range of focused environmental initiatives across campus to foster a culture of sustainability among staff, students and the community — programs include sustainability tours, the Green Labs program promoting sustainable behaviours, and a 24-hectare certified organic farm featuring over 200 varieties of crops
- UBC is accelerating green building performance and regenerative design across its campus through the Green Building Action Plan, aiming to achieve a net-positive contribution to human and natural systems by 2035 — as part of the plan, all new construction and major renovations for institutional buildings must be LEED Gold certified, with some projects also targeting additional certifications such as Passive House and WELL Building Standard
- UBC’s formal employee-led Sustainability Coordinator Program works to implement sustainable practices across the university — participants commit to dedicating two to four hours of paid work each month to advancing climate action within their departments
UBC’s Okanagan campus offers guided or self-led campus Sustainability Tours, which takes visitors to a series of sustainable stations around campus.
At UBC, we are committed to leadership in climate action and embedding sustainability in our teaching, research and work, as well as through our operations and infrastructure. Our sustainability efforts, programs, and initiatives are collaboratively delivered by key partners, faculty, staff, students and residents:
- Campus and Community Planning and UBCO‘s Sustainability Office are dedicated to building a vibrant and sustainable community for everyone who studies, works, lives and creates at UBC. They are responsible for operational sustainability and develop action plans and initiatives for managing land use, energy, water, carbon emissions, waste reduction, transportation, etc.
- The Sustainability Hub builds on UBC’s academic and operational sustainability leadership and works to reinforce the university’s goals to inspire action for a better world. This unit focuses on catalyzing change and supports faculty and staff with programs, reports, resources, and events for learning, knowledge sharing, and engagement for the UBC community and beyond.
- Campus as a Living Lab is an approach that integrates operational and academic sustainability by providing a collaborative framework for faculty, staff, students and partners to address urgent global sustainability challenges in our local campuses.
In addition to being recognized as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers this year, UBC is also recognized as one of BC’s Top Employers and one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers.
See also:
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By cinchoo on February 25, 2025
UBC is proud to be recognized as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers in 2025!
Canada’s Best Diversity Employers is an annual competition that recognizes employers across Canada with exceptional workplace diversity and inclusiveness programs. This competition recognizes successful diversity initiatives and programs in a variety of areas, including for employees from five groups: (a) women; (b) members of visible minorities; (c) persons with disabilities; (d) Indigenous peoples; and (e) lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) peoples.
This is the 16th year that UBC has been selected as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers.
Three reasons why UBC is one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers this year:
- UBC applies an inclusive lens to its benefits, recently introducing new family-friendly benefits that support all pathways to parenthood (generous coverage for fertility drugs and treatments, subsidies for surrogacy and adoption) as well as Indigenous leave for ceremonial, cultural and spiritual events (employees who self-identify as Indigenous can request up to two paid days of leave)
- UBC created a six-month Maximizing Impact program that provides mentorship and coaching for early career researchers (where 50 per cent of the spots are reserved for women in order to create a gender diverse workforce)
- Since 2019, UBC has hosted IBPOC (Indigenous, Black and/or People of Colour) Connections to provide a space for self-identifying faculty and staff to have candid conversations, collaborate, and coordinate when appropriate
UBC faculty, staff, and students celebrates Pride
UBC provides resources and supports to contribute to making the university a respectful environment and an inclusive and safe place to work. Faculty and staff have access to various training programs and learning opportunities to deepen their understanding of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) topics and integrate them into their teaching and work. Newly launched in the past year are the Indigenous Learning Pathways program and the Disability at Work 101 course.
The Equity & Inclusion Office is also a key partner at UBC that provides a full range of services—such as human rights advising, consultation services, and training and education—to build and support a community in which human rights are respected and equity is embedded in all areas of academic, work and campus life.
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By cinchoo on February 11, 2025
We’re proud to share that UBC is recognized as one of BC’s Top Employers in 2025!
Being named one of BC’s Top Employers is a great honour, which reflects the excellence in teaching, research, and work of our outstanding faculty and staff across our Vancouver and Okanagan campuses.
BC’s Top Employers is an annual competition organized by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers. This special designation recognizes employers in British Columbia that lead as exceptional places to work and offer employees the most progressive and forward-thinking human resource programs and resources.
UBC employees can take advantage of beautiful hiking trails at either of the Vancouver or Kelowna campuses.
This award recognizes organizations that have been evaluated based on the following eight criteria:
- Workplace
- Work Atmosphere & Social
- Health, Financial & Family Benefits
- Vacation & Time Off
- Employee Communications
- Performance Management
- Training & Skills Development
- Community Involvement.
2025 marks the 18th year that UBC has been selected as a Top Employer in BC. This year, UBC is also featured in a full-page employer profile in a special online magazine co-published with The Vancouver Sun.
Three reasons why UBC is one of BC’s Top Employers this year:
- UBC offers inclusive family-friendly benefits, providing coverage for fertility drugs and treatments, surrogacy, and adoption (to a lifetime maximum of $50,000)—the university also offers maternity and parental leave top-up for parents-to-be, varying by employee group.
- UBC helps employees plan for the future with retirement planning assistance services and contributions to a unique Target Benefit Pension Plan that features elements of both a defined benefit and defined contribution pension plan.
- UBC helps employees foster connections across our two campuses through the longstanding Hot Lunch networking initiative (monthly events with senior leaders sharing their personal and professional journey while attendees connect over lunch)— additionally, the university organizes Faculty and Staff Sports Day in May at both Vancouver and Okanagan campuses, with teams competing in a number of games and activities.
UBC provides faculty and staff with comprehensive benefits plans and people programs that support employees throughout their employment, starting from onboarding, fostering health and wellbeing through various stages of personal and professional development, all the way to retirement and beyond.
UBC staff enjoy on-site attractions such as the Beaty Biodiversity Museum.
Some highlights include:
- $3000 mental health practitioner benefit per year
- $2,384 of tuition fee waivers for undergraduate courses (12 credits) for faculty, staff, and their eligible spouse/children
- 24/7 access to unlimited hours of counselling via Greenshield Health, UBC’s new EFAP provider
- 1,102 below-market rental units for faculty and staff and a total of 17 buildings that support on-campus housing
We’re honoured to be recognized as a leading employer in British Columbia and we are thankful to our faculty and staff for their tireless contributions to our community. We look forward to continue inspiring and engaging our faculty, staff, students, and partners to make UBC a vibrant place to work, research, and teach.
UBC faculty and staff can celebrate and help share the news with their network and the wider UBC community! Add this recognition to your email signature by copying and pasting the message in this document.
See also:
- Sign up for our monthly newsletter Healthy UBC or read the quarterly issue of Benefits FYI to get the latest updates on health, wellbeing, and benefits for UBC faculty and staff.
- Visit UBC Today for the latest news, events, and useful dates from across UBC, curated for faculty and staff by Internal Communications.
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By cinchoo on April 16, 2024
For the 13th consecutive year, UBC is recognized as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers in 2024.
This special award recognizes Canadian employers that lead the nation in creating a culture of environmental awareness, developing exceptional sustainability initiatives, and are attracting employees because of their environmental leadership.
At UBC, sustainability is embedded in teaching, learning and research and is integrated through our operations and infrastructure. We are committed to leadership in Climate Action, and our sustainability efforts are proudly delivered by students, faculty and staff — find ways you can get involved.
Three reasons why UBC is selected as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers this year:
- UBC’s formal employee-led Sustainability Coordinator Program (established over 20 years ago) is comprised of over 100 members working to implement sustainable practices across the university’s many departments
- UBC offers an impressive range of highly focused environmental initiatives across campus that aim to foster a culture of sustainability among staff, students and the community — including Sustainability Tours, the Green Labs program promoting sustainable behaviours, and the 24-hectare on-campus certified organic farm with over 200 varieties of crops
- UBC is accelerating green building performance and regenerative design across its campus building portfolio through the Green Building Action Plan, which will result in a net-positive contribution to human and natural systems by 2035 — as part of the plan, all new construction and renovations for institutional buildings must be LEED Gold certified, and some will also target other certifications such as Passive House and WELL Building Standard Certification.
In addition to being recognized as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers this year, UBC is also recognized as one of BC’s Top Employers and one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers.
Learn more about how we’re making UBC an inspiring place to work through Focus on People 2025.
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By cinchoo on March 5, 2024
UBC is recognized as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers in 2024. This designation recognizes employers across Canada with exceptional workplace diversity and inclusiveness programs.
Three reasons why UBC is selected as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers this year:
- UBC applies an inclusive lens to its benefits, recently introducing new family-friendly benefits that support all pathways to parenthood (generous coverage for fertility drugs and treatments, subsidies for surrogacy and adoption) as well as an Indigenous leave for ceremonial, cultural and spiritual events (employees who self-identify as Indigenous can request up to two paid days of leave)
- UBC recently formed an Accessibility Committee and organized accessibility listening sessions with members of the university’s disability affinity group. UBC also established a dedicated Centre for Workplace Accessibility and hired its first accessible buildings planner, who will help develop accessibility design guidelines for new and existing campus buildings
- UBC hosts IBPOC (Indigenous, Black and/or People of Colour) Connections to provide a space for self-identifying staff to have candid conversations, collaborate, and coordinate when appropriate.
Read more about Canada’s Best Diversity Employers awards at https://www.canadastop100.com/diversity/
Looking for resources or support to help you contribute to making UBC a respectful and inclusive place to work? The Equity & Inclusion Office offers resources and support to help us create a community in which human rights are respected, and equity and inclusion are embedded in all areas of life at UBC.
Learn more about how we’re making UBC an inspiring place to work through Focus on People 2025.
Posted in Awards, Catalyst #1: I am part of a diverse, inclusive, safe and vibrant workplace | Link | No Comments