- The Goals
- SDG 1: No Poverty
- SDG 2: Zero Hunger
- SDG 3: Good health and well-being
- SDG 4: Quality education
- SDG 5: Gender equality
- SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation
- SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy
- SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth
- SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
- SDG 10: Reduced inequalities
- SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities
- SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production
- SDG 13: Climate action
- SDG 14: Life below water
- SDG 15: Life on land
- SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
- SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals
- About
- Contact
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Engagement
SFU Showcases Sustainable Food Initiatives at UN Food Systems Summit
Leaders from Simon Fraser University’s food programming team attended the United Nations Food Systems Summit in Rome to share SFU’s innovative efforts in advancing sustainable food practices and meeting UN Sustainable Development Goals. SFU’s initiatives include sourcing 40% of its food locally, aiming for 50%, and collaborating with Chartwells Canada to promote responsible consumption. Key programs, such as the Farm to Fork initiative and Rooted, which highlights Indigenous cuisine, support local farmers and Indigenous food sovereignty. SFU’s efforts align with its top global rankings in sustainability, contributing to food security and environmental goals.
Meet our First Re-Use for Good Ambassador: Emma Chong
Emma Chong is joining the Re-use For Good program at SFU as our first Re-use For Good Ambassador helping to support sustainability and circular economy initiatives across our campuses.
Research, Teaching and Learning
Sustainable Alternatives Critical to Address Fast Fashion’s Environmental Impact, SFU Study Finds
A new study by SFU researchers published in the Journal of Sustainable Marketing highlights the severe environmental toll of fast fashion, urging consumers to adopt more sustainable alternatives. Fast fashion, characterized by rapid production cycles and low-cost clothing, has contributed to significant pollution, especially in developing countries, and millions of tons of textile waste. The study suggests solutions such as promoting second-hand clothing markets, educational interventions, and circular business models to encourage consumers to reduce waste. It calls for collaborative efforts from governments, organizations, and fashion brands to shift the industry towards sustainability.
Facts and Figures
- 154 research publications relating to SDG 13, 2019-2023 (source: SciVal)
- 83 active research projects related to SDG 13 funded from 2017-2022
- 10 courses relating to SDG 12, representing 1,166 students, offered between the 2018/19 and 2020/21 academic year
Operations
Embedding Sustainability In New SFU Letters
At Simon Fraser University, we are championing a new Vancouver-born way of not just recycling materials—but upcycling. That means we are making reused materials into something of higher value. SFU has partnered with ChopValue to locally handcraft our new SFU letters out of 114,240 used chopsticks. Some of the chopsticks collected on campus were used to craft our letters!
Re-use for Good
In early 2021, SFU phased out single-use plastic beverage bottles in vending and dining areas. This was advocated for and supported by the work of the student club, Ban the Bottle SFU. Re-use for Good and Ban the Bottle SFU collaborated with Facilities Services to expand water bottle refill stations access. SFU is proud to now have 168 stations across all three campuses which makes SFU one of the top universities in British Columbia for water refill station access.
Mugshare launches at Renaissance Café
Mugshare is a social impact program that provides a safe, reusable alternative to single-use cups through a convenient deposit-return system. This local business was created by a group of students in 2016 in an effort to shift the norm on single-use waste, without putting the burden of responsibility on individuals. Their initial six-month pilot diverted more than 10,000 single-use cups from the landfill.
Furniture recycling @ SFU
Facilities Services picks up, sorts, organizes, repairs and stores reusable furnishings. Typical items include filing cabinets, office chairs, desks and bookshelves. Furnishings that cannot be reused are taken apart and sorted into bins for recycling. The used furnishings are available to university departments for reuse on campus at no cost, except for moving charges.
Science Technical Centre
SFU’s Science Technical Centre is a champion of sustainability and the circular economy—giving equipment a second life by re-using, refurbishing and repurposing technology.
With experts across three units, the machine shop, electronic shop and glass shop, the center is a resource available to researchers, teachers, laboratories and staff for technological support in repairing, designing and building electromechanical devices.