Sustainability Report 2024-25

Land Acknowledgement:

McMaster University recognizes and acknowledges that it is located on the traditional territories of the Mississauga and Haudenosaunee nations, and within the lands protected by the Dish With One Spoon wampum agreement.

Welcome to the 2024-2025 Sustainability Report Join us for Campus Sustainability Month Events

We’re excited to welcome the McMaster community to explore our sustainability successes over the past year through our newly redesigned, fully digital Sustainability Report. This marks the first year we’ve transitioned from a static format to a dynamic, web-based experience—part of our commitment to making sustainability more accessible, engaging, and measurable.

Central to McMaster’s Sustainability Strategy is this annual report, which shares our university’s progress and celebrates the collective efforts of students, faculty, and staff. This new digital format allows us to bring the report to life, connecting our four strategic drivers and the related UN Sustainable Development Goals with experiential programming and interactive content.

As we celebrate Sustainable Campus Month this October, we invite you to find a deeper connection to campus sustainability through our weekly events, read more about the work being done via the report and consider how you can ampify sustainability across our campus community.

The Sustainability Report's Four Strategic Drivers

Connect with the report’s content through each of the Strategic Drivers below.

Culture Focus on Sustainability Read on

Stories that show our commitment to promoting a campus culture of sustainability through leadership, communications, engagement and learning.

Teaching, Learning and Research Read on

Stories that show our student learners and researchers engaging in and creating sustainable research, teaching and learning.

Self-Sustaining Campus and Sites Read on

Stories that focus on promoting active transportation, protecting biodiverse ecosystems and developing self-sustaining food systems on campus.

Operational Excellence Read on

Stories that showcase transforming administrative and operational practices to be more sustainable.

Guiding Principles

McMaster’s Sustainability Strategy: A Living Laboratory for Sustainability was developed through an engagement process with input provided by students, faculty and staff. Interwoven throughout the strategy’s four drivers continues to be the principles guiding our campus’
transformation into a living laboratory of sustainability.

We look through a lens of Indigeneity in our sustainability efforts

We focus on equity, diversity, accessibility, and inclusion in our sustainability efforts

We see sustainability work as a collaborative, evolving effort

We strive for innovative solutions tailored to our community

We share and recognize our sustainability progress and achievements across our community

Connection to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

McMaster is committed to addressing all 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and we are excited to showcase how our community contributes to these goals daily.

This year’s Sustainability Report features the inclusion of UN SDGs alongside each success story. While we recognize that there are many more initiatives happening on campus, the stories shared here highlight the significant impact our community has made over the past year. We hope these stories inspire you to think about how you can contribute to these goals in your own way.

For more information on how McMaster addresses all 17 UN SDGs, we encourage you to visit McMaster’s Sustainable Development Goals site and learn more about the various university initiatives.