Campus Sustainability

Langara has four LEED Gold Certified buildings: the Library (L Building), C Building North, the Langara Student Union (LSU) Building, and the Science and Technology Building. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is an international symbol of sustainability excellence and green building leadership.  

LEED certification verifies that a building project was designed and built, or operated, to achieve high performance in six areas of human and environmental health: location and transportation, sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.  

The Langara Board and administration is committed to having any new building constructions be minimum LEED Gold Certified. 

Langara has been able to reduce our energy usage and emissions on campus while we grow. Our energy goals are to: 

• Optimize campus energy usage with the existing technology and controls
• Reduce Langara’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
• Reduce and control energy costs and minimize exposure to energy price volatility
• Upgrade building systems with the most efficient alternative through capital improvements and maintenance where feasible, considering the life cycle cost of the equipment
• Raise awareness of the need to use energy efficiently among our community 

Since 2001, when Langara established its first Environmental Responsibility Policy, the campus area has increased by 48%. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy has established 2007 as the base period year for GHG reductions. As we grow, incorporating area in our reporting is important to understand progress. 

Comparing our campus level buildings energy usage and emission per unit area for 2021 to 2007: 

• our energy usage per gross square meter of campus area decreased by 29%
• our GHG emissions measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCo2e) per gross square metre of campus area decreased by 43%.  

Learn more about our progress via energy management case studies: 

• Lifelong learning, for buildings, too
• A measurable difference 

Other benefits of energy saving initiatives, beyond energy, emissions, and cost savings, include upgrades to aging infrastructure, and better-quality indoor environments from improved controls. Our most recent Strategic Energy Management Plan was developed to align with the College's 2025 Strategic Plan – Weaving a Shared Future 

Langara is a proud Feed BC partner, joining fellow post-secondary institutions to ensure sustainable food for now and future generations. Through our food service provider Chartwells, Langara aims to achieve a minimum of 30% B.C.-based food expenditures by buying locally sourced foods and supporting local providers. Students and employees can access safe, healthy, and diverse food options that reflect their tastes, dietary preferences, and cultures while supporting our local food system. 

Some of Langara’s current local food suppliers and partners include Fresh BC, Windset Farms, and Farmers Fresh. 

Langara’s Information Technology department has several sustainability initiatives: 

• Citrix virtual desktop delivery provides users with a better experience and reduces our environmental impact. Small desktop units that host Citrix consume less power, produce less heat, and result in less waste during manufacture and disposal. This initiative has reduce energy out from 300W to <50W per device.
• Our data centre has been upgraded with an energy- and water- efficient air condition system and a power distribution system that requires half the number of batteries and can use those batteries for two to three years longer.
• We have been upgrading and consolidating existing hardware with higher capacity servers. Through virtualization, each new server can minimize energy consumption by replacing multiple machines.
• We donate retired technology to the BC Technology for Learning Society, where youth technicians are offered paid work experience to refurbish equipment that is then sent to schools, low-income individuals, non-profits, and Indigenous groups.
• Energy conservation:
  • Machines in all computer labs are automatically turned off at 11:00 pm
  • Computers in faculty and administrative offices are also turned off at 11:00 p.m. unless there is reported activity (i.e. open documents)
  • All monitors have an automatic power save mode
  • All new computer purchases must be Energy Star and 80+ compliant

We have several gardens for the community to enjoy: 

• Community garden: The Langara Community Garden is run by the Langara Community Garden Society, a registered non-profit society made up of faculty, staff, and students, as well as members from the community. It’s located along Ontario St. near 51st Ave. Plots are rented on an annual basis and open to the public. Please visit the Langara Community Garden Society website for more information.
• Fruit garden: The garden features fruit and herbs that anyone in the community can use. It also serves as a nursery for plants that will later be transplanted in different areas on campus. It’s located between the east side of A Building and the employee parking lot.
• Pollinator gardens: There are multiple pollinator gardens on campus. Some gardens were planted by our Sustainability Student Ambassadors in 2021, and feature plants that attract and feed bees, hummingbirds and butterflies to support pollinators and encourage biodiversity. This project is gratefully funded in part through the World Wildlife Fund Go Wild Grant. You can view the project history and learn more about the pollinator species in the Garden for Pollinators eBook created by students. Other pollinator gardens were planted by the Biology department and Biology club students. Their goal (in addition to supporting pollinators) is to use these gardens for research.
• Gardenability (accessible garden): The accessible garden, located near the northeast entrance of A Building, features raised beds designed for individuals who use wheelchairs or have limited mobility. The garden is accessible via a paved path. This project is gratefully funded in part through the World Wildlife Fund Go Wild Grant.

What makes Langara a sustainable campus? Find out through our sustainability tours: 

• Self-guided sustainability walking tour: This short walk will take you across the campus to explore different features from waste management to protecting natural environments to using innovative technology to create renewable energy. The tour is 700 m long and takes about 20 minutes. Download the map here, or follow along with the map indicated on the signs located at each tour stop.
• Science and Technology (T) Building audio tour: What are the features that make T Building sustainable? What considerations did the architects make in designing the building? Learn the details from this 11-minute audio tour. Listen to the tour here.

Our main campus is located a few minutes’ walk from the Langara–49th Skytrain Station, which offers fast and reliable service to Richmond and Downtown. It is also served by major bus routes: the #49, which travels east-west between Metrotown and UBC along 49th Ave., and the #3, which travels north-south between South Van and downtown along Main St.   

Students have access to discounted public transit rates through the U-Pass BC program.

The Ontario St. and 37th Ave bikeways offer scenic, cyclist-friendly routes to the campus. If you choose to use transit for part of your commute, all TransLink buses are equipped with front-end bicycle racks, and bicycles are welcome on the Canada Line with no peak hour restrictions. Langara has end-of-trip facilities for cyclists including covered bike racks and cages, showers, and repair stations. 

Langara has 28 EV charging stations located in the underground parkade and on the west side of campus, across from T Building.