Sustainability: Your campus. Your impact. Your future.

Energy Management 

The College 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 our 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 additional areas into our reporting is important for understanding progress.  

Comparing our campus-level buildings' energy usage and emissions 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%. 

Read more about our progress via energy management case studies:  Lifelong Learning For Buildings and 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. 

Langara is a 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. 

Information Technology  

• Langara’s Information Technology department has several sustainability initiatives:  
• Citrix virtual desktop delivery provides users with better experience and reduces 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 reduced energy out from 300W to <50W per device. 
• Our data centre has been upgraded with an energy- and water-efficient air conditioning 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've upgraded and consolidated 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