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Walking up the hill on the Fredericton campus, you might be surprised by the mail van rushing by without a trail of smoke in its wake. This summer, the University of New Brunswick (UNB) Operations team gained its first electric vehicle (EV) as part of its fleet. This new addition feeds into the plan to reduce the carbon footprint of the Fredericton and Saint John campuses.

Esme Newling, UNB Sustainability’s sustainability engagement coordinator, speaks about a strategy of thinking in small changes. These changes, in turn, accumulate and result in an overall positive environmental impact, she says.

“It's overwhelming to think about climate change on a grand scale. The whole world is getting hotter and that's terrifying,” she said.

“Being able to think about positive changes happening in a community as small as the school you go to is a great way to start. It makes it [much] easier for people to choose sustainability when they get to do it on a smaller scale. The reality is that you as an individual probably don't have the power to make the world stop warming. However, you do have the power to make changes at home. We're happy to make [our community] more sustainable, that's why we're here.”

UNB Sustainability's Climate Change Action Plan aims for carbon neutrality by 2050.

There are many components to this program, small and large in scale. The campus infrastructure continues to be built and enhanced with the LEED certification in mind. Buildings such as Head Hall in Fredericton and the Health and Social Innovation Centre in Saint John are being adapted or constructed to alleviate the carbon footprint on UNB’s campuses.

“Carbon neutrality doesn't happen on an individual level. It means that if an institution, for example, UNB, produces carbon emissions, it also removes the same amount of carbon emissions from the atmosphere as [it generates],” said Newling.

On an individual level, there are initiatives such as the Academic Bike Challenge and the Residence Energy Challenge, also led by UNB Sustainability, to encourage students and staff to practice mindful transportation and energy preservation in a fun manner.

When the mail van for UNB Fredericton came to the end of its natural life, the Sustainability team met with the Operations staff and agreed to cover the cost difference for an electric van and its charger, located at the Capital Planning & Operations building on King’s College Road.

By incorporating the electric van into Operations, “the campus is getting to be part of the green footprint. [We] want to try to [do our part] for the environment as well,” said Augustine Brideau, operations foreperson at UNB Fredericton.

Newling hopes that the new electric van will encourage other departments to make changes to their systems to support carbon neutrality, including the more widespread use of electric vehicles. The university continues to improve the infrastructure to support them. UNB has four EV chargers at the bottom of the campus outside the Richard J. CURRIE CENTER. There is also one at the top of the campus belonging to NBCC.

“We are very happy to [help] other departments who are making these decisions,” said Newling. “We encourage you to reach out to UNB Sustainability specifically if you are wanting to [switch] to electric [vehicles]. We would love to talk to you about that.”

Photo: Augie Brideau, operations foreperson, Jordan King, equipment operator, Nikole Watson, energy coordinator and Sedona Cluett, sustainability manager.