Concordia earns back-to-back WWF-Canada Living Campus certifications
Concordia’s campuses are transforming into greener, more biodiverse and resilient spaces — progress that has once again earned the university a Living Campus certification from the World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF-Canada).
The distinction celebrates post-secondary institutions that take meaningful action on conservation, sustainability and community engagement. Concordia stood out this year for planting more than 1,400 trees and shrubs, most of them native species, on Loyola Campus.
Organized into three micro-forests, the plantings nearly tripled the campus tree count, increasing the number of species to 92 from 63 and boosting the proportion of native species from 55 to 76 per cent. The result is a continuous habitat corridor for birds, mammals, insects and other wildlife — as well as new research and learning spaces for the Concordia community.
“Planting hundreds of native trees and creating new forest corridors has reshaped Loyola in just one year,” says Jackie Martin, urban agriculture and biodiversity coordinator in the Office of Sustainability.
“This certification reflects the impact of those changes and the way our community has rallied around biodiversity as a shared value.”
Part of a select group
Concordia is among just seven Canadian post-secondary institutions to earn the certification for a second year in a row, placing the university in a select group of national leaders in conservation and sustainability.
At the heart of Concordia’s living sustainability culture is its work toward a campus-wide biodiversity strategy and its promotion of the Living Planet @ Campus program. The initiative provides students with inclusive skill-building opportunities to take meaningful action for the environment.
Through the program, participants may pursue the Living Planet Leader certification by engaging in areas such as volunteering, leadership initiatives, sustainability-related coursework or research and everyday sustainable practices.
The Office of Sustainability supports the process through workshops, resources and guidance, helping community members turn personal commitments into recognized leadership.
“The Living Planet @ Campus program gives our community tangible ways to participate in sustainability beyond the classroom,” says Cassandra Lamontagne, manager in the Office of Sustainability. “It’s as much about building personal skills and leadership as it is about acting for nature.”
Building on the Sustainability Action Plan
This latest milestone comes as Concordia advances the final stages of its Sustainability Action Plan, which charts progress across five streams: food, waste, climate, research and curriculum. Work to develop the plan’s next iteration will begin in fall 2026.
“WWF-Canada’s recognition confirms that our efforts are working and challenges us to go further,” Martin says.
“We’re expanding pollinator gardens, transforming ornamental landscapes into ecological ones and creating more opportunities for students to engage directly in conservation. The Living Campus certification reinforces the notion that sustainability at Concordia is both ambitious and practical.”
Learn more about sustainability at Concordia.
