March is SDG Month Canada, which brings together post-secondary institutions nationwide to take action on the United Nations' (UN) 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - goals set by the United Nations to end poverty, protect the planet and build a fairer world by 2030.
TMU continues to make significant progress in advancing the SDGs. According to the 2025 Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, TMU places in the top 10 per cent of 2,318 universities assessed worldwide for its work on sustainable development.
"It is our responsibility to create positive change and empower our campus community to take tangible steps towards a sustainable future," says Roberta Iannacito-Provenzano, provost and vice-president, academic. "From our classrooms, to our rooftops. to our research labs we're building solutions that create lasting impact locally and globally."
SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation
One area where TMU stands out globally is SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation, where it ranks 78th in the world. This goal recognizes that water is essential not just for health, but for reducing poverty, ensuring food security, protecting ecosystems and upholding human rights.
Water demand is rising fast - driven by population growth, urbanization and increasing water needs from agriculture, industry and energy, climate change is expected to make water shortages worse, pushing the world toward a global water crisis. In response, the UN launched initiatives like the Water Action Decade 2018-2028 and World Water Day - held each year on March 22 - to mobilize action that will help transform how we manage water globally.
SDG 6 sets specific targets: Cut water pollution, improve how efficiently we use water, protect freshwater ecosystems and ensure everyone has access to safe drinking water by 2030.
Here's how TMU is taking on this global challenge through research, student leadership and community partnerships:
Urban Water TMU
Much of TMU's success in this area comes from Urban Water TMU, a team of researchers from many fields who work together to solve complex urban water challenges. The group uses transdisciplinary research, strong external networks and collaborative action.
Urban Water TMU has a research facility in the Centre for Urban Innovation, where researchers and students study a wide range of urban water issues using state-of-the-art equipment across a water analytics lab, an experimental lab and dedicated work spaces.
The group leads research across three main areas: Urban water management and governance, urban natural systems and green technologies and freshwater science and governance. The group partners with government, private industry and non-profits to turn research into practical action.
Protecting Canada's freshwater resources
Canada holds about 20 per cent of the planet's freshwater and seven per cent of its renewable fresh water. To help protect this vital resource, TMU runs the Bruce Fellowships in Canadian Freshwater Policy. These fellowships support emerging scholars who will shape Canada's water policies at every level of government and in environmental organizations.
The 2025-26 Geoffrey F. Bruce Fellow recipients are:
- Michelle Jadormeo, a master of public policy and administration student, whose research project focuses on the emerging issue of water demands related to artificial intelligence and data centre infrastructure, and the policy gaps and regulatory blind spots in Canada.
- Dima Balaa, a PhD candidate in the environmental applied science and management program, whose research focuses on blue roofs, and water quality on the roof from the standpoint of public health and building regulatory guidance. Balaa is part of a multidisciplinary team working on Credit Valley Conservation's Smart Blue Roof in Mississauga, Ontario.
Advocating for safe drinking water for Indigenous communities
While Canada's drinking water is among the safest in the world, access to clean drinking water remains a challenge in some remote and Indigenous communities. Urban Water TMU has committed to building relationships and collaborating with Indigenous communities to improve access to safe drinking water for Indigenous people in Canada.
One key initiative is the Apathy to Empathy Steering Committee, co-led by Elder Joanne Okimawininew Dallaire. Made up ofIndigenous leaders and allies, the committee created an education module for undergraduate students called Apathy to Empathy: First Nations Water Crisis.
First tested in Fall 2021 across courses in civil engineering, chemistry, geography and social sciences, the module helps students and faculty explore the many dimensions of the First Nations water crisis.
Reducing water consumption on campus through environmentally sustainable practices
With more than 40 buildings across downtown Toronto and Brampton, TMU's campus is a major opportunity to model sustainable practices in teaching, learning and research.
Buildings have a big impact on the environment. TMU is committed to using technologies and encouraging habits that reduce water waste.
Here are some of the ways TMU is taking action on campus:
- The Sheldon and Tracy Levy Student Learning Centre (SLC) and the Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex (DCC) use grey water collection systems that collect, treat, and use water from showers, taps and rain to flush toilets.
- Vegetated landscaping and roofs help with stormwater management by reducing the runoff and absorbing most of it before it gets to the city sewers. TMU has installed vegetated roofs on the Centre for Urban Innovation (CUI), DCC, George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre (ENG) and SLC. By managing stormwater locally, TMU helps the City of Toronto with its management, which translates into significant environmental benefits.
- TMU's Sustainable Buildings Guidelines apply to capital and deferred maintenance projects on campus. The Guidelines provide project-specific energy, GHG emissions and water efficiency targets in new construction and renovation projects; calculate energy and GHG project budgets; and introduce streamlined modeling, benchmark comparison, documentation submission, and approvals approach.
Empowering students to lead positive change
Today's students are tomorrow's water leaders. TMU offers experiential learning opportunities that connect students and faculty around real-world problems.
Urban Water TMU supports students through experiential learning, networking opportunities and mentorship, giving them real-world experience. The centre's Student Leadership Committee works closely with the centre's staff and executive members on water-related projects and initiatives.
The Nicholas Reid Memorial Award is presented annually to a graduate student who has shown leadership and innovation in water. PhD student Eric Fries was the 2025 award recipient for his leadership and research tackling plastic pollution in Canada's waterways.
Advancing the SDGs through collaboration and innovation
Taken together these efforts show that real sustainability requires both individual action and systemic change. By bridging research with practice, engaging students as changemakers and building partnerships across communities, the university is creating models that can scale beyond campus.
As TMU continues this work, the commitment remains clear: Sustainability is not just an aspiration but a daily practice embedded in how the university teaches, researches and serves its community.
To learn more about TMU's journey in advancing the UN SDGs, visit our website.
