SFU will use the following as guiding frameworks to set standards, annual objectives, and metrics of success to ensure our resources and energy are aligned with global, regional and local goals, commitments, and standards. These include, but are not limited to:

• United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• UN Race to Zero
• UN Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
• British Columbia Climate Action Accountability Act
• UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
• Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA)
• Okanagan Charter
• The Embedding Project
• Times Higher Education Sustainable Development Rankings
• Forthcoming Indigenous strategy
• Well-being plan

1. Wherever possible, we will work toward net positive and regenerative actions over those that merely minimize harm.
2. Wherever possible, we will look for opportunities to advance SFU’s sustainability and climate goals in ways that also advance SFU’s equity and wellbeing and Indigenous goals.
3. Annual objectives, projects, and areas of focus will be adapted to the university's aspirations, capacity, resources, and readiness. Flexibility, adaptability, and responsiveness will guide planning and action in order to take advantage of opportunities presented by funders, Host Nations, student leaders, and promising new initiatives at SFU.
4. Annual objectives, projects, and areas of focus will continue to be guided by and aligned with global, national and local standards and commitments.

Priorities and approaches will be chosen based on their alignment with SFU’s mission as a leading learning and research institution with particular focus on achieving the aims of What’s Next: The SFU Strategy, the Academic Plan (and Faculty plans), and the Strategic Research Plan.

• Utilize innovation, partnerships, applied learning, and research to achieve net positive emissions both within SFU’s physical campus boundaries and in the communities we serve.
• Advance clean energy technology through research, incubating innovation, de-risking, testing, evaluating, and demonstrating new systems and technologies (e.g., hydrogen hub, district energy systems, solar power).
• Train students to be effective climate action leaders.
• Identify Host Nations' priorities for climate leadership and partner with them to achieve them.

• Prepare SFU’s internal community and partner with external communities to develop and maintain sustainable, resilient, and low-carbon communities that promote well-being for people and planet.
• Leverage SFU’s extensive research, teaching, and community partnership strengths to address equity within communities and across communities regarding fire safety, heat and air quality protection, safe and accessible water and food access, and flood protection.
• Train students to be effective community leaders who can advance healthy, sustainable, and resilient communities.
• Identify Host Nations’ priorities for sustainability, resiliency, and well-being and partner with them to achieve them.

• Advancing learning, research, innovation, community partnerships, and campus experiential learning labs to protect and restore natural areas on campus and in the communities we serve.
• Weave together and build on SFU’s Indigenous-focused land use assets and projects on the Burnaby campus.
• Advance nature-based solutions for climate resilience, including innovations in managing heat events and forest fire prevention and management on the Burnaby campus and in the communities we serve.
• Develop, expand, and scale experiential and land-based learning opportunities for students that focus on restoration and regeneration with the Indigenous lens of human embeddedness in natural spaces.
• Identify Host Nations’ priorities for protecting and restoring nature and partner with them to achieve them.

The Embedding Sustainability and Climate Action (ESCA) framework was adapted to the university context from the more corporate-focused Embedding Project. The Embedding Project was designed by Dr. Stephanie Bertels from SFU’s Beedie School of Business. SFU’s adaptation was recently awarded a City of Burnaby Environmental Award (2025).

The purpose of the framework is to provide an agile but structured approach to embed sustainability and climate action lenses and practices across all university functions and activities. The framework’s core focus is collaborating with senior decision-makers to embed sustainability and climate considerations into core priorities, plans, and activities, which then cascade throughout university activities. However, how this embedding is expressed on the ground is constantly evolving to meet the changing context of the university and to adapt to different planning cycles. The focus for the planning of the next strategy requires a different set of focus areas, engagement strategies, and processes than the implementation stage.

The ESCA framework has been adopted by the university (2022) and is led by the Sustainability and Climate Office, which facilitates the core components of the framework including:

Setting SFU’s North Star to focus energy and resources for highest impact

• Developing strategies every five years with senior leaders (including student leaders) that also support the institutions' core strategies, priorities, and plans. Linking these strategies to global, national and local sustainability and climate goals, targets, best practices and priorities to ensure SFU continues to play a leadership role in this area.

Engaging and supporting SFU’s senior decision makers to enable the embedding of our sustainability, climate, and resiliency goals and practices across the institution:

• Engaging regularly with senior leaders (Executive team, Vice-Presidents, AVPs, Deans, Chief Officers, Executive directors etc.) to find ways to align, integrate, and embed our sustainability and climate goals and practices into decision-making, strategy, prioritization, and planning.
• Providing advising and support for each Vice-President portfolio central office and unit/department leaders to find ways to integrate, connect, find co-benefits, and synergies related to sustainability, climate action, resiliency, and their areas of work. 

Identifying and developing new ways of doing things to advance connections, collaborations, and cross-functional integrations.

• Identifying synergies, connections, and potential areas of collaboration and finding ways to link people, projects, ideas, and resources for greater transformational impact across functional areas of the university.
• Working with other pan-university strategy leaders (Equity and Well-being, Indigenous, AI) to align policies, processes, projects, procedures and plans to support SFU faculty, staff, and students in learning how to bring our SFU values to life.

Defining and measuring impact, communicating impact and collaborating and sharing knowledge with external partners and our higher education peer institutions.

• Setting metrics, tracking data, progress, momentum, and impact over time.
• Communicating and sharing SFU’s successes and strengths internally and externally.
• Collaborating with external partners and sharing our best practices, learnings, and tools/programs to help others learn from our successes.
• Ensuring our sustainability successes and leadership role are well known globally to offer opportunities for collaboration, partnership, and co-learning with others.

• Identifying goals within Faculty plans that link to sustainability and climate outcomes and ensuring all new and scaled projects advance these in collaboration with the Deans;
• Identifying opportunities for high-impact projects that achieve sustainability and climate goals for multiple functional units at once (e.g., operational, research, and learning and teaching simultaneously);
• Continuing work with the Indigenous Council Office to identify Host Nation priorities and potential SFU partners;
•  Continuing to work with the Indigenous Council Office and the Equity Office to identify ways to help university community members carry out work that addresses sustainability, Indigenization, Truth and Reconciliation, and equity and well-being simultaneously; and
• Work with the Climate Innovation team and platform (Strategic Research Priority) to advance research and innovation in climate;
• Working with SFU’s AI Steering Committee to link SFU’s AI and Sustainability and Climate strategies.
• Identifying policies under revision to integrate consideration of SFU’s sustainability and climate goals;
• Developing new policies and guidelines to guide SFU’s work in leading sustainability and climate

The central Sustainability and Climate Office will be responsible for establishing baselines, setting university-wide metrics, evaluating efforts in relation to metrics, reporting to our internal and external communities, guiding communications, providing subject matter expertise, and guiding fundraising. This will be done in collaboration with partners such as Central Communications and Marketing, Research Intelligence Office, Strategic Partnerships Hub, Climate Innovation (Strategic Research Plan Priority), Advancement, and the Energy Management Office.