Meet the director at the heart of Carleton's sustainability efforts

Written By Peter Allan

As Carleton's director of energy and sustainability, Scott Macdonald embodies the goals of his department: he bikes to work, powers his own home with solar panels and teaches his two young children the importance of energy saving. Photo by Kaitlin Gruehl / Canada’s National Observer.

By Kaitlin Gruehl

Scott Macdonald is not just leading Carleton University’s sustainability efforts; he is living them.

As the director of energy and sustainability at the school, Macdonald bikes to work, powers his home with solar panels and teaches his two young children the importance of energy saving. At Carleton University, he is driving projects to make the campus energy efficient and climate-conscious.

With 12 years at Carleton — and five of them in his current role — Macdonald oversees campus-related sustainability initiatives, from the central heating plant to tiny forests and pollinator gardens. With the help of his leadership, Carleton has become the first Canadian university to join the Government of Canada’s Net Zero Challenge, which encourages businesses to work toward net-zero emissions by 2050.

Collaboration is something Macdonald says has been key. He and his team work alongside others at the university, such as those in athletics, campus housing and faculty, to ensure needs are met. Fostering these relationships has driven success for his initiatives by integrating them into the university’s operations. “At the end of the day, we have to put students, research and teaching first,” he said.

As an engineer, Macdonald often sees this success in numbers. For example, he cites the university’s improved electrical efficiency, noting that it is using the same amount of energy today as in 1990, “even though we’ve grown 25 per cent in buildings.”

“We’re always looking to see how we can improve and how we can reduce our consumption,” he adds.

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