About Us

From Common Energy

Common Energy is a network of university, community, and regional partners working to create solutions to the problems of climate change. Launched by students working in and with the University of Victoria Sustainability Project, Common Energy now has hubs at UVic and UBC. We are developing a provincial network to integrate BC's universities and colleges. These institutions can be catalysts for the social transformations required to turn the threat of climate change into an opportunity to protect the diversity of life, and create prosperous societies.

[edit] What we want

Our goal is to move universities and colleges beyond climate-neutral. Moving beyond climate-neutral means that a person or institution does more to solve the problems of climate change than it does to cause them. This emphasizes both the need to reduce our contributions to the problem, and the opportunity we have to create solutions. What would it look like for a university to move beyond climate-neutral? We are working together to find out.

How can we do more to solve the problems of climate change then we do to cause them?

Universities have a particular opportunity to contribute in the long struggle against climate change. They are places where people can come together to find the right questions to ask, develop the right answers for their region, and begin to create appropriate change. The enormous economic and physical presence of a university gives it the power to take responsibility for its contributions to climate change and take advantage of innovative thinking to benefit the city and region. Read more about: the opportunity of the university.

[edit] How we work

From students to researchers to homeowners and from activists to administrators and politicians, we bring together the people with the passion and expertise to respond to climate change. Developing working relationships is integral to achieving our goal. To facilitate collaboration, Common Energy has created a planning process we call Common Ground. This process involves a cycle of conferences and small working group discussion and research to collaboratively generate the beyond climate-neutral plan. In the process, people educate, inspire, and engage one another to create changes that are grounded in the practicalities of their place, and driven by the necessity for transformation.

Our philosophy for change is based on the power of networks of people and institutions to achieve common goals. The Common Ground process was developed to facilitate the self-organization of these networks of people. Common Energy has teams that act as network hubs and use consensus to organize Common Ground and develop Common Energy into an organisation capable of implementing an ambitious beyond climate-neutral plan. If you are interested in making a difference we want to connect with you. There are many different ways to get involved.