Editor’s note: This article is part of the Gold Quill spotlight series, highlighting award-winning communication projects recognized for their strategic excellence and measurable results.
As the world grapples with increasingly complex challenges brought on by climate change, the need for progress across the sustainability spectrum has never been more urgent. This includes advancements in environmental research, green tech innovation, energy-efficient construction, and sustainability education.
The University of Toronto (U of T) is uniquely positioned to lead in this space. Regularly ranked among the top 25 global universities, U of T is Canada’s leading research-intensive post-secondary institution. It brings together some of the brightest scholarly minds from every discipline and a diverse community of students from all backgrounds.
Its three campuses, spread across one of North America’s largest city-regions, offer a wealth of opportunities to build “living laboratories.” These spaces allow sustainability-focused institutional initiatives to thrive while also serving as platforms for research, teaching, and dialogue.
Moreover, U of T has made sustainability a key strategic priority, aligning with its mission and vision to foster environmental, social, and economic well-being.
Clearing the Air: The Importance of Storytelling
Doing the work is only part of the equation. Telling the story of how the university is tackling climate change is equally essential to being recognized as a sustainability leader.
That’s where U of T Communications (UTC) comes in.
Through the publication of sustainability-focused articles on its U of T News website, UTC supports the university’s broader sustainability goals while enhancing its profile and protecting its reputation. The publication’s readership includes media, government, business leaders, higher education audiences, and the university’s own students, faculty, and staff.
The challenge for U of T News was to highlight such a wide-ranging topic through compelling stories that inspire students, resonate with news media and research partners, and demonstrate to funders the value of investing in U of T’s sustainability initiatives. The goal was to create a virtuous cycle of progress on a globally significant issue.
From Strategy to Story
To meet its communications objectives, U of T News launched a multiyear campaign to produce well-crafted, engaging stories showcasing the university’s sustainability efforts.
The campaign focused on three core messages:
- U of T is setting bold targets to reduce its carbon footprint. The university is on track to meet them through initiatives such as building retrofits, sustainable procurement, and Canada’s largest urban geoexchange system.
- Sustainability is embedded in every facet of U of T’s academic mission. Students, faculty, and staff are offered multiple pathways to explore and contribute to sustainability.
- U of T aims to lead by example, advancing ambitious initiatives, partnerships, and engagements on local, national, and global stages to inspire and collaborate with other institutions.
To measure success, UTC set clear benchmarks: 3,000 page views and 2,000 unique page views per story, and a minimum of 25,000 impressions and 500 engagements per post on X, the social channel that was relied on most heavily at the time for News stories. By raising awareness, the team also aimed to influence U of T’s performance in international rankings that assess sustainability credentials.
Capturing Mission, Message, and the People Driving Progress
The U of T News campaign was designed to be about more than just listing achievements. By blending human stories with institutional milestones, it used sophisticated storytelling to create a compelling portrait of U of T’s sustainability leadership.
U of T News leveraged major announcements such as the university’s landmark decision to divest from fossil fuels and its pledge to make all three campuses climate-positive by 2050 to underscore the scope and ambition of its sustainability goals.
Beyond infrastructure, the campaign spotlighted the meticulous work involved in preserving and enriching campus greenery, especially during construction and renovation projects, which often raise concerns among environmentally conscious communities.
It also highlighted student contributions to City of Toronto climate action projects through a “living lab” course, offering readers insight into flagship sustainability initiatives on campus.
Importantly, the coverage emphasized that U of T’s sustainability efforts extend beyond the physical environment to include social justice, equity, and economic upliftment. This reflects the broad definition of sustainability outlined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which is a key factor in sustainability rankings.
Institutional messaging was seamlessly integrated throughout, with each story reinforcing U of T’s role as a thought leader and decisive actor on sustainability.
Measuring Impact in Clicks, Conversations, and Global Rankings
Since 2021, U of T News has published nearly 200 sustainability-focused stories spanning research breakthroughs, student initiatives, and infrastructure projects. The five stories highlighted in the Gold Quill Award submission exceeded all targets, averaging 2,585 page views and 2,971 unique views. On X, they averaged over 34,000 impressions and 771 engagements, with some stories also performing strongly on other channels. For example, the story on fossil fuel divestment, which garnered more than 12,000 page views, also netted 90,000 Instagram impressions and 34,000 Facebook impressions.
Perhaps the most compelling measure of success came from beyond the university. In October 2022, U of T ranked second globally in the inaugural Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings: Sustainability. In 2023, it climbed to the top spot and retained that ranking in 2024. UTC firmly believes that our consistent effort to educate audiences (including ranking bodies) about the university’s actions and build U of T's public profile as a sustainability leader contributed to these results.
Beyond the prestige, performance in these rankings is vital to attract students from across Canada and around the world, with QS surveys showing that students increasingly prioritize sustainability when choosing a university.
Looking ahead, U of T News sees strategic communication playing an even greater role not only in sharing sustainability milestones but in shaping discourse, sparking action, and inspiring progress.