Home>Encounters with Climate Innovation – A CARE Podcast
02.03.2026
Encounters with Climate Innovation – A CARE Podcast
As part of a Fall 2025 CARE Applied Learning project, a team of three Master's students from the University of Toronto (U of T) and Sciences Po collaborated with the U of T St. George Sustainability Office, with support from the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, to produce a three‑episode podcast miniseries showcasing innovative sustainability initiatives at the University of Toronto St. George campus.
This series explores on-the-ground environmental work at the University of Toronto, showing how local projects connect to municipal, provincial, and national policy landscapes. Each episode tackles a distinct challenge—from delivering Canada’s largest urban geoexchange system, to constructing a mass timber tower, to launching deep energy retrofits on a historic campus.
In the first episode, Jack O’Grady speaks with Ron Saporta, U of T’s Chief Operating Officer, about implementing Canada’s largest urban geoexchange system beneath the St. George Front Campus—and what it signals for the university’s transition toward a climate-positive future.
Next, Roya Aboosaidi sits down with U of T experts Dr. Rasoul Yousefpour, Effat Mosa, and Barbara Daniels to examine the benefits of mass timber construction. They explore the policies and building codes shaping its uptake, and the broader potential to scale mass timber across the built environment.
In the final episode, Roya speaks with U of T’s Senior Utilities Reduction Manager, Sherif Shakour, about deep energy retrofits. They explore how comprehensive upgrades can transform aging buildings—cutting emissions and energy use across the historic campus.
We gratefully acknowledge the guidance of Professor Drew Fagan throughout the process, and we extend special thanks to the Fondation DRG for its generous funding of the CARE Program.
« I found it particularly valuable to work alongside Canadian colleagues and engage with a national context different from the one I am accustomed to in my daily life in Paris. Exploring concepts such as the geoexchange, which were new to me, and analyzing how sustainable innovations can be adapted to different regulatory and socio-economic settings significantly broadened my perspective. I am keen to bring these insights back to Europe. »
Alicia Prat-Baradat
M.A. in Environmental Policy, Sciences Po
Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn
« The best part of this project for me was getting to learn so much about all the exciting sustainability work going on here at U of T. Going into this, I knew we were a leading sustainability institution, but I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant in reality, and the conversations I got to have with sustainability leaders on campus both made that knowledge real and deepened my perspective on what it can look like for a college campus to work better for the climate. »
Jack O’Grady
Master of Information with a concentration in Information Systems Design and a collaborative specialization in Environmental Studies, University of Toronto
Connect with Jack on LinkedIn
« As a host of this podcast, I had the privilege of speaking with experts at the forefront of sustainability and innovation. This experience enhanced my ability to translate complex policy and technical strategies into accessible conversations, while also considering how U of T’s sustainability achievements could inspire action in other national and international contexts. »
Roya Aboosaidi
Master of Global Affairs, University of Toronto
Connect with Roya on LinkedIn
Encounters with Climate Innovation: The Geoexchange
Encounters with Climate Innovation: The Academic Wood Tower
Encounters with Climate Innovation: Deep-Energy Retrofits
Interested in learning more about sustainability and climate innovation at the University of Toronto? Visit the Sustainability Office website or reach out to sustainability@utoronto.ca to learn more.