Sustainability : Lets Get Educated!

We all know how important it is to practice sustainable initiatives on a business level, but how do we ensure that the future business men and women are aware of how to build their company to have less of an ecological footprint?

Many people believe that educating the youth in secondary school is where this lesson should begin, and I agree with them. It is very important that once you’re finished secondary school, the voyage to partake in a sustainable lifestyle should not be over.

Post Secondary Institutions are realizing that they can center full courses on the idea of sustainability as well as build facilities that are eco-friendly.

Sustainability is a hot topic in colleges and universities. Schools are now incorporating sustainability plans into every decision that is made. The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a leader in post secondary institutions that are making the move to be more sustainable. UBC has made it apparent that they want to be the leader in sustainability in Canada and are now putting their money where their mouth is.

“The Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) will be the most innovative and high performance building in North America, serving as a living laboratory to demonstrate leading-edge research and develop sustainable design practices, products, systems and policies.” (1) Even the structural building has been centred around sustainability. Materials have been made to be eco friendly which in turn will reduce the emissions from the building. The building will also reduce energy use and water use. UBC is setting themselves up to be seen as a worldwide leader in sustainability. The immaculate building will be self reliant. CIRS will rely on natural resources such as the sun to heat its facility, the wind to power the lights and the ground that it sits on to produce energy. How cool is that!?

Check Out this Video! : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3WwTmkEXr0

More Information at:

(1) http://www.sustain.ubc.ca/hubs/cirs/about-cirs




Fleming steps up!

Fleming College is known for many things, one of which is its sustainability initiatives set forth by our Lindsay campus “Frost”. Frost campus is known for having more outdoors programs that centre around maintaining the environment and natural resources. They are also known for their FSCI (Frost Sustainable Campus Initiative). This initiative is empowering students to be the agents for change; not just in the school, but in the community.

Notable accomplishments of FSCI to date:

 Hired a permanent Sustainability Coordinator

 Banned the sale of Bottled Water at Frost starting on Earth Day 2011
 Implemented a pilot scale Re-useable to-Go Program which has replaced throw-away wares in our cafeteria with the re-useable wares.

 Opened instructional and sustainable research platforms such as the “Green Roof”, “The Living Wall”, and “The Butterfly Garden”

 Instructional Community Garden, with partnership from YWCA.

This campus has shown that change does not start with just the staff; it has to encompass the students as well. Frost was the first campus to step up efforts to make Fleming College more sustainable. Sutherland campus is now in a catch up mode, but we are on the right track. In Fleming’s strategic plan (2010-2015), they have stated that “leading in sustainability” is one of their top priorities. What this does for the school is raises our profile and makes us stand out. It creates more awareness as to what were all about and brings more students to Fleming College.

Sutherland is currently undertaking major assessments as to how we can be more sustainable. We are exploring all possible avenues to ensure that our carbon footprint is reduced, and that we are seen as a premier institute when it comes to Sustainability. Sustainability is finally being embraced; it’s the hottest topic out there. Let’s not let it fall by the wayside. At this point in time, we need to get the word out and be proud that we have Frost campus doing an excellent job in reducing its impact on society and the environment. Let’s look to the future and see that we can all make a difference. We can promote change in a good way, a way that will only benefit future generations.

More Information at:
http://www.flemingc.on.ca/index.cfm/go/fleming/sub/fsci.cfm

By: Cameron Bradley