A friendly green face on campus

From composting waste and eliminating bottled water to growing urban food and fostering parking for bicycles. Sustainable Concordia (SC) works on boosting awareness of sustainability issues through a raft of initiatives, workshops and public outreach. It is an organization that builds and measures culture and practices of sustainability at the university in solidarity with efforts being made by the global community.

Sustainable Concordia volunteers sort through samples of trash from around the university each year to find out how much recyclables and compostables Concordians are throwing in the trash. Last year, Concordia reduced its landfilled waste by 100 tonnes. Coffee cups are one of the largest contributors to Concordia's landfill contribution. | Photos courtesy of Sustainable Concordia

SC, as it’s called, works to assess and address challenges of the current economy, which is based on unlimited growth and exploitation of natural resources and the political system that excludes key stakeholders from participating in decision-making.

Among SC’s initiatives are:
•    Reducing waste through an on-site composting program.
•    Setting up a secure bike-parking facility at the Sir George Williams Campus.
•    Supporting urban agriculture programs.
•    Working with Facilities Management on the drinking fountains project (making the transition to a bottled-water-free institution easier). See the story about that here. 
•    Helping departmental offices and events on campus become more sustainable.

There is a culture in SC of empowering individuals and groups to change their communities for the better. Members enjoy autonomy in a supportive environment.

SC is a place of constructive communication and collaboration on sustainability between the university's administration and the community. Innovative projects are encouraged, which can grow into larger, university-supported endeavours. SC provides resources for starting those projects, including office space, computers, workshops, and most important, a knowledge of how to transform an idea into reality.

The SC team is comprised of coordinators, a board of directors, volunteers, interns, supporters and partners who are involved in many projects.

Sustainable Concordia held several informal public consultations and workshops in the Webster Library atrium this year, known as the SustainabilTEA series. The community shared their sustainability concerns and ideas and were rewarded with organic tea from the greenhouse and homemade vegan brownies.

Many of those most intimately involved with SC are students (mainly undergraduates) and recent graduates. Staff, administrators, faculty, and various community members are also active in SC’s many projects. Two full-time university employees working within the offices of SC (the Sustainability Coordinator and Environmental Coordinator) are mentors for certain projects and for the organization as a whole.

SC’s first project was the Concordia Campus Sustainability Assessment – a massive evaluation conducted in 2002. It was a giant report card that identified areas in which the university was doing well on sustainability and those where it needed to improve. This report led to the creation of several projects with the mission of addressing these problem areas, all under SC’s umbrella.

Students, staff and faculty are encouraged to drop by the SC offices at 2090 Mackay St. (second and third floors). There is a number of volunteer/job opportunities and internships available.

To find out about volunteering on the board of directors, contact suscon.board@gmail.com.

Read related Earth Day articles.

Related links:
•    Sustainable Concordia
•    Sustainability Assessment
•    Volunteer opportunities
•    Jobs and internship positions