Township of Wilmot Featured in Case Study
Having been a member of the Regional Sustainability Initiative since 2015, the Township of Wilmot has become the first township in Waterloo Region to set a public greenhouse gas reduction target. They are working towards reducing their emissions by 25% using 2012 as their baseline. Some of their projects are already showing successful savings in both cost and energy usage. Check out their case study to learn more
...
Read More
Change Management and Sustainability
On June 13th, professionals gathered at the Walper Hotel in Kitchener for a Change Management and Sustainability event, where change management practice, tools, and how to apply them were discussed. Matthew Day, Manager of SWR’s Regional Sustainability Initiative, opened the event with a brief overview of Regional Sustainability Initiative’s end-of-year member survey. The top three goals across all members were: reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, reducing energy use, and increasing employee engagement. The goal of employee engagement stuck out because many members expressed a desire for ...
Read More
Event Recap – It’s All About the Numbers
On May 22nd 2018, Paul Rak (President and founder of Cambridge-based VeriForm Inc.) made the business case for implementing low-technology sustainability initiatives into everyday business operations. The event took place at Waterloo North Hydro and was attended by an assortment of professionals looking to learn how to optimize sustainability, efficiency, and cost-savings in their operations.
Rak began by giving an overview of the company, when they started their journey towards sustainability, and the results the company has achieved since. VeriForm is a metal fabricating company which specia ...
Read More
Evening of Recognition 2018 Recap
Thursday, April 12 was a big day for Sustainable Waterloo Region and the many program participants and volunteers who help make everything we do such a success.
On April 12, we celebrated our 9th Evening of Recognition.
The Turret at Wilfrid Laurier University was standing room only as sustainability leaders gathered to celebrate their successes and achievements, swap stories, and share learnings.
That the event was held at Laurier was particularly meaningful; for 10 years, Wilfrid Laurier University has played a critical role in helping SWR and all Regional Sustainability Initiative members a ...
Read More
10 ways our volunteers ROCK!
Over the four years that I have been at Sustainable Waterloo Region, I have been repeatedly amazed and touched with the kinds of time and talent that are shared in this community to work together for the creation of a shared vision of the future. From students to community leadership, the volunteers at SWR are incredible.
I could try to articulate all the things that people have done, but my memory is, as many of you have heard me say” like a steel sieve”, so I would rather share the top 10 ways that volunteers make all of us at SWR so very grateful.
Professional expertise. Many of our volunt ...
Read More
Volunteers Support Professional Development
I’ve been a member of the SWR team for a long time, starting as a volunteer back in 2008. The volunteer structure at SWR is very close to my heart. Over the years, I’ve seen the power of this model and what it’s done for the organization, helping us to reach higher and do more, with limited financial resources. I’ve also seen the valuable and transferable work experience that volunteers have gained from being part of the SWR team. Recently, in the last year and a half, I’ve come to truly appreciate a new layer that’s been added to the model.
To set the context, historically our Human Resources ...
Read More
Thank you to all the Green Team volunteers
What many folks might not realize about sustainability-focused efforts is that not all organizations have the capacity to have a designated role for this. On many occasions, it is the voluntary work of one or handful of employees who are passionate about the environment. The effort to pull together a green team, engage the whole organization, integrate sustainability awareness, report on energy consumption and waste diversion – these tasks are completed alongside their primary role but with equal amounts of enthusiasm. This is why at the Regional Sustainability Initiative, we refer to them as ...
Read More
5+ Years’ of Volunteerism and Counting!
Sustainable Waterloo Region’s greatest resource is our people. We are able to accomplish SWR’s great work with a committed team of volunteers and a small staff driven by a shared passion to achieve an environmentally sustainable Waterloo Region for current and future generations.
Fueled by this passion, our volunteers join us for any number of reasons; from gaining meaningful work experience, to expanding professional networks, connecting with other like-minded individuals, or contributing their professional expertise to improve their local community. Our volunteer base is dynamic: as we welco ...
Read More
Tova Davidson |
December 18, 2015
The Sustainable Waterloo Region network has some pretty incredible people in it, and that includes the amazing folks on our board of directors. While none of the SWR core team was able to attend COP21, we were represented there by one of our board members, Ian Rowlands. For those of you that may not have […]
Tarana Persaud |
November 27, 2015
On November 20th 2015, Sustainable Waterloo Region held one of its many speaking events titled “Building on Innovation.” Held at the Tannery Event Centre in the evening hours, the events team created a space where socialising and networking would be encouraged over some drinks and snacks before a bursting agenda of speakers. Our Executive Director, […]
Tova Davidson |
October 12, 2015
Election day is fast approaching and choosing how to vote can be so tricky. Should you vote with your conscience? What about strategic voting? At Sustainable Waterloo Region, we know that it can be tough to get the information needed to make an informed choice when voting for the environment. In order to help with the […]
Cailin Munroe |
January 7, 2015
Sustainable Waterloo Region is so excited to announce the launch of our 6th annual photo contest! Over the past 5 years we have come to see the amazing photos you can take that really show the beauty of Waterloo Region, and we don’t doubt we will see the same submissions this year. This year we will be having […]
Tova Davidson |
October 20, 2014
On Tuesday October 14, we got together with a number of other environmentally focused not-for-profits to host an election event that focused on sustainability. This event brought together over 40 candidates from across Waterloo Region to talk about their stance on environmental issues and connect with residents who are concerned with the same issues. We […]
Mike Morrice |
July 25, 2014
It’s only been six months since Tova officially started as Executive Director at Sustainable Waterloo Region. And while I’m proud of the work and planning that went into the transition at all levels of the organization, I’m prouder still of how wonderfully Tova has taken the lead of this growing organization at such a critical […]
Mat Thijssen |
February 13, 2014
There’s an old saying that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. As I poured over countless books, journal articles, and news releases on climate change while doing research for my MA in the summer of 2011, I could not help but feel […]
Mike Morrice |
January 23, 2014
We finally did it. Three years in the making, we launched Sustainability CoLab at Artscape Wychwood Barns, announcing everything from: The funding: $385,000 of $500,000 required for a three year mandate, coming from a mix of public sector (the Ontario Trillium Foundation), private family foundation (Metcalf Foundation), and Corporate Partners (TD Bank Group and Sun Life Financial) […]
Mike Morrice |
January 9, 2014
Back in June, we announced Sustainable Waterloo Region was launching the search for our next Executive Director – someone to build on the organization’s exponential growth over the past five years, and propel it into its next chapter. Today, we have exciting news to share. On behalf of the community representatives that guide the direction […]
Sarah Brown |
December 19, 2013
Have you ever started something and vastly underestimated how much impact it would eventually have? Maybe it’s a casual first date that becomes a life partner, a lecture that grows to be a sweeping passion, or a few wistful lines that transform into an autobiography. For me, it has been the journey over the past […]
