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
Samantha Tavenor |
June 28, 2017
Regional Sustainability Initiative member R+T Park is featured in a case study highlighting their 40% reduction target and how sustainability has benefited their business thus far. Some of the companies within the park have cited their involvement with sustainability being a positive recruitment tool and a competitive advantage. Due to the park being comprised […]
Sustainable Waterloo Region |
September 20, 2016
Walking into Cathy Snyder’s office at the United Way Kitchener & Waterloo Area workplace, I’m greeted with a warm handshake and a purple streak running through her hair. This United Way’s CFO is leaving the world a little bit better than she found it. She’s a firm believer in ‘every little bit helps.’ Being a […]
Sustainable Waterloo Region |
September 16, 2016
On June 16th 2009, Sustainable Waterloo Region officially launched its flagship program, the Regional Carbon Initiative (RCI). The launch event celebrated the organization’s first three Pledging Partners, which has since grown to a membership of over 60 organizations. In 2015, Veriform was one of three organizations to reach their carbon reduction target, and the first […]
Sustainable Waterloo Region |
September 9, 2016
As the RCI team prepares itself for expanding into a program with bigger goals and more targets, we have even more reason to keep up with the progressive work being achieved by B-Corps. These are companies that willingly set out to improve their standards of social and environmental performance through the evaluation of a completed social […]
Sustainable Waterloo Region |
April 22, 2016
Last week we celebrated all the hard work and impressive achievements by our members, and shared some important information about Sustainable Waterloo Region and our vision for the future, which was the theme of the Evening of Recognition event and our 2015 Year End Report. The presentation at Evening of Recognition started with some insights […]
Matthew Day |
July 7, 2015
In only 2 years Crawford achieves its GHG reduction target and sets a new goal! July 7, 2015 (Waterloo Region, ON) – Today Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc. celebrates having achieved their Green House Gas (GHG) emission reduction target, well ahead of schedule. In January 2013, Crawford became a Bronze Pledging Partner of the Regional […]
Reuben DeBoer |
March 26, 2015
Each year the Regional Carbon Initiative gathers feedback from its members. This comes from events, round tables, one-on-ones and year-end questionnaires. This feedback is key to how the RCI operates and the direction their members feels the program should develop. One piece of feedback that the RCI has noted for a number of years now […]
Tarana Persaud |
February 2, 2015
During December, Sustainable Waterloo Region held a bright and early seminar at the Waterloo Inn on Financial Incentives that are out there for businesses to take advantage of when trying to follow the sustainable and environmental friendly path. Guests were happy to be spoken to by 6 speakers from various sectors: Union Gas, SaveONenergy, REEP […]
Hamza Sheikh |
November 26, 2014
As we start receiving responses back for our 2014 Year-End Questionnaire to our RCI members, I learn to recognize the value generated by these annual questionnaires in helping the RCI communicate your sustainability successes. The RCI recognizes your stories in the Annual Year-End Report, and through other various forms of media, such as social media […]
Steve Yessie |
September 25, 2014
The room a buzz with networking, Sustainable Waterloo Region kicked off our 2014-2015 Regional Carbon Initiative event season on a high note last Thursday with a focus on network connections and organizational green teams. While it is the same Regional Carbon Initiative (RCI) we have grown to know and love, members can expect some notable changes […]
