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
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Tarana Persaud |
June 16, 2017
Becoming a B Corp – Why and How This morning, Sustainable Waterloo Region held a breakfast event at EY to give some more insight about ways to improve your e-score, and the benefits of becoming a B Corp. The environment score (e-score) is calculated from an online assessment that measures and compares your environmental score […]
Tarana Persaud |
March 17, 2017
Last week, Stantec in Waterloo hosted the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario Dianne Saxe, who presented a summary of Ontario’s 2016 Greenhouse Gas Progress Report. With a full room of attendees, all eager to hear how we stand and how much progress has actually been accomplished, Dianne presented the facts with no beating around the bush. As […]
Tarana Persaud |
February 27, 2017
On March 9th 2017, Sustainable Waterloo Region will be hosting and event with Dianne Saxe, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, for an evening presentation on Ontario’s emission levels and the role the Ontario Government intends to play to reduce them. Shifting her career in 2015 from an environmental lawyer to being the environmental commissioner, she now […]
Tarana Persaud |
February 6, 2017
Last week Frances Edmonds, the Head of Sustainability at HP Canada joined Sustainable Waterloo Region and its members for a conversation over breakfast at the Delta Hotel in Waterloo ON. The primary focus of her discussion was the need to move away from a linear economy – one in which we as consumers ‘take, make, […]
Tarana Persaud |
May 13, 2016
On May 3rd, 2016 Sustainable Waterloo Region held a long awaited breakfast event on Environmental Policy Planning at the CIGI Building. Due to winter storms, the event was postponed earlier in February. The event was a combination of short info sessions, followed by the presenters engaging the audience in a panel discussion. The Environmental Policies […]
Tarana Persaud |
April 6, 2016
Last week the Regional Carbon Initiative team, the people that help you succeed with carbon accounting, provided the opportunity to expand the horizons for businesses who are on a mission to improve their sustainability repertoire. Hosted at Wilfrid Laurier University as a small breakfast event, Sustainable Waterloo Region gave members a look at ‘Sustainability Beyond Carbon.’ […]
Tarana Persaud |
February 2, 2016
On Thursday January 28th, 2016, Sustainable Waterloo Region held its first event of the new year. We started off with a breakfast event listening to the Vice President of Corporate and Environmental Affairs from General Motors Canada, David Paterson, who gave an insightful presentation on what they’ve been up to at GM. GM has set […]
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, […]
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 […]
Matthew Day |
November 17, 2014
SWR has been very deliberate at doing our part to develop our local sustainability network. This is why Lisa Chapman (pictured right) is so valuable to us. She logs long hours to host up to 20 events a year. And this is also why we love our all-star volunteers on our marketing team. At SWR, we believe that […]
