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 |
December 23, 2016
Sustainable Waterloo Region has been busy this year, ushering in new members, launching a new program, and hosting events throughout the year. The last event for 2016 was held this month at Waterloo North Hydro and focused on the topic of reporting. Three speakers from Kuntz Electroplating, Kindred Credit Union, and the University of Waterloo, […]
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 |
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Lisa Chapman |
April 23, 2014
As the Evening of Recognition quickly approaches, the excitement around the office is palpable! Our 2013 Report has gone to print and our Events Team is prepping both speakers and volunteers for the big night. Our largest event of the year, the Evening of Recognition is our way of recognizing the 2013 contributions that individuals […]
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) […]
