New program for UCalgary community helps make campus offices sustainable

At the University of Calgary, we value sustainable ways of living, working and learning. To help UCalgary employees take action to make their workplaces more inclusive, environmentally conscious and socially responsible, UCalgary is launching the Sustainable Offices Program as part of Sustainability Week.

Intended for all students, faculty and staff who work in an office, this program offers simple tools and resources to connect the decisions we make every day to UCalgary’s larger sustainability goals, building capacity for sustainability leadership across our campus.

“The Sustainable Offices Program allows us to focus on incorporating sustainable practices into our day-to-day decisions,” says Steven Gasser, associate vice-president (facilities management). “Our objective is to make UCalgary’s campus as sustainable as possible, and to do that, we need to focus on the areas where a high number of our campus members work.”

The Sustainable Offices Program provides the resources you will need to navigate through the certification process, from engaging your leadership to taking sustainable action and making lasting change. Currently, participating offices can earn two badges through the program, Meetings and Waste, with three more badges launching in 2019. Examples of actions required to earn badges include conducting a waste audit, planning team education and outreach initiatives, and using accessible presentation formats and materials during meetings.

“Starting with certifications in the areas of Meetings and Waste was the logical first step,” says Gasser. “These are two areas in the office environment where we see many unsustainable practices and we want to make substantial change in these areas to align with our campus sustainability goals.”

Anyone interested in learning more about the Sustainable Offices Program is encouraged to attend today’s Welcome Workshop from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. in Kinesiology Block B 236 to get an overview of the program, including tips on how to kick-start the certification process in your office.

You can also check out the Sustainable Offices section on the sustainability website. There, you will find the Sustainable Offices Meetings and Waste Checklists, a Getting Started Guide to walk you through the certification process and tools and resources for additional support. Once your office earns its first badge, your success will be posted on UCalgary’s Sustainable Offices leaderboard.

For more information, email sustain@ucalgary.ca.