Sustainablity on RRU Campus

Royal Roads University has worked very hard to include sustainability into their past, present and future. From the beginning (1995) Royal Roads decided it would be a special purpose university with sustainability as a founding pillar backed by a strong policy framework. Five key initiatives were chosen to represent this:
1) GHG Mangement - 50% net reduction of emissions from 2007 levels by 2020.
2) Going Grid Positive - alternative energy sources
3) Campus Transportation - reducing the number of car commuters
4) Building and Heritage Conservation Projects -
5) University Stewardship Plans - purchasing green products

As part of this course, we were treated with four guest speakers to talk about sustainability practices on campus. the four areas presented were: alternative energy options, custodial practices, Habitat cafeteria practices, and RRU sustainability plan.

Our first speaker, Stephen Grundy, PhD - Associate Vice President, Chief Information Officer, spoke on the available alternative energy options Royal Roads is looking at right now. One of the goals of the university is to go grid postive by 2018. This is going to be a very difficult goal, coming with an expensive price tag. Although the university is a National Historic Site, it does not recieve any money from Parks Canada! Alternative sources that have been eliminated thus far are: wave power, wind power, and solar power. Solar panels, for example, require a highly energy-intense manufacturing process. So the three options that are currently being investigated are: cogeneration wood gasifiation waste facility, community compost facility, and wastewater treatment facility. Stephen Grundy pointed out that they are looking at the source that will be most energy efficient, cost effective and that suits RRU size.

Our second speaker was Custodial and Housekeeping Supervisor, Darren Gardham. He explained the ongoing changes and improvements that the custodial staff are working on. In 1998, while working as a custodian for the university, Darren noticed he was allergic to the cleaning supplies hw was using. Shortly after this, all cleaning supplies were switched over to chemical-free! In 2000, the cleaning staff brought in microfiber cloths to replace their old rags. These cloths only require water when cleaning because they literally pik up all bacteria as you wipe. The cloths also last a very long time (~500 washes)! Starting in 2003, the recycling program was expanded to include composting; 10 tonnes of paper towel now composted every year! 75% of all waste at RRU is diverted from the landfill each year as well. I could tell that Darren was truly excited, driven and understanding of the sustainability movement on campus.

The Habitat Cafe on campus is also working very hard to reduce its footprint. The cafe uses compostable wooden cutlery, composts food waste, uses Ocean Wise products, serves Fair Trade coffee and uses compostable “to‐go” coffee cups that use a corn based liner as opposed to a petroleum‐based liner. Habitat is also certified under the Greentable network. The Greentable network “helps guide food establishments to become more sustainable by encouraging the use of services and products that are beneficial to the local economy, use more eco‐friendly processes, incorporates water and energy conservation where applicable and reduces packaging and food waste.”

RRU Sustainability Principles:
• Reduce, re-use, recycle
• Limit campus development to disturbed areas
• Ensure compact, efficient footprint
• Be pedestrian friendly
• Practice active and passive green building design
• Use local and sustainable resources
• Respect heritage designation
• Anticipate, lead and support B.C. government sustainability goals
• Incorporate sustainability in all learner programs
• Support sustainability research and incorporate this in our community engagement initiatives
• Reduce overall carbon footprint
• Be fiscally responsible

Overall I think that Royal Roads is doing a great job on their sustainability practices. They have many goals that they would like to reach; this is very important because it shows direction, hope, and determination. Royal Roads could have easily ignored the whole "environmental" movement and spent their time and money elsewhere. Personally, I find this universities goals and apirations inspiring to my life. Its great to know that I am studying at a place that cares.

Reference: http://www.royalroads.ca/about-rru/governance/sustainability/

How Can I Tell What is Sustainable?

When you hear the words sustainable or sustainability, what do you think of? These terms have been tossed around as corporate buzzwords enough that they are nearly verging on meaningless. It's a difficult term to understand, something you really need to think about. Author of Geography of Hope Chris Turner asks us: "Would this - this place,this machine, this social system or way of life - be capable of continuing on its present course for the forseeable future without exhausting the planet's ability to sustain human life at something like the current population and quality of life?"

Once you've rapped your mind around the meaning of sustainability, than you can ask yourself "How can I tell what is sustainable?" To do this you must understand the concept systemically, to put into context, establishing the very nature the relationships that are existing. Sustainabliity involves three systems into one: economic, social, environment. The environment is a natural system that is so complex that we will never fully understand it. Sustainable systems are those that are centered around low energy consumption with a very high level of complexity. As you can see, sustainablility can be a mouthful, but this should not stop us from understanding it.

In chapter one of "The Geography of Hope", there is a great example of sustainable development in action. About 15 years ago, a group of people living on the island of Samso in Denmark had a dream. They didn't have a leader to say, but rather a collective of leaders - a community. Their dream was to reduce their C02 emissions to less than zero and to be the world's first island to be powered entirely by renewable energy. In less than ten years, through a lot of hard work, this dream became reality. "The wind and the sun, straw and wood, plus longer-term plans involving biogas and excess heat from ferries - here in a miniature, was a congress to replace a fossil king". This project created dozens of jobs that revitalized a stagnant economy. It transformed conservative village people into an enthusiastic group who cared about the future of their lives and their childrens and grandchildrens lives.

Samso's transformation was not just revolutionary, it has inspired change that is attainable to all of us. This has taught us to look at the world as millions of little islands(cities, towns, villages). Each one of these islands can do this by: determining our climatic conditions, calculating our own energy demands, and figuring out what sustainable technologies would work best for the area. There is hope for us out there but we must work together as one unit. I believe this is how will really change. Through creativity and innovation, diversity, technology, networks, stable governance, trust, cooperation, connectivity, and adaptability. We must no longer work separately, but together to solve our problems.

Reference:
Turner, Chris. (2007). The Geography of Hope. Toronto, Canada: Vintage Canada.

Blog 1 Reposted (accidentally was deleted)

What is Sustainable Development?

Over the past several decades, the definition of “sustainable development” has evolved and changed. However, the concept of developing the resources of our environment/habitat to extend and enhance the human life (i.e. development) has been around since the beginning of human existence. The knowledge that our dealings with the environment can affect our future abilities to extend and enhance our lives is also as old as our existence as a species. The following few paragraphs will summarize what Robert W. Kates, Thomas M. Parris and Anthony A. Leiserowitz have to say about sustainable development, then I will conclude with my thoughts on the subject.

The following was one of the first recognized definitions of sustainable development: “...development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. It was coined in 1987, by the UN’s Brundtland Report. This idea was further expanded upon by the Board on Sustainable Development of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1999. The Board defined what is to be sustained (nature, life support, community), what is to be developed (people, economy, society), as well as brought up the issue of timeline (within what timeframe do we consider our sustainability efforts?) In 2002, the World Summit on Sustainable Development introduced the three pillars of sustainable development. The pillars approach introduces social development, and thus the need to address issues of poverty, injustice and an unequal distribution of wealth and opportunity. (insert pic)

Sustainable development can also be defined from the perspective of time-specific goal setting. For example, the United Nation’s Millennium Declaration set goals and targets, to be met by 2015, regarding environmental, social and developmental concerns.

Many initiatives have attempted to further define sustainable development through the identification of various indicators (measures one would expect to see if sustainable development was implemented). A commonly cited indicator would be the concept of Ecological Footprint (a measure of human demand on the earth).
Values are also another way of measuring sustainable development. Values often frame our attitudes toward something that we strongly believe in. A great example comes from the previously mentioned Millennium Declaration. This project was not only a list of 60 specific goals; it also stated six core values: Freedom, Equality, Solidarity, Tolerance, Respect for Nature, and Shared Responsibility.
Lastly, sustainable development can be defined in practice. This can be seen throughout the world as communities, cities and corporations are developing policies to define a sustainable future and the actions needed to attain this. Walmart is a prime example of how a massive corporation has started to do their part (as little as it is) to reduce their “footprint” on earth. Walmart has made many changes in pursuit of their goal to be supplied 100% by renewable energy and reduce their overall waste.

In review of these definitions, I see the concept of sustainable development as...confusing, mind-boggling, and ambiguous. If countries cannot agree upon a definition, it seems very unlikely that they will work together on this issue. I think the work begun by the Earth Charter Initiative, to identify the world’s values through an open public consultation process, may be very helpful. This global values identification may uncover our common goals. From here, international dialog focusing on our common values can begin to set real targets and see real solutions. I also believe that the ‘developed’ world needs to re-evaluate what we define as true development. Many of us say that money doesn’t make people happy, but our actions do not always adhere to this belief. We, and I am certainly including myself here, often feel overwhelmed by the challenges our planet faces and feel helpless to truly make much of a difference. I see the concept of sustainable development as evolving, hopeful, and valuable conversation. Defining sustainable development must involve all people, from all over the world, including you and me.