Mohawk Sustainability Initiative

Our visiting speaker was Alan Griffiths, from Mohawk College’s Sustainability Office. Alan described the work involved in preparing Mohawk’s Environment Plan and how plan development involved all the stakeholders and the local community. The goal of the plan is for the College to reduce carbon emissions by 20% over 2007 levels by 2020. It prepares Mohawk to be a community leader in environmental stewardship and enables reductions in energy costs which can be re-invested in student programs.  (You can read the complete plan at http://www.mohawkcollege.ca/Assets/Environmental-Sustainability/Mohawk+College+EMP.pdf )

 

Alan described how the most important part was to develop a sustainability CULTURE on campus and see how involving both students and staff enables a culture change. Alan described the process of developing the plan through a year of consultations which resulted in Board of Governors approval in November 2011. He is now establishing the sustainability office and budget to meet the plan, which has eight “pillars” and subsequent actions. These pillars are

- Waste management and paper conservation

- Facility operations and future buildings

- Procurement

- Local Food, Health and Wellness

- Transportation and vehicle emissions

- Alternative energy

- Tracking, reporting and communications

- Change management

 

Alan was happy to report that the plan was already showing benefits, with several accomplishments since it was launched in activities such as car pooling, bike sharing, and electronic waste collection.