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Thursday, April 30, 2009 0 comments Eco-nomics Awards and 3 Steps Presentation Posted by: Arnica Rowan at 10:41:00 AM On April 29, 2009, the first Eco-nomics Awards presentation was held at the Delta Grande Hotel in Kelowna, BC. The awards, co-organized by Okanagan College students (members of the SIFE, Students in Free Enterprise group) and the Kelowna Chambre of Commerce, recognized businesses in the community who are leaders in environmentally sustainable practices. During the awards luncheon, Okanagan College Sustainability Team Leader Arnica Rowan delivered a keynote address about how all businesses can take steps towards sustainability, no matter how big or small their organization. The presentation also profiled the 3 Steps Forward campaign. A copy of her powerpoint presentation is available here. Watch Arnica's presentation in the video to the left. Our sincere congratulations to the award finalists and recipients! Also, a "shout out" to SIFE Okanagan - a wonderful group of students who value environmental sustainability. SIFE members Micheal Blonde and Matt Cosar, Mayor Sharon Shepherd, OC professor Arnica Rowan and Kelowna Chamber of Commerce CEO Weldon LeBlanc and President Norm LeCavalier MC Matt Cosar and Personal Services and Hospitality Winner Greg Salloum, owner of the Best Western Kelowna.
Friday, April 24, 2009 2 comments Recommendations made to Okanagan College Executive Posted by: Arnica Rowan at 10:28:00 AM Your sustainability team has been hard at work. Our first two mandates were to come up with an action list for short-term, inexpensive and easy-to-implement changes to make the college more sustainable recommend an organizational structure that will enable the creation of a long-term sustainability plan Throughout March, we held open houses and conducted an extensive survey of OC students and staff. Then specialty groups rated and ranked ideas to come up with a feasible, high-impact list of action steps. At the end of March, we were proud to present a document, Our Short-term Action Plan for Sustainable Change, to Okanagan College President Jim Hamilton. Since then, we have also presented to the college executive and leadership team. Our recommendations will be presented to the Board of Governors in May. In the meanwhile, our work hasn't stopped. We have worked on a recommended administrative structure for Okanagan College's sustainability, and will be presenting that to our President at the end of the month. We'll keep you informed about our project, and share the recommendations and projects when they have been fully approved.
Friday, April 24, 2009 0 comments From bamboo shirts to 80% recycled binders – OC bookstores stock sustainably Posted by: Arnica Rowan at 10:11:00 AM If you haven’t browsed one of the OC bookstores lately, you might be surprised what is on the shelves! Most of the clothing is made from bamboo and soy, both renewable materials. Look for the renu brand to support sustainable farming and fair labour practices. If you are shopping for classroom supplies, read the back of the notebooks: many are Greencycled, with 50% recycled content. 80% recycled binders make a statement – and when you are no longer using them, the components are recyclable and compostable. The bookstores will even be carrying Elephant Poo Poo brand paper notebooks and other supplies in the fall, made from – you guessed it! – elephant waste. For your summer reading, learn about social responsibility with a copy of Fashioning Reality by Ben Barry, or explore the beautiful Okanagan with your own Lone Pine guide to hikes or local flora and fauna. Students walking away with $500 in purchases (usually a semester’s worth of textbooks,) get a free multiuse bag to carry them; for your purchases, you can buy a cool peace sign multi-use bag for $2 or choose a biodegradable plastic bag (although these will soon be phased out.) Even better, you can BYOB – bring your own bag. Happy shopping!
Tuesday, April 07, 2009 1 comment Cafeteria Takes a Leadership Role Posted by: Arnica Rowan at 2:07:00 PM At the KLO cafeteria, change is in the air - or should we say, in the food! The cafeteria has taken several steps to make our food service more environmentally sustainable and socially responsible: Currently, all of the vegetable waste resulting from cafeteria food production is composted at Bylands Garden Centre. (Watch out for composting available throughout the KLO campus within the next year.) Goodbye Styrofoam take-out! For a meal on-the-go, they now offer molded fiber containers that are biodegradable, made from sugarcane and bamboo, and meet the ASTM D 6868 standards specifications for compostability. The cafeteria’s coffee provider, Seattle’s Best, offers several Fair Trade Certified and organic coffee choices. Showing real leadership, the cafeteria has committed to offer exclusively Fair Trade Certified™ and organic coffee within a year. To do your part to eat responsibly: Bring your own travel mug to the cafeteria for coffee. The maximum they charge is for a 16 ounce cup, even if you have a larger travel mug. Don’t use take-out! unless you are actually going somewhere. Choose ceramic plates and metal cutlery and save yourself the take-out fee. The cafeteria even offers “to stay” small coffee mugs. Choose organic and Fair Trade Certified™ coffees… and tell the staff that you appreciate those choices. Choose vegetarian meals more often; animal protein takes 10x the energy and makes 10x the CO2 emissions as plant protein. Watch your waste: take only what you plan on eating, even at the sumptuous buffet!