Sustainability Consulting Course

The Sustainability Consulting Course is offered by the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) and the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED) at the University of Waterloo.

The course is held in the winter, spring/summer and fall terms. We are always looking for new partners that have sustainability projects our students can work on. Our student group is interdisciplinary with students potentially coming from Environment & Business, Accounting and Finance, Engineering, Planning, Geography and other disciplines. As a result, they bring well-rounded and varying perspectives to client projects.  

Why partner with us?

Working with our student teams gives your organization the opportunity to:

Access fresh perspectives and ideas

Our talented and motivated students bring new ideas, resources and the capacity to support projects alongside you and your team.
Advance real sustainability work

Your project becomes part of a course dedicated to applied sustainability projects, giving students meaningful experience while helping your team move forward on strategic goals.
Strengthen community connections

As a partner, you'll contribute to experiential education, build relationships with faculty and emerging professionals, and demonstrate your support for higher learning and community partnerships.
Explore diverse approaches

Students come from a range of academic programs and sustainability backgrounds, offering interdisciplinary thinking that can uncover new pathways or solutions.

Organizations we've worked with

Explore how past student consulting teams have delivered actionable sustainability solutions for diverse organizations.

Bench Brewing logo

Bench Brewing

Decarbonizing Craft Beverage Production

Helping a certified carbon-neutral B Corp turn sustainability commitments into practical, high-impact emission reductions.

Bench Brewing project overview & results

Bench Brewing is an 8-acre farm-based craft beverage producer located in Lincoln, Ontario, recognized as a certified carbon-neutral B Corp.

The challenge

Identify practical, high-impact ways to continuously reduce Bench's emissions footprint through a realistic implementation plan that respects operational and financial constraints.

The result

A 1-to-5-year roadmap and complete business case assessing costs, operational constraints and priority recommendations, alongside relevant funding pathways to support implementation feasibility. 

Students reviewed Bench’s existing carbon reporting methodology; validated calculations and data, evaluated three realistic decarbonization opportunities: anaerobic wastewater treatment for biogas recovery, CO2 recapture from fermentation, and wort cooling heat recovery systems.

East Gwillimbury logo

East Gwillimbury

Developing Sustainable Rainwater Harvesting Programs 

Exploring residential and public infrastructure solutions to support long-term sustainability goals in the GTA. 

East Gwillimbury project overview & results

The Town of East Gwillimbury is a growing municipality in the northern York Region. With ample agricultural land and natural green space, sustainability and infrastructure planning are key priorities for the long-term success of the community. 

The challenge

Explore feasible rainwater harvesting solutions that align with municipal sustainability objectives while navigating limited municipal funding and avoiding traditional plastic rain barrels.

The result

An assessment of rainwater harvesting programs and implementation approaches used across neighbouring GTA municipalities, including feasibility and financial analyses.

Students developed a business case evaluating several rainwater harvesting options, considering financial costs, benefits, limitations and implementation considerations. A prioritized list of recommendations was provided to the Town to support future decision-making, long-term implementation planning, and future sustainability initiatives.

LifeLabs logo

LifeLabs

Evaluating Healthcare Delivery Emissions

Comparing greenhouse gas emissions of at-home vs. in-clinic services to identify sustainable approaches to healthcare delivery.  

LifeLabs project overview & results

LifeLabs is Canada’s leading provider of laboratory diagnostic information and digital health connectivity systems, supporting over 15 million patient visits annually with leading-edge technologies. 

The challenge

Assess and compare the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with LifeLabs’ home-care services and in-clinic Patient Service Centres across urban and rural settings, isolating transportation-related emissions as the primary differentiating factor between service methods. 

The result

A comprehensive technical report, featuring a comparative emissions model evaluating GHG emissions per patient and per diagnostic test across both care delivery models.

Students outlined their analysis and findings along with recommendations on the use of GM BrightDrop electric vehicles and other lower-emission approaches for both service models to support more sustainable healthcare delivery.

Sustainable Waterloo Region logo

Sustainable Waterloo Region

Growing Organics Programming through Outreach

Supporting the expansion of the Organics Program in Waterloo Region through business-focused sustainability initiatives.

Sustainable Waterloo Region project overview & results

Sustainable Waterloo Region (SWR) is a non-profit organization supporting businesses across Southwestern Ontario in advancing practical, measurable and business-focused sustainability initiatives.

The challenge 

Grow the existing SWR Organics Program into new sectors with a targeted business development approach to overcome low brand awareness, limited capacity for outreach and competition from municipal and private waste collection services.  

The result 

A business development strategy toolkit designed to support SWR's continued program growth, including a review of existing program materials. 

Students conducted interviews with stakeholders and completed an assessment of the competitive landscape to provide SWR with ideal client profiles, priority market segments, an objection-handling framework, and a targeted outreach strategy outlining recommended messaging and engagement approaches to strengthen the program's competitive positioning. 

Ready to get started?

Here's what to expect if you partner with our student teams on a sustainability project.

Partner expectations

  • Time Commitment: As a partner, you will commit to working with and mentoring a student team for one academic term (12 weeks), supporting your team as they develop the projects and collaborate with you to address a specific challenge. Time commitments vary by project, but setting aside approximately one hour per week is a helpful starting point. As the project progresses, your team and the students can adjust the meeting cadence as needed.
  • Engagement and Site Visits: To help students put their project request into context, we recommend hosting a site visit at your organization within the first 1–3 weeks, where possible. Should you need any assistance with organizing this visit or any specific requests (e.g. Steel-toed boots), please reach out and we will do our best to help.

Project Timelines

Upcoming academic terms:

Fall 2026: Sept 9 - Dec 8

Winter 2027: Jan 11 - Apr 12

Spring 2027: May 10 - Aug 5

Fall 2027: Sept - Dec
(exact dates TBD)

  • Week 1: Students begin project work. Please plan to meet your team toward the end of the first week to launch the project.
  • Week 2: Should you need assistance to narrow the scope of the project, your project team will complete that in week 2 through discussions with their instructor, mentors and peers. 
  • Week 3: Teams will present their proposed project plan back to you (and potentially your team) as their client organization. 
  • Week 6: Mid-term progress presentation.
  • Week 11-12: Final presentation and deliverable just before the end of term.

Project scope and matching process

This interdisciplinary course brings together students from across campus and programs. All students will have strong foundations in sustainability, but may be learning about sustainability from different angles—ranging from adaptation and mitigation to sustainable buildings and systems. In the first weeks of the term, we level-set sustainability concepts to fill any gaps. 

To ensure a successful match with a team, partners are encouraged to propose two to three potential project topics with varying levels of technical depth. Students are assigned based on their skills, relevant experience and learning goals. Proposing multiple options increases the likelihood of a match in a given term. If a match isn’t possible, we can add your project to our pipeline for a future term and reconnect to confirm any updates. Our aim through the course is to provide growth opportunities for students in the sustainability space while ultimately keeping our clients happy with the final deliverables.

Confidentiality & Fit

Above all, please remember this is a learning opportunity for our students.  

Students regularly discuss their projects in class to seek feedback, share progress and reflect on challenges. If your project requires confidentiality, NDAs can be arranged for the student team. However, projects with high levels of sensitivity may not be a good fit due to the peer learning model. If you're unsure if a potential project is a good fit, or you have any questions regarding confidentiality, please reach out for a discussion.   

The Bench Brewing student team
Sustainable Waterloo Region team
LifeLabs team

Register your interest 

We invite you to share your projects by completing the form below.

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If you have any questions, please contact Claire Purvis, Associate Director of the Hub for Sustainability and Instructor for the Sustainability Consulting class.

We look forward to working with you!

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Contact Information

Organization Information

Project Information

Partners are encouraged to propose two to three potential project topics with varying levels of technical depth.
E.g. waste management, water conservation, social enterprise, GHG emissions.
Earliest start date

What key steps do you envision for successful project completion?

(E.g. peer assessment, baseline development, report completion)

What would you like to receive out of this project to ensure successful completion?

(E.g. report, website, presentation, survey, business case etc.)

What is required of the students or anticipated to be useful to ensure successful completion of the project?

(E.g. research and analytical skills, presentation skills, communication skills, GIS skills, etc.)

What types of UWaterloo or community resources will the project team need to access to complete the project?

(E.g. specialized software, data licenses, research subscriptions etc.)

What resources will the project team need to access from your organization for this project?

(E.g. datasets, previous reports etc.)

Do you have an additional project you'd like to submit?

Project 2 Information

E.g. waste management, water conservation, social enterprise, GHG emissions.
Earliest start date

What key steps do you envision for successful project completion?

(E.g. peer assessment, baseline development, report completion)

What would you like to receive out of this project to ensure successful completion?

(E.g. report, website, presentation, survey, business case etc.)

What is required of the students or anticipated to be useful to ensure successful completion of the project?

(E.g. research and analytical skills, presentation skills, communication skills, GIS skills, etc.)

What types of UWaterloo or community resources will the project team need to access to complete the project?

(E.g. specialized software, data licenses, research subscriptions etc.)

What resources will the project team need to access from your organization for this project?

(E.g. datasets, previous reports etc.)

Do you have an additional project you'd like to submit?

Project 3 Information

E.g. waste management, water conservation, social enterprise, GHG emissions.
Earliest start date

What key steps do you envision for successful project completion?

(E.g. peer assessment, baseline development, report completion)

What would you like to receive out of this project to ensure successful completion?

(E.g. report, website, presentation, survey, business case etc.)

What is required of the students or anticipated to be useful to ensure successful completion of the project?

(E.g. research and analytical skills, presentation skills, communication skills, GIS skills, etc.)

What types of UWaterloo or community resources will the project team need to access to complete the project?

(E.g. specialized software, data licenses, research subscriptions etc.)

What resources will the project team need to access from your organization for this project?

(E.g. datasets, previous reports etc.)