News

New research from the University of Waterloo shows that Canadian small businesses are important- and often overlooked- drivers of sustainability and the green economy.

The Waterloo study, led by researcher Sarah Burch, discovered that eight out of 10 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) surveyed are already implementing sustainable business practices. SMEs make up 98.2 per cent of all businesses in Canada, representing an enormous potential force in advancing environmental health and social wellbeing in our communities.

According to a recent study by the University of Waterloo and Western University, nearly 90 per cent of hospitalized patients have poor vision, putting them at serious risk for falls.

“We know poor vision is a major cause for falls, particularly in older adults, but there are almost no studies of the role that vision plays in hospital falls,” said Dr. Susan Leat, lead researcher on the study and a professor at the School of Optometry and Vision Science at Waterloo.

“It’s a serious problem, not only in Canada, but around the world,”

Local governments and small businesses could save thousands of dollars a year in consulting and research fees if they just used information that’s already publicly available, according to research from the University of Waterloo.

A new Waterloo study found that information commonly paid for by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and local governments, such as consumer spending data that can help businesses decide where to locate and determine market demand, can actually be obtained for free.

The University of Waterloo is partnering with Tsinghua University in Beijing, China on a research collaboration centre that will advance science in the areas of nanotechnology, energy, and pollution control.

The centre—known as Tsinghua University – University of Waterloo Joint Research Centre for Micro/Nano Energy & Environment Technology—officially opened today.