News

As climate risks intensify and demand for a resilient financial system grow, aligning academic research with initiatives driven by the business and financial sector has become crucial. To help advance our understanding and solutions, the Institute for Sustainable Finance (ISF) has announced Dr. Julie Bernard as one of this year’s research fellows.

In recent news, Juan Moreno-Cruz, a professor in the Faculty of Environment’s SEED department, was featured in Canada's National Observer, speaking about the impact of Lithium-ion batteries on battery storage.

Please join us on Tuesday, December 2 for the SEED Graduate Seminar held in EV3-4327 or via TEAMS.

As Global Entrepreneurship Week 2025 begins, we’re spotlighting 10 standout entrepreneurs from the University of Waterloo — students and alumni who are challenging norms, redefining industries and building a better future. These innovators are not only making waves in their respective fields but are also setting the pace for what’s next for society, health, technology, the economy and sustainability. 

The SEED department would like to congratulate Kwaku Twum (PhD in progress), founder of Mapkot, for his accomplishments. 

Interested in reading the full article, please check out 10 Waterloo entrepreneurs to watch

Congratulations to Juan Moreno-Cruz, a professor in the Faculty of Environment’s SEED department, on their findings on AI's energy usage. Contrary to popular belief, new research finds that the use of artificial intelligence has a minimal effect on global greenhouse gas emissions and may actually benefit the environment and the economy.

SEED Graduate Seminar Series 

SEED and the Faculty of Environment are thrilled to share that Professor Komal Habib received the Best Presenter Award at the World Resources Forum in Geneva, Switzerland (September 2025) for her talk on “Critical Minerals for Electromobility in Canada.”

First-year students in Waterloo’s Sustainability and Financial Management (SFM) program—an innovative initiative offered by the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) in partnership with the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED)—came together to plant 100 native trees and shrubs on Waterloo’s north campus last week. 

The University of Waterloo’s Lumet – Illuminating Metal Supply Chains project has secured an additional $50,000 in collaborative funding through a new joint grant with researchers at University College London (UCL). The boost builds on Lumet’s existing $1 million NSERC Alliance Missions grant (2024-2027), bringing fresh momentum to efforts that aim to make supply chains for critical minerals such as nickel, germanium and lithium more transparent, responsible and resilient.

Congratulations to SEED graduate student Ruyel Miah for winning the Kawazana Commendations Award by the Asian Fisheries Society (AFS) during the 14th Asian Fisheries and Aquaculture Forum 2025 (14AFAF) in New Delhi, India. The conference was organized by the Asian Fisheries Society in association with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the Department of Fisheries (DoF), the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India, and the Asian Fisheries Society Indian Branch (AFSIB).