Student team discussing their project with City of Kitchener Sustainability Planner and Environment and Business Alum, Sarah Brown
Dheana Ramsay, Communications Officer
Last night the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED) hosted its annual Environment and Business (EB) final capstone project showcase. This event is the culmination of ENBUS 402A and B, two courses that span eight months and give students the chance to apply the knowledge and skills they gain in the classroom to a meaningful project for the business community. Teams of four to five students are matched with organizations to work on projects that integrate and apply the concepts of business and sustainability.
The celebratory event was an opportunity for each group to present their main findings in a poster showcase. A group of 10 alumni, professors, and sustainability professionals judged each group based on their poster and their knowledge of their project.
Students present their work to Professor Komal Habib, one of the judges
This year, EB students worked with over ten clients including Sustainable Waterloo Region, Leon’s, Region of Waterloo, Live Nation, Walker Industries, West Jet and the University of Waterloo. ENBUS 402 Professor Goretty Dias calculated that if her students were to charge their clients a very reasonable per-hour consulting fee, the students would have collectively generated over 1 million dollars.
Tim Murphy, Vice President Environmental Performance for Walker Industries and also a School of Planning alumnus, learned about the ENBUS 402 projects from a fellow alumnus and said he immediately recognized the potential for a mutually beneficial experience. “I saw this as an opportunity to get some objective advice,” he reflected. “Plus, it’s a very practical, real-world project that I think, for most of the students in this program, would be transferable to a talking point for a job interview.” The two student teams working for Walker Industries compared the company’s sustainability report to industry standards and best practices to suggest ways Walker could improve their reporting and disclosure.
Two student teams also worked for Sustainable Waterloo Region. One of them, the University of Waterloo Clean Air Consultants, examined the relationship between indoor air quality and human performance in LEED and non-LEED certified buildings. The unique challenges the team faced: a plethora of variables but limited information on the buildings themselves, forced them to adapt the scope of their work as the project progressed. “The tricky part is understanding the differences between the buildings,” explained team member Anna Fluider, noting that LEED is an unweighted points-based system. Plus, she added, “There are so many tests you can run to determine different things.” In the end, the group didn’t have time to do the statistical analysis between the two indicators they had intended, but they did learn a lot about team building, problem-solving and the value of asking questions. Useful skills Anna said she’s already applying to her volunteer and my professional work.
A surprised team Sustain Tank learn of their win
The evening ended with prizes for the top 4 posters; determined with the help of EB alumnus Kristopher Kolenc. Sustain Tank, with students Pinwen Qi, Yu Tang, Yue Zhang, Xiaohan Xie, Zhi Wang and Samuel McWhirter, were awarded the grand prize for their work with Leon’s Furniture.
At the end of the evening, Professor Goretty Dias reminded her class that the ‘A’ and ‘B’ of ENBUS 402 stands for ‘above’ and ‘beyond.' She congratulated them on their hard work and challenged them to continue their dedication to making a difference in the sustainability field after their graduation.
Left to right: Professor Goretty Dias, Xiaohan Xie, Pinwen Qi, Zhi Wang, Yue Zhang, Samuel McWhirter and Yu Tang.