Overview
The Sustainability Office invites you to join us for our twelfth-annual Eco Summit, bringing together the campus community to showcase and celebrate sustainability achievements, build connections and collaboration opportunities, and inspire collective action for the year ahead. All students, staff, and faculty are welcome and encouraged to attend.
The end of 2025 brings Waterloo’s first Environmental Sustainability Strategy to a close. This year’s summit will focus on looking ahead to the next chapter of our campus sustainability journey: where we are going, how we will get there, and how everyone on campus can meaningfully contribute.
This year’s event will feature:
- Launch of 2025 Environmental Sustainability Report
- Case study presentations from student, staff, and faculty champions leading exciting sustainability initiatives
- Booth showcase from student groups and departments leading sustainability efforts across campus
- Green Office, Green Labs, Green Residence, and Sustainability Leadership Certificate awards
- Interactive activities and networking opportunities weaved throughout
The event will take place on Wednesday, November 26 from 1-4:30pm in Fed Hall. Light refreshments will be provided. Doors will open at 12:30pm for check-in and networking.
Speakers
We have an incredible line-up of speakers who are leading exciting and impactful sustainability initiatives across campus, including:
MC & Host
Mat Thijssen
Director of Sustainability
Sustainability Office
Awards & Closing Remarks
Vivek Goel
President & Vice-Chancellor
Case Study Presenters
Amanda Armstrong
UW Society for Ecological Restoration Bird Team Co-Lead
MSc McGuire Lab
Saskia Coossa
Green Residence Ambassador
2A Health Sciences
Curtis Goodbrand
Scrum Master and Project Manager, Residence Facilities
Campus Housing
Jonathan Hyde
Associate Director, Infrastructure Development
Plant Operations
Gurasis Kaur
Green Residence Ambassador
2A Arts & Business (Economics)
Laura Ross
Impact Alliance
4A Environment, Resources and Sustainability
Erin Schmidt
GEMM Research Project Manager
Global Environmental Measurement and Monitoring
Sarem Tadesse
Impact Alliance
4A Arts & Business (Psychology Major, HRM Minor)
Booths
We are excited to have many campus partners joining us for our booth showcase, including:
- Bike Centre
- Campus Compost
- Centre for Career Development
- Climate Justice Ecosystem
- Ecology Lab
- Food Services
- Green Residence Ambassador reps
- GreenHouse
- Impact Alliance
- Society for Ecological Restoration
- Sustainable Transportation
- UW Cycling Club
- UW Repair Club
- UW Sew-Ciety
- Water Institute
- Waterloo Climate Institute
- Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy
Agenda
| TIME | ACTIVITY |
|---|---|
| 12:30–1:00pm | Registration and networking |
| 1:00–1:20pm | Opening remarks and icebreaker activity |
| 1:20–1:45pm | 2025 Sustainability Report highlights |
| 1:45–2:00pm | Interactive table activity |
| 2:00–2:50pm | Case study presentations |
| 2:50–3:40pm | Booth showcase, networking, and refreshments |
| 3:40–4:00pm | Green Office, Green Labs, Green Residence and Sustainability Leadership Certificate awards |
| 4:00–4:20pm | Interactive activity |
| 4:20–4:30pm | Concluding remarks |