Sustainability Certificate

Students walking by SLC patio

WATERLOO'S GOAL

By 2020, Waterloo broadly distributes timely and audience-relevant information about sustainability initiatives and opportunities within the campus community

Supporting SDGs

Waterloo's Sustainability Office, in collaboration with Organizational and Human Development, is excited to offer a free Sustainability Certificate for employees of the University. The certificate builds upon the University's Environmental Sustainability Strategy's goal of embedding sustainability actions into campus culture. It recognizes that all employees will have a role to play in building a sustainable campus.

Outcomes

Solar pannels on EV3 In March 2022, the Sustainability Office launched their new and tailored sessions offered to departments. The Department offering is a paired down version from the previous certificate that allows teams to build sustainability skills and explore tailored opportunities for their departments.

At the end of the certificate, employees and departments will:

Have a basic understanding of key local and global sustainability issues, as well as efforts underway to address them
Become familiar with the University’s sustainability objectives, contributions to global challenges, and connections to the Strategic Plan
Understand tools and resources to integrate sustainability into everyday actions on campus and at home
Identify the relevance of sustainability for their home department
Both departments and employees will obtain a Sustainability Certificate.

Structure

To receive the certificate, an employee must:

Complete two sessions of SUS 101 - Sustainability Fundemental
- Part 1: Sustainability Issues
- Part 2: Waterloo & You
Come to all session having read the pre-reads and be ready to engage with colleagues
Complete the short multiple choice quizzes after the final session (5 minutes each)

Registration

Individual Registration

Each term, the Sustainability Office will offer the Sustainability Certificate for any employee at Waterloo. All are welcome to attend each session.

Employees can register for upcoming offerings through Workday by searching for the course code, SUS101. Next offering is in July, don't wait to sign up!

Department Registration

The Sustainability Office is keen on supporting departments. We are happy to tailor each offering to better suit your departments schedules and commitments.

If you are interested in taking the Sustainability Certificate and would like involve your department, reach out to the sustainability@uwaterloo.ca.

Independent Sustainability Courses

The Sustainability Office is offering synchronous sessions for additional learning on specific sustainability-focused topics, including food, waste, transportation, climate change, and biodiversity.Registration is available through Workday. These no longer have any pre-requisites. Course descriptions can be found below.

Independent learning: LEARN

Fruit Sessions can also be completed independently through a new course offering on LEARN. The content is the same, but learners will complete in-course activities, quizzes, and reflections in the place of group discussions and activities.

To register, login to your LEARN account and search for the Sustainability Certificate under Self-Registration. Employee completion records will be migrated over to Workday upon completion of the final module.

Note: Employees can choose the group learning OR independent learning stream, but cannot mix and match courses from the two streams at this time.

Please note that the Sustainability Office is working on updating the LEARN offering. The new version of the LEARN Certificate will be updated May 25.

SUS 101 - Sustainability Fundementals Session descriptions

Part 1: Sustainability Issues

In this introductory session, attendees will participate in an interactive discussion about what sustainability means, discussing key issues in environmental sustainability covering several different thematic areas including Climate Change & Energy, Sustainable Travel, Health & Sustainable Food, Sustainable Consumption, Biodiversity & Nature, and Sustainability Leadership.

Part 2: Waterloo & You

In this session, attendees will participate can learn how Waterloo prioritizes sustainability. It will explore and empower attendees with tools and resources to understand and reduce their personal energy and carbon footprint, at home and at work. This session is tailored to departments as we look to explore opportunities that are unique to your roles and responsibilities.

Independent Sustainability Courses Descriptions

SUS102 Climate Change & Energy

In this session, attendees will participate in an interactive discussion about climate change, from the local to global levels, and learn how Waterloo is involved. It will explore both the science and personal action, and empower attendees with tools and resources to understand and reduce their personal energy and carbon footprint, at home and at work.

To register for this course, search the course code (SUS102) in workday.

SUS103 Sustainable Travel

In this session, attendees will discuss the role of sustainable transportation in terms of environmental impact, community development, and personal health. The discussion will outline programs and initiatives available on campus to support employees, and infrastructure development across the community.

To register for this course, search the course code (SUS103) in workday.

SUS104 Healthy & Sustainable Food

In this session, attendees will join a guided discussion about the impacts that food systems can have on health and the environment. It will focus on current issues such as local food, meat-based diets, and food labelling (such as organic, genetically-modified organisms, and eco-certifications), and empower employees to make better purchasing decisions.

To register for this course, search the course code (SUS104) in workday.

SUS105 Sustainable Consumption

In this session, attendees will explore the concept of the circular economy, and how this is relevant to individual purchasing decisions and product disposal. It will challenge participants to think differently about how they buy items at home and at work, and will provide interactive waste reduction training and resources, including composting and recycling.

To register for this course, search the course code (SUS105) in workday.

SUS106 Biodiversity & Nature

In this session, attendees will explore broad global issues related to biodiversity and human impact on the natural environment, as well as how ecosystems impact humans. It will discuss value that nature can bring to employees in terms of mental health and aesthetics, and ways to integrate nature in the office and protect it at home.

To register for this course, search the course code (SUS106) in workday.