Sustainability Action Fund announces fall 2020 recipients
The President's Advisory Committee on Environmental Sustainability (PACES) is excited to provide funding for seven new campus sustainability projects in fall 2020 through the Sustainability Action Fund (SAF). Launched in 2017, SAF supports projects and initiatives that advance sustainability at Waterloo by connecting to our academic mission, improving operational practices, and/or fostering a culture of sustainability through campus engagement.
Fall 2020 projects:
Fleet Telematics Pilot
This project will pilot the installation of telematics devices and software in a subset of campus fleet vehicles. These will help identify opportunities for driver behaviour changes to improve fleet efficiency and reduce fuel consumption, highlight opportunities and business cases for conversion to electric vehicles, and assist with general fleet management. This project is led by Grounds, with support from the Sustainability Office.
Library Waste Receptacles Part 2
This project will continue the deployment of standardized waste receptacles across the Dana Porter Library and will complete the retrofit of the new bins. This project is led by the Library.
PPE Zero Waste Program
This project will divert significant amounts of personal protective equipment generated by University of Waterloo clinics. Recognizing the impact of COVID-19 in generating significantly more disposable masks and gloves in clinical settings across campus, this program has been established to properly recycle these materials and divert them from the landfill. This project is led by Plant Operations - Custodial Services.
SDG Impact Challenge
Led by the Impact Alliance, this hackathon will engage youth in designing solutions to real, meaningful challenges related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The hackathon will explore different sustainability challenges and give over 70 participants an opportunity to learn more about the SDGs and connect with others who are passionate about solving social, economic, and environmental problems. This project is led by Impact Alliance.
Stewardship UW: Campus EcoMap
This Living Lab project will engage students in an exercise to develop a baseline of plant species in major ecosystems across the University of Waterloo's grounds. This will feed into the development of Waterloo's landscaping standard and biodiversity assessment, and became an open access inventory and database which can be embedded into coursework and research over time. This project is led by grad students in the Faculty of Environment.
Sustainable Cooking in Residences Workshop
This initiative will support a series of student-led workshops aimed at building sustainable cooking skills throughout winter 2021. These classes will target students living in residences and will focus on peer-peer knowledge sharing on making healthy, sustainable meal choices. This project is led by a Campus Housing don.
WUSA Secondhand Store
This project will support the purchase and installation of a washing machine and dryer as part of the launch of a secondhand clothing store by WUSA. The store builds on previously successful ad-hoc clothing sales and provides a permanent space in the SLC for used clothing to reduce waste and provide access to affordable clothing options. This project is led by WUSA.
Since 2017, SAF has distributed over $450,000 in funding to more than 25 projects across campus. To learn more about the funding criteria, application details, and upcoming funding rounds, please visit the Sustainability Action Fund webpage.
Explore recently funded projects below or check out all past SAF projects using the Sustainability Action Fund tag on our news feed →