University of Calgary named one of Canada's Greenest Employers

The University of Calgary has been named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for 2019. This award recognizes employers of any size that create a culture of environmental awareness in their organizations through exceptional sustainability initiatives.

Associate Vice-President (Sustainability) Joanne Perdue says sustainability progress at UCalgary is driven by the Institutional Sustainability Strategy which provides a roadmap for continuous improvement in our pursuit of excellence and leadership in sustainability.

“At the University of Calgary, we strive to implement programs and initiatives that support a sustainability culture on campus and in the community,” Perdue says. “This includes our commitment to advancing sustainability education and research, engagement for sustainability, and modelling the way through sustainability practices in administration and operations.”

Canada’s Greenest Employers competition evaluates candidates on a variety of criteria including the environmental initiatives they have developed; successes in reducing the organization’s environmental footprint; the degree that employees are involved in sustainability programs; and, whether sustainability initiatives link to the employer’s public identity, attracting new employees and clients to the organization.

UCalgary’s ability to meet this criteria, combined with a robust suite of sustainability initiatives, was the primary reason the university was recognized as a national sustainability leader. While this award focuses specifically on environmental initiatives, UCalgary’s sustainability programs are holistic and encompass social as well as economic dimensions. Some of the environmentally focused initiatives from UCalgary’s broader sustainability initiative include:

• Annual Sustainability Awards
• Sustainability Co-ordinators Program
• Sustainable Offices Program
• Sustainable Events Program
• Sustainability Speaker Series
• Waste Reduction and Recycling
• IT Energy Use Reduction and Sustainable Print Services
• Green Cleaning
• Green Building
• Community Garden
• Sustainability Tours
• Fair Trade
• GHG Emissions Reduction

Perdue credits the many people across campus who are engaged in sustainability for winning this award. “Our UCalgary community continues to implement exceptional sustainability initiatives and demonstrate their commitment to leadership every day. I want to thank them for their contributions and for taking action on critical environmental and societal issues, and for helping UCalgary meet the goals in our Institutional Sustainability Strategy.”

Canada’s Greenest Employers

Launched in 2007, this award recognizes employers with interesting environmental programs and Earth-friendly policies that actively involve their employees. The Greenest Employers Award acknowledges employers that have incorporated environmental values into their corporate culture — and are attracting employees (and retaining them) because of these values. Competition winners are announced each April just before Earth Day on April 22.

The University of Calgary’s Institutional Sustainability Strategy provides a roadmap for continuous improvement in our pursuit of excellence and leadership in sustainability. We aim to become a Canadian post-secondary education leader in sustainability in our academic and engagement programs, administrative and operational practices and through supporting community and industry in their aims for leadership in sustainability. Learn more about UCalgary’s leadership in sustainability.