Our role
Georgian College takes environmental issues seriously. Official policy requires us to keep environmental concerns in mind in everything we do. That ranges from curriculum and classrooms to products we purchase and how we deal with our waste.
Among the College’s core principles in the new strategic plan Vision 2015 is this: “We will evolve our practices and embrace change to ensure financial, social and environmental sustainability.”
Created in 2007, the College’s Environmental Sustainability Committee leads the way in making sure that Georgian steadily makes progress on these issues and more.
Georgian’s official environmental mission statement:
As a leading post-secondary educational institution and responsible corporate citizen, Georgian College is committed to practicing environmental sustainability through education and corporate practices and balancing future growth with the protection of the environment.
Our guiding principles:
Georgian College commits to promote, practice and pursue excellence in environmental sustainability through:
- compliance with applicable laws and requirements
- conservation of natural resources and the prevention of pollution
- continuous improvement to maintain the highest environmental standards and practices.
Recent News
Maude Barlow talks mega-quarry March 7
Maude Barlow
Community concerns about the implications of the proposed Alliston-Melancthon mega-quarry are growing. Now, environmental activist Maude Barlow brings her take on the project to the Georgian College Theatre, Barrie Campus, on March 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Barlow, chairperson of the Council of Canadians, has campaigned for years to raise awareness of threats to Canada’s drinking water resources, among other issues. The Council of Canadians is among the key players in the drive to oppose the Highland Companies plans for a huge open-pit mine on 2,316 acres of prime farmland it has assembled in Melancthon Township near Shelburne.
The mega-quarry proposal is raising objections for many reasons. The six-billion tonne quarry would be the second largest in North America, reaching deep below the water table. At 200 feet, the quarry would be deeper than the height of Niagara Falls, and would displace 600 million litres of fresh water per day. Depending on demand, up to 300 trucks per hour could haul gravel south to fuel the Greater Toronto area’s demand for gravel. Blasting would continue daily. The pit would also destroy Class One agricultural land that is a prime location for specialised potato production. Read more…
Posted: Fri, 27/01/12
Bundle up, Georgian, for National Sweater Day Feb. 9
National Sweater Day 2012
On Feb. 9, Georgian staff and students are being asked to pull on a fun sweater at school and turn down the heat at home by two degrees. Why? It’s National Sweater Day.
Sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund nationwide, National Sweater Day is meant to build awareness of how we use energy and how everyone can play an important role in fighting climate change by using energy wisely, not wastefully.
With so many Canadians looking for ways to help fight climate change in their everyday lives, reducing energy consumption is an effective way to take action. This event will show Canadians how simple actions can have a big impact.
For a variety of reasons it is not practical to turn down the heat at Georgian campuses for just one day (heating and cooling are already maintained electronically to make the most efficient use of energy).
But Dianne Corrigan, Georgian Environmental Sustainability co-ordinator and her sustainability committee members are encouraging staff and students to pull on sweaters as part of the energy awareness campaign.
For more details about the national campaign, visit www.sweaterday.ca
Posted: Fri, 27/01/12
