The Opportunity

The David Suzuki Foundation is committed to sustainability, and has implemented several ambitious internal initiatives over the years. These include reducing energy usage and waste, selecting green buildings for two of its offices, partnering with Cisco to adopt communication technologies that reduce air travel, tracking and offsetting its greenhouse gas emissions, choosing green suppliers, and so on. Building on this work, the Foundation now wants to evolve and demonstrate the best of its internal activities through a more strategic organizational approach to sustainability.

We have had the great opportunity to work with five extremely passionate and intelligent students from the University of Western Ontario’s Master’s in Environment and Sustainability, coaching them through their co-op placements.

The Town of Olds is a thriving community in rural Alberta with 7,300 people and a number of significant growth pressures.  The town, which acts as a regional service centre, is engaged in several large capital projects. With a rich agriculture heritage and a reputation for a highly engaged and active volunteer community, Olds committed to developing a municipal sustainability plan to articulate and plan for a sustainable future. 

The Town of Caledon, Ontario is truly a leader in sustainability. In 2003, the town was a co-recipient of the “the Greenest Town in Ontario” award for their progressive movement, and extensive list of initiative taken toward sustainability. These initiatives include: excellent countryside planning, the Healthy Horticultural Landscapes Bylaw, strong community involvement, membership in the Partners for Climate Protection Program and extensive waste diversion programs. In 2004, an Environmental Progress Officer (EPO) was appointed and in 2005 an Environmental Progress Action Plan was prepared.  Caledon’s 2009 Environmental Action Report  attests to the impressive progress being made in the seven priority areas contained within the 2005 plan.