Langley, B.C. – Red and black – the colours in Kwantlen Polytechnic University's logo – are the new green.
KPU has won the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Award in the environmental leadership category.
“It’s true what they say, that it’s not easy being green,” said Dr. Elizabeth Worobec, who co-chairs the university’s environmental sustainability committee and is also the university’s dean in the Faculty of Science. “So it’s a wonderful honour to have all the hard work and ingenuity of our teams recognized for the work they do making environmental sustainability a real priority.”
Named one of Canada's greenest employers by Mediacorp Canada and winner of six BC Hydro Power Smart Excellence Awards, KPU incorporates sustainability into teaching, research, operations, outreach and service activities. Specifically, KPU demonstrates this commitment by:
- Endorsing the Talloires Declaration recognizing that universities have a major role in education, research, policy formation, and information exchange necessary to reverse the trend of environmental pollution and degradation, and the depletion of natural resourced.
- Offering 16 degrees and six diplomas related to environmental sustainability.
- Hosting the Langley Farmers Market.
- Running a weekly veggie box program featuring produce grown by students in the sustainable agriculture program.
- Offering in partnership with the Kwantlen Student Association an intercampus shuttle for students and employees.
- Expanding the composting and recycling program.
- Partnering with carpool.ca and Car2Go electric car sharing.
- Introducing an environmentally friendly printing system.
- Hosting green-themed documentary screenings and guest speakers as part of “Green Wednesdays,” which is a collaboration with the Green Ideas Network.
- Ensuring all new building construction meets the gold standard on the Leadership in Environmental Design (LEED) rating scale.
These and other initiatives have allowed the university to reduce natural gas use by 14 per cent and electricity by nine per cent while expanding building space by 36 per cent since 1994.
Visit langleychamber.com for more information.
For more KPU news:
@KPUmedia
kpu.ca/newsroom
Flickr
RSS