Lakehead administration shows steely dedication to the anti-bottled water movement at February’s Board of Governors meeting. Photo by Mike Bennett

Sustainability is a word we are all beginning to hear more often, but what does it mean? Increasingly, sustainability has become the word we use in relation to the environmental movement. But it means more than recycling, planting trees, or driving less. Sustainability encompasses three pillars or spheres: the ecological, the social, and the economic. It is a model that looks at all areas of life - the natural and the man made - and recognizes that you can’t look at any one of these without considering the others. Sustainability, and sustainable development, is about developing an ecologically aware, socially just, and economically responsible society.
Why is it so important? Canada’s dependence on non-renewable resources has contributed to global warming and climate change, which in turn has contributed to increases in disease, poverty, and violence. Short-sighted non-renewable resource development policies, such as the development of the tar sands in Northern Alberta, has led to water pollution, health problems, clear cutting, and social problems. The government should shift its focus from unsustainable energy sources and instead, invest in long-term clean renewable energy sources that would not only help combat climate change, but also create green jobs and build new industries.
What can you do? The most important thing you can do to fight climate change is to contact your elected representatives to have them enact policies that will help solve the climate crisis. Get involved in your students’ union, campus groups, or community groups who are also pushing for institutional and governmental change.
However, you can also change your personal habits to help save you money and reduce your ecological footprint. The following guide has been developed to help you make environmentally-friendly choices in your daily life but also to give you ideas of environmentally sustainable initiatives happening on campuses across the country.
In the context of campuses, we stand at the forefront of the sustainability movement. As the next generation of Canadians to make a difference, it is our responsibility to educate ourselves and make the changes necessary to make a lesser impact per person than the generation before us. Things as simple as getting rid of your bottled water habit and using tap water can make a huge difference and set an example for others. The University of Winnipeg recently became the first University in Canada to ban the sale of bottled water - something we have been working on all year. Now that they have taken the plunge (no pun intended…. ok well maybe a little) I am sure many will follow in the years to come. The same holds true in our day-to-day lives, small and simple changes in your personal life can turn into attitude changes among your peers, your residence, class, or entire university.
Within the campus sustainability framework, administration must work with students to maintain and develop sustainable practices. While students can make bottom up changes like habit and attitude shifts, we cannot make policy. However, students can influence policy by letting administration know the direction we want to take through participation in committees, or signing petitions. If the situation is serious enough and if administration is moving in a direction we don’t agree with, non-violent direct action is another option to present our opinion. Serious change can take place when students show administration a direction that they wish to move in a strong way.
The administration has a very significant impact by the business decisions they make concerning new building design, repair and renovation projects, building operations and maintenance, procurement practices, landscaping, recycling at various levels, waste management, custodial services, energy management, transportation, food service and dining operations, and residential operations.
With such a complicated subject being squished into a little article, I hope that you have at least a basic understanding of what sustainability is and how it pertains to campuses and what sort of impact students have on what occurs on our campus. I know this was abbreviated, but if you would like more information, contact sustainability@lusu.ca, come down to the LUSU office or join our facebook group ‘LUSU Sustainability Initiative’ to stay up to date!

Greg Boyle
LUSU Sustainability Commissioner