RRC’s Green Prosperity Act consultation

A big “thanks!” goes out to all of the sustainably-minded folks at Red River College who took time out of their day to share their views on the Province of Manitoba’s draft sustainability legislation – the Green Prosperity Act. Since legislation can be so far removed from our day-to-day lives it’s easy to focus on more immediate priorities at work and at home. This new act is important to all Manitobans though as it sets the social, economic and environmental stage from which sustainability policies, agreements, plans and milestones will be formed.

The Sustainability Office held two consultations during the month of March. We used the biggest Post-It notes we could find to gather comments and suggestions from staff at Notre Dame and Exchange District Campuses. Some of our comments are:

• The proposed title [Green Prosperity Act] does not reflect the balanced and interrelated pillars of sustainability. “Green” portrays a general sense of being environmentally friendly and lacks any benchmark or measurement.
• Reporting on sustainability progress needs to be timely and transparent. Appropriate timeframes for reporting will vary by target/ initiative/ plan, but they should be described.

The College’s submission can be found here. And if you’re really wonkish, head over to the Manitoba Eco-Network and check out the submissions from other groups and individuals.

We’ll provide updates on the development of the act as they become available.