The results of the RRC Polytech sustainability survey are in – sustainability is important, and people are engaged.  The survey was sent to staff and students in February and a whopping 650 staff (30%) and 1,100 students (13%) responded, showing how much people care about sustainability.  This reflects the trend in Canada and globally, that people are increasingly concerned about the environment, and they want to live more sustainably.  

This was the most comprehensive survey on sustainability at the college in 10 years, with questions on sustainability culture (how people feel) and literacy (what people know).  The survey results are used to help inform our Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) report and develop programs and initiatives. 

Here are some highlights from the survey results.

Sustainability Culture

The culture of sustainability at the college is resoundingly positive.  Most staff and students said that environmental sustainability is important, they want to learn more about sustainability, and they consider social sustainability when making purchases.  This echoes the value of sustainability in the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan.

Environmental Priorities

With sustainability as a value that guides us, there are many different areas we can focus our efforts.  Staff and students identified reducing / minimizing waste and other waste diversion programs as the most important environmental sustainability issue to address.  Waste reduction and diversion are some of the most visible sustainability programs at the college.  The second priority identified is to increase awareness and education, followed by support for sustainable transportation.  All three priorities help reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

Sustainability Literacy

Understanding sustainability and its main concepts can help affect change. When asked to identify the three main components of sustainability, 41% of staff and 31% of students successfully identified economic, environmental and social, while 43% of staff and 52% of students selected reduce, reuse, recycle.

This is not surprising, given the effectiveness of the 3R messaging and the decrease in visibility and communication on sustainability during the pandemic.  Historically more staff answered this question successfully.  This year had the lowest successful response rate.  

For the other literacy questions, most staff and students could successfully define a life cycle analysis (89% / 68%); define the concept of Zero Waste (91% / 77%); and identify the food with the highest carbon footprint (81% / 67%).

Social Sustainability

Social sustainability is fundamentally interconnected with environmental sustainability.  We asked staff and students to identify examples of social sustainability.  Most staff (76%) and students (68%) identified truth and reconciliation, which could be connected to increased focus and education.  A much smaller number of staff (29%) and students (18%) identified accessible technology (using closed captioning in course materials).  For this question, all the answers are examples of social sustainability at the college.

The survey results showed that staff and students value sustainability and have a good understanding of the concepts.  The results provided us with feedback on what’s going well and where we can improve.  Thank you to everyone who completed the survey, your answers provide valuable input and help inform sustainability work at the college. 

With the recent launch of RRC Polytech’s Strategic Plan 2022-2026, In Front of What’s Ahead, it is time for many departments to set their own priorities and create strategies to complement and support the college’s bold vision. The Strategic Plan lists sustainability as one of the values that helps shape how we do our work and affirms our organizational commitment to “approach[ing] all our work with humility and a desire to improve the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being all Manitobans.” We are excited to work towards the outcomes outlined in the Plan, but to do that effectively we need to have a better understanding of where we’re starting from. That is where STARS comes in.

The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) is a transparent, self-reporting framework for post-secondaries to measure their sustainability performance. Developed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), in consultation with the higher education community, STARS is a comprehensive tool that looks at the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainability across an entire institution. Ratings (platinum, gold, silver and bronze) are achieved based on the percentage of applicable points earned. By undertaking this assessment, we will be better able to understand and communicate where we are as an organization and how we compare to our peers.

STARS by the Numbers

• 679: post-secondary institutions worldwide have earned a STARS rating
• 63: Credits across four categories: Academics, Engagement, Operations, and Planning & Administration
• 4: bonus points available as Innovation & Leadership credits
• 11: institutions have earned a Platinum rating

RRC Polytech last undertook STARS in 2012 and earned a silver rating. As a result, we were able to identify key areas for improvement and advance sustainability significantly at the college. It is time to do this again. Using STARS as a benchmark, we will gain a better understanding of what we’re doing well and where the gaps exist. This will provide a strong foundation as we build towards realizing the vision set out in the Strategic Plan.  

Below is the project timeline:

While this project is led by Environmental Stewardship & Campus Renewal, it is a college-wide initiative and we want to thank all of you who have been and will be involved throughout this process. If you have any questions about STARS, or want to know how you can be involved, please contact us, we’d love to hear from you! 

RRC is celebrating Waste Reduction Week from Monday October 22^nd to Friday October 26^th to engage and raise awareness on how much waste we as individuals create, and the easy changes we can make to reduce this. This is also an opportunity to celebrate the changes we have made, and the impacts both of these can make on the health of our planet environmentally, socially and economically.

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Fair Trade Campus Week is right around the corner!  Fair trade is about re-connecting you to the products that you buy, every single day.  From September 24-29, come celebrate the fair trade movement and Fairtrade certified products on Campus!

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It’s that time again. The leaves are starting to turn, the air is crisp, and pumpkin everything has begun. Fall is quickly approaching, and so is our third annual RRC Farmers’ Market!

On Friday, September 14th, the Library Hallway will be transformed into a festive fall market full of local goodies open to all RRC staff, faculty, students and the public. Not only do we have a great line up of new and returning vendors, but this will be the first chance to purchase our very own 2018 RRC Creekside and Bijou honey.

When: Friday, September 14th – 11:00 am – 1:30 pm
Where: Library Hallway – Notre Dame Campus (2055 Notre Dame Avenue)

Check out the vendors below, start making your lists, hit the ATM and get your re-usable bags ready!

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Fair Trade Campus Week will be September 25-29 this year. As with years past, we have some fun activities planned.

When you purchase a fairtrade product, you are ensuring that farmers and workers in developing countries that helped bring that product to market are receiving adequate compensation for their hard work, that they have safe working conditions, and that environmental standards were met in its production.

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Click to learn about our awards

A big congratulations goes out to Nora Sobel and Bradley West from the Diversity and Intercultural Services department who accepted the inaugural Sustainability Leadership Award at Red River College’s RED Forum last week. They received this award for developing an online course to raise awareness about gender and sexual diversity issues among Red River College students, staff and faculty. Read More →

Sustainability is about meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations to meet their own needs. One of the three pillars of sustainability, social sustainability, reminds us to ensure that through this process everyone’s needs are met. During the holiday season, it’s a good time to reflect on how we are working to meet this end, and consider what else we can do to help. Read More →

The Sustainably Office, Fair Trade Manitoba and Ten Thousand Villages welcomed over 300 staff and students at our booth during Fair Trade Campus Week at the Notre Dame Campus and Roblin Centre.

We heard some amazing stories, many from our international students who spoke of their first-hand accounts of labour conditions in their countries.   One student shared her knowledge of the sport ball industry in her home country of Pakistan.  She explained that the majority of sport balls came from one city “just one city” in Pakistan.  Did you know that there are over 250 manufacturers of sports balls in Sailkot and only 6 are fair trade? Fair trade magazine; Summer/Fall 2014 |Issue 4; p14

We had over 100 entries in our secret word and fair trade trivia contests;  I was impressed that everyone was correct in their trivia answers;  and that I even learned a few new places to buy fair trade in Winnipeg. Read More →

Did you know that RRC is working to become the 10th Fair Trade Campus in Canada? Read More →