Sustainability

The City of Vancouver has set a goal to be the cleanest, greenest, healthiest city in the world. Vancouver, and in turn the University of British Columbia, are dedicated to climate protection, green architecture, active transportation, sustainable systems and bringing sustainability to all aspects of running and building the city and campus. 
 

UBC is Canada’s leader in campus sustainability. It is Canada’s first university to develop a sustainable development policy, and the first to open a campus sustainability office (www.sustain.ubc.ca). UBC, as Canada's largest campus energy retrofit, cuts its energy costs by $2 million every year. It also saves 15,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, reduces water use by 30 percent and decreases energy use by 20 percent annually.

Sustainability is not only important to residents and businesses, but to visitors to Vancouver and UBC as well. UBC has pledged to make sustainability the foundation for campus operations, research and teaching. UBC’s sustainability vision is to earn the respect of future generations for the social, ecological and economic legacy we create. As conference organizers and delegates, UBC is encouraging us to factor ecological, social and economic consequences into our planning and execution of the 7th Annual Canadian e-Learning Conference. The organizing committee is determined to make sustainability a focus for this year's conference. We are working with local contractors (catering, accommodations, conference coordination) wherever possible and have consulted with UBC's Sustainability Office (www.sustain.ubc.ca). Our goal is to reduce waste and conserve resources by doing the following:

• encourage conference delegates to bring their own reusable water bottles rather than use disposable cups for water
• if you do use a paper cup for water, please compost it afterwards
  
• use less paper by not printing presenter biographies in the program; they are available on the conference website
  
• include local & wild (including fish) foods as much as possible at catered events
  
• use reuseable or compostable food service dishes and utensils wherever possible
  
• place paper and plastic recycling bins plus compost bins near conference venues
  
• the print program and handouts are on recycled paper and uses vegetable inks
  
• all foamcore signage is 100% biodegradable and eco-friendly
  
• conference bags, made from Jute fabrication, are 100% biodegradable and can be reused
  
• all conference participants are encouraged to return their name tags/badges after the conference for recycling
  
  

Please do your part by keeping the impact of this event in the classroom and out of the landfill!  Look out for the blue bins for paper recycling, the black bins for bottles and cans (aluminum, plastic, and glass) and the green bins for all food waste, including paper food containers, plates, paper towels, and tissues!
 

Offsetters is a Vancouver-based company that is dedicated to promoting sustainability through climate neutral living and travel. See the Offsetters' website to learn how to easily and effectively make an environmental impact in your planning for and participation in CeLC 2009. 
 

The City of Vancouver offers visitors ideas for sustainable activities and transportation. See their website for ideas for green tourism practices while in Vancouver.