AET Group Recipient of Sustainable Waterloo Region’s ‘Most Active Member’ and Carbon Cleanse Winner For 3rd Consecutive Year
May 4, 2017
On April 27th, Sustainable Waterloo Region held its 7th annual Evening of Recognition to celebrate the efforts made by organizations within our community to reduce our environmental impacts. And what a night it was! Connecting with inspiring leaders and sharing ideas on sustainability, SWR hosted an encouraging event recognizing participants in the community on their initiatives.
In 2016, AET became SWR’s first triple-pledge member of the Regional Sustainability Initiative, setting targets for all three areas of impact reduction in the program- carbon, waste, and water. To kick off our pledge, we installed a bioswale at our Kitchener office to clean and divert water from the stormwater infrastructure, and signed up with Bullfrog Power to implement clean renewable energy offsets. For these efforts and our many other ongoing sustainability initiatives, AET was recognized as the award recipient for the Most Active Member of 2016!
Along with this award AET also won 2017’s Carbon Cleanse Challenge which took place during March and April. AET staff were engaged, determined and active, working together to make a difference during the 4 weeks of challenges and taking the title for the third year in a row! Here are some highlights:
- Water Week- Completed an internal water audit to see if there are any ways we can reduce consumption in office, hooked up our rain barrel for the season, turned water pressure down on our taps, took quizzes and attended a webinar for awareness of water wasting
- Waste Week- Staff packed litterless lunches using reusable sandwich bags, held an office-wide litterless potluck lunch, ceramic travel mugs instead of disposable for morning coffee, updated the waste bin instructions in the office for clarity to ensure we are diverting everything we can, Goodwill donations of old office items, took paper shredding to the Humane Society to be used for animal beds, purchased carpet for the office addition made from 78% recycled content, reusable hand towels used in the washroom, diverted almost 97kg of e-waste from the landfill through TechWreckers
- Energy Week- Staff worked with the lights off, turned off computer monitors when not using, unplugged the printer and tracked phantom power savings , turned off the heating system and bundled up with sweaters instead
- Travelwise Week- Staff were dedicated in carpooling whenever possible, working from home to reduce CO2 emissions, biking into work instead of driving, and holding meetings via teleconference instead of meeting in person
The Evening of Recognition helped inspire us to continue on in our sustainability initiatives and brainstorm more ways to reduce our impact on the environment. Congratulations to all the winners at this years’ event, it is incredible and motivating to see so much engagement in the community!