Sustainability Champion Awards

Ashley Spanier-Levasseur used the Student Sustainability Ambassadors Program as a launchpad for sustained leadership work within Concordia’s sustainability initiatives. After the program, she stayed on as an impactful volunteer at Le Petit Vélo Rouge, Loyola campus’ community bike shop that provides the community with affordable refurbished bikes, access to tools and a space for bike repairs. She also co-led Finding Urban Nature (or F.U.N.) to design and deliver nature-based science education content to over 200 low-income children from borough-subsidized summer day camps. Going above and beyond, Ashley linked F.U.N., Eco-Art Workshops and Le Petit Vélo Rouge through a joint bike trip and nature event—a collaboration that would never have occurred without her.  

She went on to coordinate the Worth Defending: Montreal's (Extra)Ordinary Green Spaces exhibit, which celebrated environmental research and community efforts in urban milieux. The exhibit was part of an interdisciplinary collaboration funded through the Sustainable Transitions Team Research Initiative.

Through her remarkable teamwork, leadership, and communication, Ashley has been exceedingly effective in bridging the gaps between diverse groups, planting strong connections, and promoting sustainability in Montreal.

As the founder and lead facilitator of Plant Wisdom, a QTBIPOC student-led initiative, Barbara Saldaña is dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment that promotes the reconciliation of herbal food traditions and knowledge among diasporic and immigrant communities

In just a year, Plant Wisdom has contributed to building a culture of sustainability and solidarity at Concordia by promoting environmental consciousness, fostering intercultural connections, and providing students with meaningful opportunities for engagement and leadership in sustainable practices. During this time, Barbara co-facilitated six workshops and hands-on experiences focused on herbal medicine, knowledge exchange circles, and food traditions—all rooted in building solidarity across communities and a comprehensive approach to sustainability. 

Plant Wisdom actively promotes cultural diversity, inclusivity, and solidarity building, thereby offering a new approach to learning herbal-based practices and fostering community.

Diane Maldonado Bravo has gone above and beyond the scope of what it means to be a Student Sustainability Ambassador. In 2023, she led the effort to revive the comprehensive audit of Concordia's waste streams, a process that had not been completed at Concordia in a decade. Diane played a critical role in every step of the project: reviewing technical requirements, doing a demo audit, reaching out to and securing volunteers, providing training, and then performing the audit itself and analyzing the results.  

With a positive, engaging, and collaborative approach, Diane helped make the waste audit a fun and tactile experience that enabled students to better understand the impacts of Concordia’s operations and consumption. According to Zero Waste Concordia, the results of the audit will play an important role in mapping our coming institutional steps in terms of waste education and planning. 

Erik has been an integral part of the Loyola campus community bike shop, Le Petit Vélo Rouge (LPVR), which provides affordable, accessible bikes, knowledge, and resources to the surrounding community. After 8 years, Erik is now the shop's longest serving member. Erik is always eager to share his knowledge and empower those around him.

Erik is one of the creators of the EDML library of parts, which helps engineering students borrow components and hardware for their projects rather than buy them. Erik’s continual maintenance of the EDML Library of Parts has had a profound impact within Engineering in promoting sustainable solutions.

For the last few years, Erik has served on the board of the Sustainability Action Fund. They have generously offered their creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, as well as their experience in engineering, tech, and finance-related topics. Their support for engineering Capstone projects on campus has made applications for funding progressively stronger.

As one of the most engaged students at Concordia in urban agriculture programming, Joseph Collier puts an incredible amount of time into volunteering. Joseph volunteers for the Concordia Pollinator's Initiative, Mind.Heart.Mouth, the Concordia Greenhouse, and CultivAction, and his consistent work and leadership kept several initiatives alive this year. Using his awareness of Concordia’s ecosystem of sustainability initiatives, one Joseph's most impactful contribution has been the sharing of knowledge between different sustainability groups. Through his approachability and eagerness, Joseph fostered collaborations between projects that would normally not have occurred. As noted by his nominators, Joseph has therefore been tackling a persistent issue in sustainability at Concordia: groups working in silos.

Joseph has been doing it all: helping with plant care, propagation, and pest control, assisting in plant sales and events, manual labour in the gardens, volunteer coordination, and serving on boards of directors. Joseph is a crucial link in the garden culture at Concordia. 

As a staff member at Concordia, Mélodie Le Siège has shown that sustainability does not have to be within one's mandate to integrate its practices everywhere, both on and off campus. Mélodie has advocated for cultural change for years, building networks and pushing institutions to employ sustainable practices.

In November 2023, Mélodie moderated a Concordia Alumni Women Who LEAD panel of women entrepreneurs working to build sustainable brands. In her free time, she runs Melo & Mills, a blog offering plant-based recipes and hands-on tips for living sustainably. She also gives in-person sustainable living talks to local businesses and organizations.

Mélodie’s work makes clear that while the true responsibility for sustainable transformation lies with industry, individual action can be used as a tool for fun, optimism, and care. By making sustainable choices more appealing and accessible in a non-prescriptive way, Mélodie has inspired many people around her, encouraging them to reflect more deeply on their consumption choices and scalable solutions.

Pramila's dedication to sustainability extends across diverse areas, focusing on regenerative textile design, waste management, and community engagement. As a PhD student in Geography and Environmental Studies, a Student Sustainability Ambassador, and a Research Assistant for the Future is Wool project, she actively advocates for eco-conscious practices.

Her involvement as a Design Researcher for the Concordia Precious Plastic Project (CP3), a Board member of Sustainable Concordia, and the founder of ProjectHandStitch demonstrates her comprehensive engagement in sustainability initiatives at Concordia University. Pramila's commitment to knowledge sharing and collaboration within the campus community is evident through her volunteer work at the Centre for Creative Reuse (CUCCR).

Engaging in research at Milieux's Textile and Materiality Cluster (T&M) and contributing to the Loyola Sustainability Research Centre (LSRC), she showcases her dedication to advancing sustainability both academically and practically. Beyond academia, Pramila tirelessly educates others about the benefits of natural fibers and promotes fairness and inclusivity, fostering a culture of environmental consciousness and equity at Concordia.  

As Vice President of Projects for the John Molson Sustainable Enterprise Committee (JSEC), the program coordinator of the JMSB Sustainability Ecosystem, and a Sustainable Investment Intern at various firms, Sophie Beaudet’s work is a testament to her dedication, leadership, and innovation.

Notably, Sophie organized the third edition of the John Molson Sustainability Case Competition (JSCC), which under her leaderhip doubled the registration numbers and the number participating schools, significantly amplifying the event's reach and impact. During her time as VP of Projects for JSEC, she successfully revived the Sustainability Consulting Group for students.

Sophie has worked on the development of ESG micro-certificates for finance professionals through the Sustainability Ecosystem, and participation has only been increasing. Through her efforts, Sophie Beaudet is truly setting an example, catalyzing change, and making a significant difference in the sustainability landscape at Concordia.

Amy Tran integrates sustainable practices into all of her work. As the academic coordinator of the Concordia Precious Plastic Project (CP3), Amy has focused on mentorship, knowledge-sharing, and collaboration. Amy has made knowledge surrounding plastic recycling and repurposing significantly more accessible by taking the necessary time to walk newcomers through the process and creating training resources. Amy has sought to connect issues of sustainability with space exploration by creating new collaborations between Space Concordia’s space health division, CP3, and Women in Engineering. 

As an organizer of the 2022 Space Exploration conference (SPEX2022) and the Space2Earth student competition, as a challenge development associate for the How to Change the World program, and as a representative for Concordia at the World’s Challenge Challenge competition, Amy facilitated the implementation of more sustainable practices and themes.

Amy’s labour-intensive dedication towards sustainability has been an inspiration to her team members at both Space Concordia and CP3.

Caleb Woolcott’s leadership in sustainability and food security at Concordia is tireless. He is involved in the Concordia Food Coalition, Cultivaction, the Concordia Greenhouse, and the Solidarity Economy Incubation for Zero Emissions (SEIZE) Concordia. Caleb’s numerous contributions to campus initiatives lead to tangible environmental outcomes as well as social and cultural benefits, embodying the many facets of sustainability.

Caleb  is seen at the Loyola gardens so frequently that he has been dubbed “the microgreens guy”. It’s an appropriate title, as Caleb was instrumental in building and initiating the successful microgreens project at Concordia. Rain or shine, weekday or weekend, Caleb can be seen gardening on campus. Leading with humility, he continues to offer volunteer sessions and workshops for those wanting to learn about food sustainability on and off campus.

Karine Balé’s deep awareness of sustainability on campus led her to want to introduce people to the multitude of sustainability initiatives at Concordia. During her time with the Office of Sustainability’s Student Sustainability Ambassadors Program, she developed an interactive, open-source map of Concordia's sustainability ecosystem. The map has been an indispensable resource for those trying to visualize sustainability leadership across Concordia, and was nominated for a Student Leadership Award by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. Karine’s application of systems-thinking helps users identify sustainability as a shared responsibility rather than an issue that must be tackled by specific actors in isolation.

Karine is an emerging entrepreneur from the Youth Social Entrepreneurship Program offered through Community, Empowerment, Education, Development (CEED). During this program, she and her team started a small-scale farming model that would bring sustainable urban mushroom farming to communities and encourage independence within their food supply. As both a founding member of the Woodnote solidarity coop and a board member of UTILE, Karine is also a vocal advocate for student housing and affordable living in Montreal.

Karine was named a “LinkedIn Sustainability Influencer to Follow in 2022” by Green Career Center for her active involvement in the community.

Nick Bonneau has held two positions in the John Molson Sustainable Enterprise Committee (JSEC), first as Director of Speaker Relations, and then as President. During this time, he created the JSEC Mentorship program which has thus far connected over 50 business students to sustainability professionals. 

Nick has also been deeply involved in the Concordia Student Union, and was instrumental in the re-writing of the CSU Sustainability Policy so that it would align with Concordia's Sustainability Action Plan.

In his role as VP of Academic Affairs for the John Molson Undergraduate Case Competition, Nick worked to integrate sustainability considerations into the food and transportation relating to the week-long competition, and incentivized students to bring a sustainability focus to their work in the competition. Previously, sustainability had never been a consideration in the program or judging process.

Nick’s work of building awareness around sustainability has had a profound effect on a body of students who may not have previously considered sustainability as an integral part of economic development. 

Satoshi Ikeda’s continuous work at Concordia has embodied sustainability over the long-term. As a faculty member, Satoshi has done more than simply teach sustainability to his students; he structures his courses around climate action and community organizing, supporting his students to volunteer with sustainability initiatives for credit. Through this experiential learning, students are motivated to embody their roles as engaged citizens at and beyond the university, with many of Satoshi’s graduates even finding employment at Concordia to support or lead important sustainability projects. Beyond his faculty role, Satoshi has used his position at the university to legitimize a number of student sustainability initiatives, including the City Farm School.

Through his devoted teaching, steadfast support of emerging leaders, and key role in important sustainability projects, Satoshi has planted a lot of strong seeds within our community. As he retires, those many seedlings continue to grow, for a more sustainable Concordia.

Annick Maugile Flavien is the founding coordinator and manager of the Black Perspectives Office (BPO), a steering member of the President's Task Force on Anti-Black Racism at Concordia University, a Black community advocate, a Black scholar, and a multi-disciplinary creative maker.

As a three-time graduate of Concordia, Annick has been working on campus for the last ten years where she had the opportunity to participate in and support grassroots EDI and anti-racist initiatives across campus. She now leads the Black Perspectives Office in its development of services and resources for Black students, staff, and faculty at Concordia, as well as anti-discriminatory consultations, workshops and trainings, and engagement opportunities for the broader community. She is currently also pursing her PhD and where she roots her creative and academic research in communications, ageing studies, migration and geography in order to explore the transmission of intergenerational knowledge and identity for Black communities in Canada with the goal of better understanding Black community isolation in Canada and fostering connections across Black Canadian communities.

Through her dedication and leadership, Annick is fostering a supportive environment for anti-racist community building at Concordia and in Canada.

Christopher Vaccarella has taken a leadership role in advancing sustainability across a wide range of positions and projects at Concordia and in Montreal.

As the President of the Political Science Student Association (PSSA), Christopher has been a strong advocate of integrating sustainability and community engagement into PSSA’s policies and programming. In 2020, Christopher initiated a tree planting project at local elementary and high schools.  He focused on schools in overlooked and underfunded areas of Montreal, where tree cover is often lacking. Working with partners and volunteers, the project resulted in 250 new trees which will have support local biodiversity, decrease urban heat island effect, and enhance the natural beauty of these areas. As a councillor of the Concordia Student Union, Christopher was also instrumental in working to improve the accessibility and sustainability of menstrual products for students through the Menstrual Equity project, and played a pivotal role in advocating for a more expansive sustainability curriculum at Concordia through the 2021 CSU referendum.

In the short time that Christopher has been at Concordia, he has succeeded in implementing many sustainability projects as a result of his unfailing tenacity and commitment to improving the quality of life of his fellow students.

Erik Chevrier, in his many roles as student, part-time instructor, community activist and urban farmer, has been a driver of sustainable food systems at Concordia.

With a strong interest in the political economy of ethical food systems, Erik has meticulously chronicled Concordia’s student-run food cooperatives through his PhD in Humanities. His community involvement in sustainability at Concordia includes the Concordia Food Coalition, Divest Concordia, the Hive Café Co-op, and more.  He has also founded a number of organizations, research projects and educational programs, including the non-profit solidarity urban farming cooperative CultivAction. As a professor, Erik provides his students with opportunities for hands-on learning and critical-participatory-action-research. He enables his students to learn by doing and empowers them to become community leaders, urban farmers, sustainability activists, and multi-media communicators.

Erik has been an important and consistent voice for students in sustainable food system practices in the creation of the Sustainability Action Plan and through his contributions to the Food Advisory working group.

Faye Sun has been a force for positive change on campus, speaking up on important issues and pushing agendas of environmental sustainability, social justice and issues affecting Black and Indigenous communities.

Faye is an intersectional activist who understands that sustainability is connected with many social and environmental change issues. Throughout their undergraduate degree, Faye has volunteered their time to make Concordia a more environmentally and socially sustainable community, organizing numerous workshops in partnership with the CSU and sitting on the Concordia Student Union BIPOC committee. As an example of their leadership, she co- organized a high-profile Town Hall on Extreme Inequality and Climate Breakdown in November 2021. She also co-founded the Concordia Pollinator Initiative on campus. In their newly-elected role as Concordia Student Union Sustainability Coordinator, she has provided strong support for the Menstrual Equity Project and for the sustainability curriculum advocacy campaign. Meanwhile, she continues to volunteer in two sustainability-related research labs at Concordia.

Faye has dedicated tremendous time and effort to work that intersects all spheres of sustainability and makes Concordia a better place.

Felix Beaudry has been devoted to redesigning our waste systems and educating community members on plastic waste through the Concordia Precious Plastic Project (CP3).

As CP3’s design and operational coordinator, Felix has mentored students to create new items through plastic waste using 3D printing, guiding them through the creative process and supporting them to find new meaning in their academic projects. He has been instrumental in raising awareness about the plastic crisis and offering solutions to students at Concordia and in Montreal through online webinars and in-person events. Felix represented CP3 at the Forces Avenir competition, which aims to recognize student engagement in projects that contribute to the creation of conscious, responsible, active and persevering local and global citizens. Felix has also been instrumental in ensuring the on-going success of the project, seeking innovative solutions to challenges and forging new partnerships. CP3’s partnership with the CEGEP du Vieux Montreal, for example, has allowed for both groups to learn from each other while sharing space and equipment.

Felix has greatly contributed to CP3’s mission and has inspired Concordians and the community to reimagine and rethink plastic waste. 

Jochen Jaeger is a road ecology and urban sprawl researcher who has demonstrated an incredible commitment to educating others on issues related to climate change through Concordia’s Climate Emergency Committee.

Jochen initiated the Climate Emergency Committee in 2019, in response to the urgency of the climate crisis and the desire to increase public awareness and understanding of climate change. Made up of students and faculty, the Climate Emergency Committee is advocating for mandatory climate education in schools, CEGEPS, and the community. They have made hundreds of presentations, written countless letters to policy-makers, disseminated surveys, launched curriculum initiatives, and engaged the news media. They were also crucial supporters in the development of the Fly Less policy in the department of Geography, Planning and Environment. Jochen has been a force for positive change, enabling students on the committee to take on leadership roles and drive new initiatives, such as the popular Climate Geopardy game. and acting as a mentor to students. His tireless enthusiasm for this work has provided a solid foundation for this group over the last number of years. The Climate Emergency Committee is now a fixture in the geography department.

Jochen has been an agent of change on campus and a resource for those seeking to take action on the climate crisis.

Pamela Fillion supports people to lead a sustainable lifestyle in ways that are accessible and profound.

Pamela has been consistently engaged in social and environmental sustainability action at Concordia University and in Montreal over the past ten years, contributing to many campus organizations as a reliable workshop animator for the Concordia Greenhouse, Concordia Food Coalition and Concordia Student Union. Pamela is a tireless advocate for accessible sustainable lifestyles, offering countless DIY and skill-building “radical home economics” workshops and anti-oppression training on and off campus. She covers topics ranging from food processing and preservation methods to intersectional anti-classism and herbalism for survivor support. Pamela uses these workshops as an accessible entry point for people to rethink current systems and practices, her compassionate personality and intersectional approach enabling community members to develop more self-sufficiency and food security. As a student, her research on the intersections of gendered violence, racism, immigration, and well-being have earned a Sustainability Research Award from the Sustainability Action Fund.

Pamela’s leadership through example has encouraged and supported countless members of our community to act more sustainably and has had a significant impact on the culture of sustainability at Concordia.

Through her enthusiastic engagement in numerous initiatives at Concordia, Adriana Daca has served as a sustainability leader within her field and in campus initiatives.

As the Outreach volunteer for the student-led association Women in Engineering (WIE), Adriana has supported a shift towards greater support for women and gender parity in the STEM fields. Her work for WIE has included enrichment programs in elementary and high schools, where she engaged with students to encourage early interest in engineering. As a member of the Concordia Precious Plastics Project (CP3), Adriana has supported research, development and outreach efforts, including through co-authorship on an academic paper examining plastic reduction opportunities. Adriana has volunteered for numerous other sustainability initiatives through the student Sustainability Ambassadors Program, acting as a steadfast and welcome source of support for initiatives including the Concordia University Centre for Creative Reuse (CUCCR), Waste Not Want Not (WNWN), and the Sustainable Event Certification (SEC).

Adriana’s passion, dedication, and positive, thoughtful attitude not only significantly enhance the initiatives that she participates in, but also equip her to be an excellent leader and motivator to others.

Through his remarkable leadership and dedication, Amr Addas has played the lead role in establishing JMSB’s offerings and reputation in the area of sustainable investing education.

Amr’s involvement spans numerous roles and activities. In 2015 he developed the first-ever cource on sustainable investing in a Canadian business school, which continues to be an incredibly popular course among students at Concordia thanks to Amr’s current and relevant curriculum, innovative teaching practices, and unwavering support and engagement with his students. Amr co-developed and directs Concordia’s Sustainable Investing Practicum, which in 2020 was launched as the first of its kind in Canada. The practicum gives participating students the opportunity to manage a virtual portfolio in close collaboration with Manulife Investment Management using principles of Environmental Social Governance, resulting in valuable experiential learning opportunities for students and bolstering Concordia University's commitment to sustainability. Recently appointed to the role of Academic Director for Sustainability at JMSB, Amr will lead the Sustainability Ecosystem, which will promote and facilitate conversations on sustainable investing and sustainable finance as well as to create workshops and learning labs to educate professionals and students. Outside of JMSB, Amr regularly advocates for and advises on university efforts to achieve our sustainable investing goals and represents Concordia externally at the Canadian Youth Council for Sustainable Development and Finance Montreal’s Responsible Investing Working Group.

His dedication to his students and passion for sustainable finance have made Amr instrumental to the development and success of sustainable investing curriculum and programs at Concordia.

Chloë Lalonde has been an exceptionally creative and tireless advocate for reuse efforts and education through the Concordia University Centre for Creative Reuse (CUCCR).

Since it opened in 2017, Chloë has been a valuable contributor to every aspect of CUCCR growth and development including system design, physical space layouts and community engagement opportunities. As a regular volunteer and student intern, she has spent countless hours assisting in the used materials depot and offering skillshare events and workshops to our community. She has also taken on independent writing projects to help support the documentation and promotion of CUCCR, and has co-organized important events, such as the annual artist-in-residence program and exhibition. Chloë is also an active community art educator, and has integrated reused materials from CUCCR into her lesson plans and projects at art schools, camps and after-school community programs. In 2020, Chloë created a series of lesson plans focussed on using only natural or homemade materials, encouraging the maker to consider the impact of traditional materials while empowering them to create art with the simple supplies they may already have in their homes.

Through her powerful and longstanding contributions to reuse efforts, Chloë has had a positive impact at CUCCR and on the growth of its community.

Le Lin is a truly outstanding student whose incredible generosity toward their peers, and their continued dedication to creating anti-oppression spaces for connection and kinship, reflect an extraordinary commitment to social sustainability in keeping with Concordia’s mandate to support principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Le has been recognized by their professors and fellow students alike, as a reliable and most welcome source of crucial infusions of EDI-related insight shared both inside and outside the classroom. Through their coursework, volunteerism, chosen employment, and creative projects, Le contributes their abiding determination to enable and foster equitable and safer spaces for QTBIPOC folks at Concordia and beyond. Projects created or collaborated on by Le include Queer Asian Myths and Legends (an interactive website featuring Asian LGBTQ folktales, myths, legends and practices collected from that community); Not Down (a jacket made of ecologically-sustainable milkweed); Masking Hong Kong (a web intervention focusing on masks as tools of resistance in the Hong Kong protests); and Unlearning Design: A Decolonizing and Inclusivity Toolkit (a series of five zines documenting contemporary Black, Indigenous, Lantinx, Asian, and queer designers from various regions in Canada and the US). Le’s other contributions include their work and volunteer efforts toward the Fine Arts Reading Room, VAV gallery, Fine Arts Student Alliance, District 3 Innovation Centre, People’s Potato, Concordian magazine, Queer Print Club, and the Department of Design and Computation Arts’ recently-established Inclusivity Committee. Le has also served as a lifeline to their fellow students during the pandemic, lending support and stability to their peers in Design and across the Faculty of Fine Arts.

Through their joyful and wholehearted participation, Le lifts up their peers, enriches discussions, and leads enthusiastically, making their Department and Faculty a more welcoming and inclusive home for all students.

Meredith Marty-Dugas has made invaluable contributions to sustainability engagement at Concordia.

Meredith’s work as coordinator of the Sustainability Ambassadors Program (SAP), housed within the Office of Sustainability and offered in collaboration with Sustainable Concordia, has increased sustainability awareness for hundreds of community members through targeted training, workshops, and supported volunteer positions. In her capacity as coordinator of SAP she worked with on-campus groups to develop volunteer opportunities, guidelines and frameworks for thoughtful and supported interactions that empower student volunteers. Her knowledge of environmental, social, and economic sustainability, paired with her attentive and inclusive coordination style, have helped many students move from having a fringe understanding of sustainability to possessing the capacity to confidently engage others on sustainability topics at Concordia and beyond. Additionally, Meredith frequently goes beyond the scope and time commitments of her mandate in the Office of Sustainability to participate on committees and support community organizations in racticing sustainability in intersectional, inclusive ways that centre social justice.

By equipping students with knowledge and training pertaining to campus sustainability efforts and globally important issues, Meredith positions them to step into leadership roles within our community.

Olha Hnatyshyn has embedded sustainability firmly into every aspect of her time as a Concordia student, staff, and part-time faculty member in the Department of Economics.

As a graduate student, Olha is researching the effectiveness of Multiple International Environmental Agreements from a policy perspective, and is co-organizing the CIREQ Interdisciplinary PhD Student Symposium on Climate Change, whose mission is to facilitate the exchange of scientific knowledge and lay the foundation for collaboration among doctoral students conducting research on climate change. As a professor in economics, Olha also strives to create opportunities for undergraduate students to learn more about sustainability by promoting their participation in sustainability events and by incorporating sustainability content in her course material. In less than a year working as the Service Assistant in the Economic department, Olha singlehandedly initiated and successfully cultivated zero waste culture change within the department. Through carefully planned and thoughtfully executed waste reduction initiatives, as well as through frequent and accessible engagement with others in the department, she raised sustainability awareness for numerous students, faculty and staff in the department. Olha also organizes free educational events on sustainability for the youth in her Montreal community.

Olha’s passion, dedication and knowledge for sustainability have all served to greatly increase sustainability awareness, engagement and impact within the Department of Economics.

Eduardo Malorni’s contribution has led to substantial changes in the way events are planned for and implemented in the Concordia Student Union.

As the Student Life Coordinator, Eduardo leads the organization and execution of all orientation and other events for the CSU. Through these initiatives, all purchasing for these events were made as low-waste as possible, going to great lengths to find products with cleaner production processes, better materials, and little to no packaging. In some cases, that meant opting to disrupt long-standing traditions for the sake of greater sustainability--such as not ordering orientation T-shirts, something that most student groups adamantly defend as a practice. Instead, Eduardo went as far as to collect leftover T-shirts and tote bags from previous years and struck an agreement with suppliers to have them reprinted.

Through their innovation, hard work, and creativity Eduardo has established a new set of best practices for all student leaders to follow.

Julia Levantian has taken initiative in creating, consulting on, and implementing a Sustainability Policy as VP Internal for the Engineering and Computer Science Association (ECA).

Julia spent months researching and drafting the policy, as well as organizing meetings with different society leaders to gather feedback and make improvements. By engaging in productive dialogue with individual societies, they ensured that the policy was representative of the ECA as a whole, and that everyone felt included. This policy, which includes provisions for sustainable event planning and purchasing, will influence the activities of 13 student societies and over 6000 undergraduate students in the Gina Cody School of Engineering.

The meaningful and lasting effects of this policy will be felt in the activities of Engineering and Computer Science students for years to come.

This team of dedicated students, faculty and staff are responsible for the 185 new trees that were planted on the Loyola campus in November 2019.

The project arose when a quartet of Arts and Science faculty members (Rebecca Tittler, Emma Despland, Carly Ziter, and Satoshi Ikeda), along with a separate group of students from the Concordia Greening Project (led by Théo Vergnet) came together with a common goal: to increase the number and diversity of trees on campus. Liz Faure, Communications Advisor for the Faculty of Arts & Science, took on the enormous task of coordinating communications between the appropriate people to make sure the project took place and was properly attended. Additionally, a number of staff and students volunteered to plant trees or got involved in the planning, approval, implementation, and communications of the project.

Every member of this team went above and beyond their regular professional or academic duties to ensure the project came to fruition, literally getting their hands dirty in the name of sustainability on campus. In addition to providing greenery and a cooling and healthy urban tree canopy to the Loyola campus, these trees will also function as a living lab, allowing professors to bring students right into the environment of a mini-urban forest as part of their classwork. As the trees grow and thrive, Concordians will be able to enjoy their beauty for decades to come.

Megan Clarke has worked tirelessly to bring greater awareness of food security and sustainability to Concordia and to Montreal.

Last year, Megan developed the Food Cycle project. The aim was to redistribute leftover food from events on campus to various charitable organizations as well as to Concordia students in need.

Although Hospitality Concordia donates food from their events to local shelters, Megan noticed that there was still a large portion of food being wasted at other events on campus, and that Concordia’s own students could benefit from the food leftovers as well. Megan began contacting various departments at Concordia in order to coordinate her efforts. Food Cycle now provides free pick-up and redistribution of leftover food and is open to all campus events upon request. Food Cycle additionally functions as an awareness campaign, bringing issues of hunger and unsustainable food practices to the forefront.

Megan’s initiative is an effective and deeply humanitarian endeavour that seeks to eliminate food waste while giving back to the community.

Sara Ordonselli has been taking action towards solving our global plastic problem by thinking locally.

As co-founder of the Concordia Precious Plastics Project (CP3), Sara has worked to ensure that all plastic waste from 3D printing at Concordia could be reused to create more plastic filament for printing.  They developed a structure and procured funding, resulting in a plastic re-purposing program that will survive at Concordia long after she has graduated. This year, Sara took it further by launching an educational campaign on the harmfulness of plastic waste as well as by researching and implementing the incorporation of new types of plastic pollution into the program.

Thanks to Sara, the 3D printing projects at Concordia can keep safely within planetary boundaries while continuing to push the boundaries of innovation.

Since joining the faculty, Shannon Lloyd has quickly and impactfully engaged in enhancing sustainability within JMSB and Concordia in a number of areas.                                                                                           

Shannon has taken on the revision and redesign of several key courses to create opportunities for deeper learning about sustainability, and has led the development of a JMSB sustainability minor—with a major impact for JMSB students, who previously needed to extend their degrees by up to two semesters in order to avail of sustainability learning outside of the Faculty. Although these endeavours all require substantial time and energy on her part, Shannon has also made time to engage in numerous sustainability initiatives with students. This includes acting as Faculty advisor to JSEC, JMSB’s undergraduate sustainability group; coaching and judging multiple sustainability themed case competitions; and providing supervision or co-supervision for multiple sustainability projects within JMSB and other Faculties.

These efforts go above and beyond Shannon’s regular mandate and demonstrably enhance sustainability at Concordia.

Akira’s dedication and comprehensive approach to sustainability make her a model for all in her community.

Akira has harnessed her role as Sustainability Coordinator of the CSU to provide brand-new resources and programs for all students, including low-waste, plant-based eating workshops and the “There is no planet B” event series. As organizing team member of Queer Concordia she also launched the Queer Retreat, offering an affordable space for support and community-building to Concordia`s queer community. Her integral approach to sustainability not only ensures that each of the events and programs that the CSU develops is fully sustainable but that students at Concordia have access to the plentiful support, dialogue, and knowledge that they need to make sustainable choices for themselves and for the planet.

Her activities and approach have raised awareness of environmental and social issues on campus and have inspired a multitude of students to make positive changes.

Annie has had a significant and far-reaching impact on how sustainability is understood and practiced.

As a CEED Concordia intern, she partnered with local youth in northern Uganda to engage in workshops and exercises supporting the identification of ways that climate change can be adapted to and combatted at multiple scales, as well as how students can engage in sustainable waste management at home and at school. She has also been active in multiple sustainability groups on campus, is working to further sustainability in academia as a United Nations Millennium Fellow for ‘Commitment to promoting sustainability through education”, and has co-founded the Humans of Concordia platform which fosters a social community amongst past, present, and future Concordia students.

She is a great team member who is committed to learning with others and enjoys being involved on campus in every way she can.

Claire has taken an active role to support and further sustainability efforts in multiple communities.

She has designed and led gardening workshops through the City Farm School, the Mile End Marche de Mai, and Brila Youth Projects. Through these she has empowered the community with planting knowledge and has supported a sustainable and secure food system on and off campus. As part of her work with Brila Youth Projects, she also led community inquiry sessions that engaged school-age children in open and approachable discourse about environmental ethics, fostering a generation of critical thinkers and future sustainability leaders. At Concordia, Claire has interned with the Waste Not Want Not compost collaboration and has been an active board member for the Sustainability Action Fund. Since representing Concordia at the Sustainability in Higher Education conference in 2018, Claire has been collaborating with her co-representatives on a whiteboard video project advocating for sustainability living labs on campus.

Claire’s dedication to improving sustainability efforts through community partnerships demonstrates real leadership.

Eric is a relentless advocate for sustainability at Concordia.

In his role as president of the John Molson Sustainable Enterprise Committee (JSEC) and as a student, Eric has made an enormous difference in the sustainability culture of JMSB. He and his team on JSEC dedicate themselves to offering events that promote sustainable business development and resource management, and he has been an integral member in the development of Concordia’s Sustainable Event Checklist. He is also an active contributor on the board of Sustainable Concordia and seizes every possible opportunity to raise awareness about sustainability within the business community and without.

Eric is an excellent leader and has overcome many obstacles in order to further sustainability at Concordia by making it interesting and engaging for students.

Maya’s dedication and passion have led to an undeniable impact on countless students at Concordia.

Her service to her community includes and extends far beyond her role as External Coordinator of the Dish Project, a program that supplies reusable dishes for events and saves thousands of disposable items from the landfill per year.  She is also a Director of the Concordia Food Coalition and volunteers with the Concordia Greenhouse. Through these initiatives, Maya has developed, coordinated, and supported multiple collaborative events that have engaged numerous students in the principles and practices of sustainability. Taking an empathetic and thoughtful approach, she works tirelessly to engage the community in causes related to waste reduction on campus and sustainable food systems.

Maya is described as a special community member that goes above and beyond all that is expected of her, and does it all with a smile.

Rebecca has been a mainstay of sustainability at Concordia for years as an instructor in Biology, Geography, and Loyola College for Diversity and Sustainability (LCDS), where she is also the College Coordinator.

Rebecca brings sustainability into students’ lives through experiential learning and a passion for the intersectional nature of societies’ sustainability issues. In her role as coordinator of both LCDS and Loyola Sustainability Research Center (LSRC), she has proven to be a masterful connector for students and fellows, supporting research in action. Examples include the Sustainability Across Disciplines conference and the ongoing LSRC research seminar series. From these, and related efforts, Rebecca has supported increased opportunities to share sustainability research and explore future work across the university. She has also played a key role in in seeking out and securing new partnerships with the Faculty of Fine Arts, actively participates on the Campus Sustainability Engagement subcommittee, coordinates the Research Stream of the University’s 2019-2024 Sustainability Plan, and moves sustainability initiatives forward while balancing overarching departmental goals and the grassroots needs of the community.

Rebecca Tittler has been, and continues to be, an integral part of the change we are seeking on campus.

Stéphanie has been a force to reckon with in advocating for sustainable practices at Facilities Management.

In her role as Architectural Technician in Facilities Management, Stéphanie first piloted a surplus furniture re-use project in 2014 and has since begun working closely with the Concordia University Centre for Creative Reuse (CUCCR) to apply reuse activities to the massive quantities of surplus furniture that were being put into storage or sent to landfill due to the constant renovation or updating of University spaces.

Stéphanie now ensures that all unused furniture pieces are either stored for future use, reused by another group, sold to community organisations, donated to the CUCCR or dismantled and recycled.  In the 2018-2019 year, Concordia has already diverted 13 metric tonnes of furniture waste; the CUCCR program is receiving additional recognition and funding due to its role in the collaboration; and the University is developing procedures and protocols for inventorying and sustainably managing surplus furniture.

Stéphanie’s efforts have dramatically reduced the environmental footprint of our campus.

Since its inception in 2016, the Waste Not, Want Not (WNWN) compost collaboration has contributed to significant and enduring shifts in the way we compost at Concordia.

The collaboration is designed to increase both the availability and use of composting at Concordia through the strategic increase of compost bins and peer-to-peer education. Waste Not Want Not volunteers attend events and educate attendees about composting and show them how to properly sort out their waste. Since 2016, compost use at Concordia has nearly doubled.

The original proponent of WNWN, Keroles Riad worked tirelessly to drive the campaign forward by forging relationships throughout the University, raising awareness about the importance of composting, and recruiting motivated volunteers. His contribution towards a composting culture at Concordia has made him a pillar in the sustainability community.

Ribal Abi Raad joined WNWN in 2016, while Alanna Silver began as a volunteer extraordinaire and joined the organizing team in 2018. Together they Ribal and Alanna effectively steered the collaboration to even greater heights, managing 37 different volunteers covering 19 major events attended by over 19,000 community members, as well as sparking new successful engagement and volunteer team building initiatives.

The countless and freely-given hours that they have invested into Concordia’s composting system have been to the benefit of the entire Concordia community.

In 2016, the Sustainability Champions Award Gala was combined with the Safety Recognition Awards to promote sustainability and safety together at the university. 

Sustainability Champions:

• Benoit-Antoine Bacon, Provost and Vice-President — Academic Affairs 
• Michael Banks, student — Founder and President of Sustainable Engineering Concordia
• Sylvie Lacelle, Food Contract administrator — Hospitality Concordia
• Olivia Oudinot, student — Executive VP of the John Molson Sustainable Enterprise Committee (JSEC) 
• Janis Timm-Bottos, Associate Professor — Department of Creative Arts Therapies 
• Arlene Zimmerman, Office Assistant — Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering

• The Fine Arts Safety Committee — Faculty of Fine Arts
• Keroles Riad, PhD candidate — Individualized program
• Barry Robinson, Laboratory/Safety Technician — Psychology Department 

Sustainability champions:

• Gabrielle Caron, Undergraduate student — Concordia Food Coalition, Sustainable Concordia
• Cloé Daguet, Community member
• Ricardo Dal Farra, Associate Professor — Department of Music / Hexagram Concordia
• Micheal Finck, Undergraduate student — Sustainable Concordia, Climate Justice Montreal
• James Grant, Professor — Department of Biology
• Paige Hilderman, Undergraduate student — Concordia Food Coalition
• Cody Jacobs, Undergraduate student — La Cooperative des Brasseurs Illuminés
• Henry Lemmetti, Technical Supervisor — Communication Studies
• Renée Obregon, Undergraduate student — Sustainable Concordia, Concordia Safe Cosmetics Club
• Adan Suazo, Coordinator — Loyola Sustainability Research Centre

Sustainability champions:

• Jessica Cabana, Undergraduate student
• Carmela Cucuzzella, Assistant Professor, Design and Computation Arts
• Marie-Pier Breton, Graduate student
• Rosemarie Schade, Principal, Loyola College for Diversity and Sustainability
• Paul Shrivastava, Director, David O'Brien Centre for Sustainable Enterprise
• Roger Côté, Vice-President, Services
• Sandro Dabaghian, Undergraduate President, John Molson Sustainable Business Group (JSG)
• Marie-Josée Allard, Director, Hospitality Concordia
• David S. Allen, West Montreal Readaptation Centre
• David Symon, Undergraduate student

Sustainability champions:

• Amr Addas, Adjunct Professor, JMSB
• Catherine Basa, 2012-13 Undergraduate President, John Molson Sustainable Business Group (JSG)
• Anthony Garoufalis, Fight the Causes
• Dan Kielback, R4 Waste Campaign, Sustainable Concordia
• Jackie Martin, Concordia Greenhouse Coordinator
• Hannah McCormick, R4 Waste Campaign, Sustainable Concordia
• Dr. Catherine Mulligan, Director, Concordia Institute for Water, Energy and Sustainable Systems, Assoc Dean, Res & Grad    Stu, Engr. & Comp Science
• Brad Poapst, Supervisor, Facilities Mgmt.
• Dr. Peter Stoett, Director, Loyola Sustainable Research Centre
• Kirsten Sutherland, Manager, Design and Planning, Facilities Mgmt.

Sustainability champions:

• Josh Beitel, VP Logistics, John Molson Sustainable Business Group
• Gerry Barrette, Property/Operations Manager, Loyola Facilities Mgmt.
• Gerald Beasley, University Librarian
• Susanne Dragffy, Buyer, Bookstore
• Laurence Fauteux, Coordinator, Vert Ta Ville
• Yves Gilbert, Director, Engr. & Bldg. Performance, Facilities Mgmt.
• Dr. Satoshi Ikeda, Assoc. Professor, Sociology and Anthropology
• Alex Oster, Student Experience Coordinator, Dean of Students
• Dr. Martin Racine, Assoc. Professor, Design and Comp Arts
• Dr. Judith Walls, Professor, Management, JMSB

Sustainability champions:

• Dr. P.K. Langshaw, Assoc. Professor, Design and Comp Arts
• Dr. Raymond Paquin, Professor, Management, JMSB
• Dr. Bernice Goldsmith, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Centre for Engineering in Society & Dr. Hugh J. McQueen, Distinguished Prof Emeritus, Mech./Industrial Engineering
• Jessica Sypher, VP Sustainability of the Loyola International College Student Association
• Kelly Laidlaw, VP Case Competition, John Molson Sustainable Business Group
• Pat Pietromonaco, Property Manager, Facilities Mgmt.
• Shelly Elsliger, Ugrad Career Advisor, Career Mgmt. Services
• Anna Sarkissian, University Communications Services
• Cameron Stiff, Sustainable Concordia board member
• Arlene Lynette Throness, Greenhouse Coordinator
• Svetla Turnin, Executive Director, Cinema Politica & Ezra Winton, Director Programming, Cinema Politica