Award recognizes college’s commitment to environmental sustainability for third consecutive year

Oshawa, ON – Durham College (DC) is pleased to announce that it has been named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for the third consecutive year. Awarded as part of the 2019 editorial competition that is organized by the Canada’s Top 100 Employers project, this designation recognizes employers who create remarkable workplaces that minimize the environmental impact of their operations.

Winning employers are those that incorporate environmental values into their everyday culture, and attract employees because of such values and are evaluated on the following criteria:

1. The unique environmental initiatives or programs they have developed.
2. Whether they have been successful in reducing their own environmental footprint.
3. Whether their employees are involved in these programs and contribute any unique skills.
4. Whether their environmental initiatives have become linked to the employer’s public identity, attracting new employees and customers.

This year, DC has been recognized for its sustainability focus related to infrastructure and supporting behavioural changes among its employees and students. At a planning level, both new construction and renovation decisions are made through a sustainable lens. This includes LED lighting being the only option at the college, working towards 100 per cent LED use, including in its parking lots. In addition, hydration stations have been installed in every wing of the college to offer cooled, filtered water, thus reducing the use of plastic bottles.

The college’s Green Office Certification Program began last year, providing guidelines to incorporate sustainability into daily operations. Supported from the top down, the program focuses on energy and water conservation, waste diversion, purchasing habits and creating a green-focused office culture. Using a checklist as a guide, individual departments are encouraged to undertake sustainable actions in a variety of categories. These include using alternative transportation or using mini bins as a replacement for personal garbage cans. Across DC there has also been a move towards using centralized printers as opposed to personal ones, reducing overall paper use.

“It makes us very proud to once again be listed as one of Canada’s greenest employers,” said Don Lovisa, president, Durham College. “We are really starting to see the impact of our sustainability efforts across our campuses and learning site for the betterment of our students, employees and the broader community. As the college continues to evolve, we will do so with sustainability at the forefront of our decisions and plans.”

The new Simcoe Geothermal Field project, which is currently underway at DC’s Oshawa campus, is a prime example of the college’s sustainable efforts in action and was substantially complete on March 31, 2019.

For more information on living green at DC please visit www.durhamcollege.ca/livinggreen.

 

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About Durham College

At Durham College (DC), the student experience comes first. With campuses in Oshawa and Whitby and a learning site in Pickering, the college offers more than 13,600 full-time post-secondary and apprenticeship students access to more than 140 full-time and eight apprenticeship programs in a number of different disciplines, enabling them to develop the skills required to meet the demands of today’s job market. The college has also launched its first four-year degree program, the Honours Bachelor of Health Care Technology Management, in September 2018.

The Oshawa campus features the state-of-the art Student Services building and the Centre for Collaborative Education, a legacy project tied to DC’s 50th anniversary in 2017. The newly-opened facility brings together local, Indigenous and global communities, providing a new home for several of the college’s most innovative and ground-breaking programs.

The Whitby campus features the award-winning W. Galen Weston Centre for Food, which includes Bistro ’67, a full-service, teaching-inspired restaurant, and Pantry, a retail store featuring food prepared by students in the college’s culinary programs.

For more information, visit www.durhamcollege.ca or call 905.721.2000.

Media contact:
Meghan Ney
Communications and Marketing
905.721.2000 ext. 2197
meghan.ney@durhamcollege.ca