| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 48.37 |
| Liaison | Michelle McCollum |
| Submission Date | Nov. 18, 2014 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
George Brown College
OP-22: Waste Minimization
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.44 / 5.00 |
Stephanie
Foster Green Team/Sustainability Coordinator George Brown College |
Waste generated::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Materials recycled | 684 Metric tons | 218 Metric tons |
| Materials composted | 276 Metric tons | 238 Metric tons |
| Materials reused, donated or re-sold | --- | --- |
| Materials disposed in a solid waste landfill or incinerator | 561 Metric tons | 471 Metric tons |
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users”::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of residential students | 0 | 0 |
| Number of residential employees | 0 | 0 |
| Number of in-patient hospital beds | 0 | 0 |
| Full-time equivalent enrollment | 39,517 | 33,976 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 1,278 | 1,000 |
| Full-time equivalent of distance education students | 0 | 0 |
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Year | April 1, 2012 | March 31, 2013 |
| Baseline Year | April 1, 2008 | March 31, 2009 |
A brief description of when and why the waste generation baseline was adopted:
The College only started regular annual collection of data regarding waste and recycling in 2008-09 Fiscal Year.
A brief description of any (non-food) waste audits employed by the institution:
A required by the Ontario Ministry of Environment, the College carries out regular waste audits every two years. These comprehensive audits collected data from all campus waste/recycling pick-up addresses, provided data on a campus by campus basis as well as generating a consolidated Waste Reduction Action Plan for the entire College. Most recent audits were carried out in 2011 and 2013.
A brief description of any institutional procurement policies designed to prevent waste:
The College's Green Procurement Policy includes guidelines for the purchase of products that are environmentally preferable. All phases of a product’s life cycle are to be considered, including raw materials acquisition, production, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, operation, maintenance, disposal, potential for reuse and ability to be recycled.
file:///C:/Users/User/Documents/Downloads/GBCGreenPurchasingPolicy%20(1).pdf
A brief description of any surplus department or formal office supplies exchange program that facilitates reuse of materials:
N/A
A brief description of the institution's efforts to make materials available online by default rather than printing them:
The College has reduced the number of print projects overall that go through Marketing dramatically over the last few years. The number of print projects has been reduced by almost 75% and the total number of pieces printed has decreased b more than 65%. All major publications are available online as flipbooks and accessible PDFs. The Full-Time Calendar is no longer being printed and is only be available online and through print-friendly online templates for a print-on-demand solution. A very small quantity (~200 versus 35,000 last year) will be printed for Guidance Counselors and front-line staff who assist students.
The College's Digital Learning Initiative places emphasis on increasing the blended learning commitment, i.e., use of learning management systems such as Blackboard to enhance teaching and learning. Through the College's new Digital Learning Initiative, the goal is to have all course *outlines* online.
On a smaller scale, all Facilities Management information sheets are on a shared drive for all FM staff to access. This eliminates handouts or constant emailing of updated attachments. Attachments includes specs, drawings, project list status sheets, operating procedures, third party work vouchers to name a few. Maintenance workers access drawings off an iPad thus they do not need to carry prints of drawings as their go about the building.
A brief description of any limits on paper and ink consumption employed by the institution:
The College's Paper Use Policy requires people to only print when necessary. file:///C:/Users/User/Documents/Downloads/PaperPurchasingUsePolicy.pdf
In new College facilities and leased space, the College does not provide individual desk-top printers except in spacial circumstances. The College’s Computer Equipment Purchasing Standard specifies that all new printers must have duplex capability.
The College recommends that all printing jobs of more than 25 pages should be brought to an in-house contractor for printing. This printing service ensures a more efficient print job, environmentally and economically. It costs less per impression for non rush service, and uses less energy and less ink/toner ink/toner, and they use only paper that has been Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified.
A brief description of any programs employed by the institution to reduce residence hall move-in/move-out waste:
Not applicable
A brief description of any other (non-food) waste minimization strategies employed by the institution:
Reduce: * Encourage students to use their own reusable water bottles instead of buying soft drinks or juice. Plastic water bottles have already been phased out from the Waterfront Campus.
Reduce: * Encourage suppliers to deliver goods in reusable containers, for example, Staples Office Supplies boxes can be returned for reuse.
Styrofoam is banned from home Athletic games.
Left-over prepared food from the Culinary Arts program and The Chef’s House Restaurant are donated on a regular basis to Second Harvest where the food is re-distributed to community agencies in Toronto.
Fabric scraps from Design are collected and sent to the Toronto District School Board where teachers use them for craft and other classroom projects.
A brief description of any food waste audits employed by the institution:
No food waste audits have been carried out per se, however, the collection of pre-consumer food waste and food waste from culinary arts program is tracked via the College's regular waste audits.
A brief description of any programs and/or practices to track and reduce pre-consumer food waste in the form of kitchen food waste, prep waste and spoilage:
The College's food services contractor has a program called "Trim Trax" which is a way of reducing and tracking unused food waste. It allows us to see everything that is unusable before consumption and also over produced foods. This gives us a better way of better planning of food production. It helps the environment by composting what we collect and also maintains food cost by only producing what you need and purchasing less making our carbon footprint smaller in the long run.
A brief description of programs and/or practices to track and reduce post-consumer food waste:
None at present
A brief description of the institution's provision of reusable and/or third party certified compostable to-go containers for to-go food and beverage items (in conjunction with a composting program):
n/a
A brief description of the institution's provision of reusable service ware for “dine in” meals and reusable and/or third party certified compostable service ware for to-go meals (in conjunction with a composting program):
n/a
A brief description of any discounts offered to customers who use reusable containers (e.g. mugs) instead of disposable or compostable containers in to-go food service operations:
The College's cafeteria and Tim Horton's outlets on all campus offer an discount for people who bring their reusable own coffee or tea mug.
A brief description of other dining services waste minimization programs and initiatives:
A copy of the College's Waste Reduction Action is available upon request.
The website URL where information about the institution’s waste minimization initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.