Université Laval
ER-3: Sustainability in New Student Orientation

The Student Recruitment Office turns the spotlight on sustainability at two of its orientation sessions for students. In addition to the measures listed below, it runs a sustainable development information booth and offers an optional presentation on sustainable development education.

Description of orientation activities:

The Student Recruitment Office actively seeks to minimize negative impacts on resources and the environment when it organizes events. From planning to post-mortem, it takes the measures to make Université Laval orientations environmentally responsible and advertise them as such. To that end, the Student Recruitment Office:
- holds the reception booth in a building with multi-material recovery facilities (compostable materials, plastic/glass/metal, paper);
- provides free coach transportation to orientation from many areas of Québec;
- has a “green team” guide visitors and emphasize the environmentally responsible nature of orientation;
- publishes one leaflet and one poster on recycled paper to promote the two orientations;
- produces signage that can be used more than one year;
- registers the event with a carpooling program whose easy-to-use tool connects people interested in carpooling;
- uses public transit for campus tours and shuttles into town;
- manages registration (exhibitors and transportation) online;
- gives visitors cloth bags;
- helps fund student committees by hiring committee members to work the reception booth;
- reserves dorm rooms for visitors who have travelled long distances;
- operates food service with a view to eliminating waste and unnecessary packaging.

The Student Recruitment Office also recommends that exhibitors copy and hand out paper documents responsibly on an as-needed basis.