Sustainability

News

Academic Offices – Join the Summer Seasonal Shutdown Office Challenge!

May 28, 2019

Photos with four people holding travel mugs and the Seasonal Shutdown poster

Portage Campus was one of the winners in the 2018 Winter Seasonal Shutdown

Summer is finally on it’s way! You may be getting amped-up for beach days and drinks on the patio, but before you go into out-of-office mode let’s make sure the College’s electronic equipment and appliances are getting a much needed energy break.

In our 2018 Plug Load Inventory, we learned that there are many academic offices that are vacant over the summer months. That’s a lot of potential for unnecessary energy consumption, either through leaving items and lights on, or through standby (phantom) power that many electronic items draw even when turned off. But you can help! By participating in the Summer Seasonal Shutdown Office Challenge your actions can help to achieve energy savings. Plus… by participating you could win a catered coffee break for your office. Simply complete the checklist by June 30, 2019, perform the actions before you leave and you will be entered in the prize draw.

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Earth Week: State of Sustainability

April 15, 2019

Monday, April 22nd is Earth Day!

Earth Day is a worldwide event to celebrate and show appreciation for our planet, and demonstrate support for a sustainable tomorrow. Since it’s the only Earth we’ve got, let’s celebrate for more than just one day. The Sustainability Office is pleased to host our 9th annual State of Sustainability, and have a great line-up of free and fascinating events, running April 23 – May 9th!

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Power Down for Earth Hour and Win!

March 18, 2019

Someone turning off their office lights

Power down at work and home for Earth Hour.

Take part in Earth Hour 2019 and help us in shine a light on climate change.  Take the pledge and join millions of people around the world in powering down lights and electronics for one hour on Saturday, March 30 from 8:30 – 9:30PM local time.

Power Down at the College

Red River College is powering down for Earth Hour and we need your help. Non-essential lights will be turned off during the hour, and we ask that before you leave for the weekend you shut down your computers, unplug unnecessary electronics and turn off your lights. Read More →

Join the Seasonal Shutdown Office Challenge

December 9, 2018

Fill in the checklist hereThe hustle and bustle of the holidays requires a lot of energy! But while you’re amped-up getting everything done, let’s make sure the College’s electronic equipment and appliances are getting a much needed energy break.

Red River College is closed from December 21 to January 2. During this time the College’s major building systems will run in “Un-Occupied Mode”, which means lower temperatures and, in most cases, minimal ventilation.  This will help reduce our energy consumption, and our environmental footprint. But you can help too! By participating in the Seasonal Shutdown Office Challenge your actions can help to achieve higher energy savings. Plus… by participating you could win a catered coffee break for your office. Read More →

Lunch & Learn: Inventory Unplugged

November 19, 2018

We’re pleased to announce that the Plug Load Inventory is now complete! Our small team traveled around the College over the last few months, poking our heads into offices and staff common areas and taking note of all items powered by means of an AC outlet. Now we begin the hard work of creating and implementing impactful programs to help us reduce our environmental and financial footprints and to ensure a safe and comfortable work environment for us all.

But before we begin this next phase, we want to share our findings with the College community and provide some information on what we plan to do next to help RRC reduce our plug load energy consumption. Please bring your lunch and join us at our:

Lunch & Learn: Inventory Unplugged
Tuesday, Nov. 27, 12-1 pm
eTV Studio (GM33), Notre Dame Campus
Livestream: live.etvlabs.com

—  Refreshments  provided  — Read More →

Come to the 1st Ever “Made by RRC” Market

November 13, 2018

It’s that time of year! Time for RRC’s  4th  Farmers’ (and Makers) Market! But, this time around the market is going to be done a bit differently.

There are so many amazing local vendors that have connections to the College (by being current students and staff, or College alumni) that we decided to showcase these incredible talents with our first ever “Made by RRC” Market! This special market will exclusively feature the local artistic talents of RRC staff, students and grads.

When: Thursday, November 29th  11:00 am – 1:30 pm
Where: Library Hallway – Notre Dame Campus (2055 Notre Dame Avenue)

Come on by, get some of your holiday shopping done, and support RRC talent! Check out the list of this years vendors:

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Refuse, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle this Waste Reduction Week – and Always!

October 16, 2018

RRC is celebrating Waste Reduction Week from Monday October 22nd to Friday October 26th to engage and raise awareness on how much waste we as individuals create, and the easy changes we can make to reduce this. This is also an opportunity to celebrate the changes we have made, and the impacts both of these can make on the health of our planet environmentally, socially and economically.

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Hooray for the Harvest!

September 27, 2018

At Red River College, we’re growing more than innovative minds. Throughout the spring, summer and fall, the College’s Grounds department went above and beyond their regular responsibilities to maintain a vegetable garden at our Notre Dame Campus. On this 30’ X 60’ plot of land, we grew a variety of vegetables to donate to Winnipeg Harvest in support of the corporate Grow-A-Row initiative – a program that’s collected more than 4 million pounds of produce since its inception in 1986.

Last week we assembled an enthusiastic crew of students and staff (including our Prez, Paul Vogt) to join the Grounds department in the harvest. Once all the digging, trimming, scrubbing and boxing was complete, we were thrilled to donate a whopping 3,100 lbs of carrots, beets, onions potatoes to Harvest, with a portion going straight to the RRC Students’ Association food bank. Click here to see the full gallery of the 2018 Grow-A-Row Harvest.

 

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We’re #1.. FOUR years in a row!

June 26, 2018

Well, that’s a wrap! We rolled through June full speed, blasting through our many successful Bike Week events, finishing in FIRST PLACE in this years Commuter Challenge, for the fourth year in a row.

The RRC Sustainability Office and Mayor Brian Bowman on his Pit Stop visit.

That’s right, Red River College received the Commuter Challenge first place award for highest participation in our workplace category (500-999 employees), coming in at a total of 24% of our workplace. Because of your collective efforts to commute 16,914.67 kms sustainably, RRC staff and faculty….

Burned 151,742.26 calories!

Saved 1,192.59 Litres of fuel!

Avoided 2,255.56 kgs of Co2!

We learned that the highest number of RRC employees use transit, followed by cycling. Thank you to all who participated, we hope you continue to reap the environmental, physical, mental and financial benefits that active and sustainable transportation has to offer. Check out the Commuter Challenge results to see how Manitoba did as a whole, and how RRC compares within our City. Read More →

RRC Polytech campuses are located on the lands of Anishinaabe, Ininiwak, Anishininew, Dakota, and Dené, and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis.

We recognize and honour Treaty 3 Territory Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, the source of Winnipeg’s clean drinking water. In addition, we acknowledge Treaty Territories which provide us with access to electricity we use in both our personal and professional lives.

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