Happy New Year! It’s a new year and a new term, and if you’re still thinking about a New Year’s Resolution, how about considering one to reduce your paper consumption?

Did you know that if you stacked up all the paper used for printing and photocopying by RRC staff and students in one year, the pile would be the 4th tallest tower in the world?

You can check out how we’re doing at this paper display in the NDC Library Hallway.

Over the past couple of years our office, in collaboration with the Print Optimization Working Group, has been working on initiatives to optimize our print environment on campus and reduce paper consumption. With PaperCut, we have the ability to track all printing and its related impacts across the Campus. This allows us to see our progress in terms of how much we’ve reduced printing and the associated financial and environmental impacts.

If you’ve been in the NDC Library Hallway lately, you may have noticed the large RRC Printing by the Numbers display which tracks our paper consumption progress year-over-year by term for staff and student printing and photocopying. With each year, we continue to reduce our paper consumption at the College. Click on the graph below to see how the numbers have stacked up so far!

Let’s keep the ball rolling and make a bigger commitment to reducing our printing in 2020! Come by the Library Hallway Thursday, January 9th between 11 am and 1 pm to pledge a new year’s paper reduction resolution and enter a prize draw. All pledges will be written on recycled paper airplanes and hung up beside our paper display.

Can’t make it on Thursday? Send us your own 2020 paper reduction pledge by email to sustainability@rrc.ca by Friday, January 10th  at noon. We’ll add your pledge to our airplane wall and enter you in the draw.

Need some inspiration? Here are some examples of pledges you could make to reduce your paper consumption in 2020:

1. Print double-sided.
2. Format documents to use less paper – for example use slightly smaller fonts or margins.
3. Reuse one-sided paper for notes, sketches, rough work, etc.
4. Print only the sections you need from long documents.
5. When printing a webpage, copy and paste the text into a word processor so that it is formatted correctly for printing and you only print what you want. Better yet – bookmark the webpage instead of printing it!
6. Print to PDF. If you want to keep a document that isn’t easily saved (i.e. a webpage) select print to PDF and save the document digitally.
7. Use digital resources like LEARN, Dropbox, One Drive and Microsoft Track Changes to share and collaboratively edit documents.
8. Host paperless meetings – share necessary documents for meetings electronically ahead of time and let everyone know that you won’t be providing printed copies. Then people can choose to print only what they really need.
9. Think twice, print once. Before you print, take a moment to consider whether you need to print or if there is another option.
10. Challenge others! Already a proficient paper saver? Challenge your friends and colleagues to make a pledge and reduce their paper consumption.

The Portage Campus was one of the winning offices in 2018.

The December break is fast approaching but before you flip the switch to holiday mode, don’t forget to flip the off switches at the office and give our College’s electronic equipment and appliances a much-needed break too.

Red River College will be closed from December 24 at noon to January 2. During this time our buildings will go into “Un-Occupied Mode” which means lower temperatures, and less energy consumption. But we need your help! By participating in the Seasonal Shutdown Office Challenge your actions will help reduce the environmental and financial impacts of our energy use this break. Plus… by participating you could win a catered coffee break for your office (find out how to enter below).

Help us make sure that Rudolph’s nose is the only thing shining over RRC this holiday season with these three simple steps:

1. DISPOSE OF PERISHABLES

Remove perishables and clean fridges by December 24, 2019

Note: Offices at NDC will not be cleaned during the break. Please place all garbage in the hallways by 11 am on Dec 24th to make sure it is picked up before the the campus is closed.

2. TURN OFF ELECTRONICS & UNPLUG APPLIANCES NOT IN USE

Where it is safe and possible to do so. Please leave printers ON, they’ll go into energy saving mode on their own.

3. TURN OFF LIGHTS

Take the Seasonal Shutdown Office Challenge and Win!

The Library was one of the winning offices in 2018.

Before you dash away into the night this holiday, recruit your colleagues to participate in the Seasonal Shutdown Office Challenge. We’ve made a list and checked it twice, all you have to do is fill it out and shutdown unnecessary lights and equipment before you leave for the break and you will be entered to win 1 of 3 catered coffee breaks for your office!

Complete the Checklist Here

• What is an office? An office can be one person or multiple people in one office space, or across many offices, as long as you are in the same department. You can even challenge other offices within your department to participate as well. Please have just one person per office complete the checklist.
• When can I fill in the form? You can submit the form before December 24 as a pledge to do these actions. Anyone who submits a form before December 23 will receive a reminder email on December 24. You can also fill out the form anytime between December 24 and noon on January 3, 2019.
• Having trouble with the form? Contact Whitney for help.
• The more, the merrier! Recruit participants and help conserve energy at the College by printing and posting Seasonal Shutdown downloadable poster in an office common area.

SMALL ACTIONS CAN HAVE BIG IMPACTS

Institutional Analysis and Planning was one of the winning offices in 2018.

You might think that the few items in your office aren’t going to make much of a difference if they’re shutdown or unplugged for 11 days, but consider this: in the 2018 College-wide plug load inventory of more than 500 staff offices and common areas,  we counted nearly 3,000 personal electronic items (i.e. computers, monitors, speakers, etc.), almost 600 personal appliances (refrigerators, microwaves, etc.), and over 450 lightswitches. 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.

MORE SHUTDOWN TIPS

• Lab equipment: Together with your colleagues identify equipment that can be safely turned off, unplugged, or placed in standby mode over the break.
• Don’t forget to turn off lights and shutdown projectors and AV equipment in any meeting rooms or classrooms that you use.
• Do a department walk-through to ensure valuables are secured and cabinets are locked.
• Activate alarms if applicable before you leave.
• Set yourself a reminder in your calendar or on your phone (or even on a sticky note on the door) to remember to do your seasonal shutdown checklist before you leave.
• Set yourself a reminder for when you return from holidays to plug needed items in or turn them on.
• Don’t forget to water plants and feed and water vermicomposting worms!

HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE HOLIDAY!

The last days of autumn fell quickly and just before the snow landed, ACC baking students joined our Grounds Department to assist with this year’s Grow-A-Row harvest. Led by Grounds Gardener Shivcharan Sandhu, the team broke the RRC record with 4,270lbs of carrots, beets, onions, pumpkins and potatoes. Read More →

NDC

Millions of youth and adult supporters around the world took to the streets last week to raise awareness about climate change and the need for urgent action through the Global Climate Strike. Locally, over 10,000 people attended a General Strike for Climate Action at the Manitoba Legislative Building on Friday, September 27.

We know that the College community cares deeply about climate issues and that we play an important role in our community to bring a climate lens to everything we do. During the week, the College provided opportunities for those wishing to show their solidarity with the Global Climate Strike movement while on campus. We spoke with many students, staff and faculty who shared their concerns with us last week.  Below is a brief summary of some of the ways our College community got involved. Read More →

Check the real-time status of your bus at one of four Transit Screens.

Real Excited about Real-Time Transit Screens 

In a progressive step, Red River College has partnered with Winnipeg Transit and the Students’ Association to install real-time transit information screens across our campuses. These four screens, or passenger information kiosks, keep you ‘outta the dark’ (and out of the cold) while you wait for your bus. We know that transit is a primary commute mode for a large number of our students and staff and we’re excited that this technology will help improve the transit experience for so many. Read More →

We’re in the midst of a global movement. Students around the world are taking to the streets and using the power of their collective voices to raise awareness about climate change and the need for urgent action through the Global Climate Strike.

Locally, Manitoba Youth for Climate Action is holding a week of events, culminating with a General Strike for Climate Action at the Manitoba Legislative Building on Friday, September 27. At the college, we know that so many of our students, staff and faculty care deeply and passionately about climate issues.

We also acknowledge the role we play in our community to bring a climate lens to everything we do. For these reasons, the College will be providing opportunities for faculty, staff and students to show their solidarity with the Global Climate Strike movement while on campus. Read More →

Jaya’s Preserves is back for their second market

The leaves are changing, sweater weather is back and it’s time to mark your calendars for our annual RRC Farmers’ Market!

On Friday, September 20th, the Library Hallway will be full of local vendors offering jewelry, candles, art, personal care products, sweet treats, produce and everything you need to usher in fall. And don’t forget to pick up your jars of our very own 2019 RRC Creekside honey. The Market is open to all RRC staff, faculty, students and the public. Read More →

Staff must authenticate at the device to release their print job

In May 2018, the Print Optimization Working Group (POWG) implemented the Print Release feature on College Xerox devices – aka “Swipe to Release”. This feature required all staff to login at the device to release their print jobs after sending them to the print queue. There were two main reasons for the implementation of this feature:

1. Security: Releasing your print job at the device means no more “print and sprint” to make sure you get to the printer to retrieve confidential documents as soon as they come out of the printer. This feature helps to ensure that printed documents, especially those with confidential information, are not inadvertently seen or retrieved by other parties.

Read More →

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.

Read More →

RED Forum is one of our favourite days of the year. Not only do we get to meet and engage with people from around the College, but there is always something new and interesting to do and learn.

Large events can have large environmental impacts which is why we have partnered with RED Forum to help make it greener. Planning an event with a small environmental footprint can be hard without the right tools and resources to help you. We’ll be launching a Green Event Guide soon to help you green your College event, but in the meantime our partnership with RED Forum is a great opportunity to not only demonstrate the College’s commitment to sustainability but to also showcase some of the ways to help make any event a little greener.

To help RED Forum Go Green we need your help! Here’s a list of what you can do to green your RED Forum experience and what we’re doing too:

Read More →