Laurier’s Brantford campus honoured for sustainability initiatives with City of Brantford Green Business Award

July 12, 2024

A honey bee apiary project and a Freestore that keeps used household goods out of landfill are among the sustainability initiatives that have earned Wilfrid Laurier University’s Brantford campus a Green Business Award from the City of Brantford.

The award was recently presented by the city’s Environmental and Sustainability Policy Advisory Committee in recognition of environmentally sustainable operations, practices, services and programs that benefit Brantford.

Laurier’s nomination highlighted several achievements:

• The Laurier Honey Bee Project, which installed apiaries with 20,000 bees on the roof of One Market, is addressing pollinator and bee decline through sustainable beekeeping. Laurier Hawk Honey is produced and sold through the operation. Laurier’s Brantford campus plans to pursue a Bee Campus designation.
• Since opening in One Market in fall 2023, the Brantford campus Laurier Freestore has provided more than 5,300 pounds of donated household items, kitchenware and school supplies to students at no charge. Collected during the annual Move Out program, these items benefit students while also staying out of landfill.
• The Sustainable Hawk Fund provides up to $30,000 annually for sustainability projects in the Laurier community. Supported projects include the Honey Bee Project; a Make and Take Mason Jars food security and nutrition initiative; kits and storage packs for people experiencing homelessness; and a “Cut the Crap” art installation at One Market featuring 26 tiles depicting waste reduction methods.
• A garden space at the Brantford campus Indigenous Student Centre will be a hub for food sovereignty and education in food cultivation and harvesting.
• Capital projects, retrofits and sustainable practices have achieved a nearly 24% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 2009 levels across buildings on all of Laurier’s campuses. On the Brantford campus, achievements include a LEED Silver designation for the Research and Academic Centre, including low-flow water fixtures and a revitalized living wall with 200 new plants; an outdoor organic waste collection receptacle; the use of green cleaning products since 2018; installation of EV charging stations; and the replacement of a water heater and boiler in Post House residence with energy-efficient heat pumps.
• Student-led groups including the Sustainability and Social Change Council for first-year students and EcoHawks Brantford club have led events, programs and resources to support a greener campus.

“Receiving the Green Business Award from the City of Brantford is a testament to Laurier’s commitment to creating a thriving, sustainable community,” says Eric Meliton, manager of Laurier’s Sustainability Office. “This achievement reflects the collective efforts of many students, staff and faculty who are helping to introduce environmentally conscious practices into Laurier’s programs and operations.”

Laurier’s ambitious sustainability targets include reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The university is guided by its Sustainability Action Plan for 2023-28 and is working toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Read more about Laurier’s progress on its Sustainability Action Plan in the 2023-24 Annual Sustainability Report.