Canada's Greenest Employers (2025) - Flipbook - Page 34
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CANADA'S GREENEST EMPLOYERS (2025)
Durham College entices people to pilot green practices
D
uring orientation
week at the Oshawa
and Whitby
campuses of
Ontario’s Durham
College of Applied Arts and
Technology, every student
receives a package that includes a
reusable water bottle with stickers
to personalize it. Then, they’re
encouraged to use the hydration
stations across campus. “Clean,
safe water should be free and
accessible to everyone,” says
Durham's president, Dr. Elaine
Popp.
Getting everyone on board is
part of creating a culture of
positive change.
and region. “Getting everyone on
board is part of creating a culture
of positive change,” says Amanda
Blenkhorn, the director of
ancillary services who oversees
sustainability. “Then you need
people who can drive things
across the finish line.”
Part of Blenkhorn’s cultural
background is Indigenous, and
she finds peace in nature. “I’ve
always been very respectful of the
land and Mother Earth,” she says.
“So, this work is a perfect fit for
me.”
Blenkhorn chairs the Green
Impact Team, comprising faculty,
staff and students from across the
college. “We’re like-minded people
who are passionate about
conservation and want to make a
difference,” she says. “We don’t
work in silos — we’re looking for
ambassadors to bring forth ideas
and share information back to
their own areas.”
Durham’s administration fully
supports piloting new projects.
For example, Blenkhorn recently
got the green light to develop a
recycling and repurposing
program for disposable gloves
used in food services, labs and
housekeeping. Currently
contracting out to a company in
Québec, the college’s students are
investigating taking the program
in-house.
“It’s still in the testing phase but
already so powerful,” says
Blenkhorn. “Even if it doesn’t
work, we’re trying new things and
coming together as a community
to share this passion.”
Popp is a proponent of pilot
projects. “Innovation stems from
trying to model the behaviours we
want to champion and to call out
what we could improve,” she says.
She credits “amazing” donor
partners for helping fund
sustainable initiatives, such as an
organic regeneration compost
system in which 90 per cent of
food waste gets recycled.
In January, Durham launched a
food-services program where
customers pay a deposit to receive
their meal in a reusable container,
then get the full deposit back
when they return the container.
This initiative diverts packaging
from landfills. “It takes a while for
— Amanda Blenkhorn
Director, Ancillary Services
Durham College, which offers a
broad range of applied arts and
technology programs, has a long
history of implementing
environmentally friendly
practices, as well as featuring
sustainability courses in its
curriculum. When employees
asked for more bike racks and
bike-repair stations across
campus, senior leaders listened.
“We try to demonstrate how to live
those values, not just tick the
boxes,” says Popp, who cycles the
34 kilometres from home to
campus whenever she can.
Through employee surveys,
town halls, and pop-up and
visioning sessions, senior leaders
have learned that sustainability is
an important consideration for
their people, community partners
Students in the horticulture and culinary programs at Durham College prioritize the field-to-fork approach to
farming.
