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Lambton College is proud to announce that sustainability and green initiatives are now an important component of the corporate strategic plan. A new strategic plan was put in place in 2006, and since then, the College has pulled together as a team to shrink its ecological footprint.
From an operating perspective, the school has been working hard to reduce costs and environmental impacts by upgrading facilities and finding suppliers who are also thinking green. One of the most recent changes was the installation of a green roof. The green roof is one initiative the college is using to reduce heating and cooling requirements. The College has also begun purchasing office furniture from Calstone Inc. This furniture supplier was chosen because of its guarantee that 0% of all manufactured materials will ever go to a landfill. Calstone is also working hard in a variety of other ways to reduce its environmental footprint.
Some less noticeable but equally as important upgrades have also been made on campus including the installation of high efficiency boilers, smaller cooling towers, and waterless urinals to reduce water consumption. In an effort to reduce energy consumption the College has installed T8s, T5s and LEDs to replace old T12s.
As an educational institute, Lambton College is working on implementing ways to educate the community on a variety of ways to live green. In September 2008, the Suncor Sustainability Centre opened to the community. The Centre acts as a great resource for members of Sarnia-Lambton. Aside from a library and computer and internet access the Centre also rents out equipment you can use to monitor your ecological footprint. For example, members of the community can rent “Kill A Watt” meters to measure their current energy consumption. Only through knowing what you are using can individuals reduce, reuse and recycle.
In the future, Lambton will be building a Sustainable Smart Home. This home will be used to showcase how green solutions can be incorporated into the everyday home. The Smart Home will also be an excellent learning tool for the community and Lambton students.
In addition to the physical changes on campus, Lambton is also holding regular seminars and presentations focused on sustainable initiatives. Green courses are also being added to every program offered at Lambton and can be taken through General Education Electives through the Part-Time Studies department.
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