2019 Winners
Perth Hall Residents’ Council
Kimia Raahemifar and Robert Merentsov (team leaders), Swapnil Sharma, Tiffany Lu, Michael Wu, Michael Haswell, Andy Chiang, Ardavan Bonyadibehrouz, Jania Hemnani and Ryan Davey
The Perth Hall Residents’ Council had led a number of environmental initiatives over the past year. Bring a Mug Week is an event in collaboration with the residence cafeteria where students are encouraged to use their own mug in the cafe instead of the plastic disposable cups. Rez Powers Down is an ongoing initiative across campus where students in a week-long event to power down all the lights. The initiative resulted in reducing power consumption at Perth Hall by almost 2 per cent, in the building of 450 students. The resident’s ongoing recycling campaign involves reminding students to use the two-stream recycling system while in residence, as well as in the community. The initiatives put in place by Perth Hall Residents’ Council are about changing the way students think about energy use in their lives, and the positive changes this past year are signs the residence is becoming more environmentally friendly every day.
Ron Vander
Facilities Manager (Building Services)
Robarts Research Institute
Over the past year, Ron Vander has made incredible efforts to make Robarts Research Institute more sustainable by leading numerous seminars in the building to raise awareness of energy usage and pointing out specific examples each person, and lab, can do to make an impact. For example, he convinced lab supervisors to reduce energy usage by changing freezers from minus 80 degrees to minus 70 degrees, and adding motion-sensor lighting in the buildings bathrooms. Vander also pushed for more energy-efficient equipment in the building, reduced energy use during off-peak times and brought in London Hydro representatives to each lab to speak about energy conservation. Fun activities included contest among the seven floors in the building to determine the top energy-saving floor. Vander’s environmental leadership is making a significant impact in one the heaviest users of energy on campus.
Radoslav Dimitrov
Political Science professor
As a diplomat at United Nations Climate Change conferences, Radoslav Dimitrov impacts his students by teaching them to be better global citizens by taking action. Helping negotiate the monumentally important Paris Agreement on Climate Change and having helped redesign the European Union’s climate negotiation strategy this past year, Dimitrov is one just a handful of academics in the world who act as government diplomats in these important negotiations, which places him in a unique position to comment on global climate change politics. His knowledge on the issue is unparalleled, and he inspires students through his stories and lessons to learn more about our changing planet, the consequences of climate change and barriers which stand in the way of effective global climate action. Dimitrov’s consistent and authoritative campus activism over the years has raised awareness on climate change and the importance of international climate policy. His first-hand experience at UN conferences have been a tremendous opportunity for the Western community to learn about climate politics and the decisions that governments make that shape our lives.
Images by Paul Mayne, Western News
