Minutes -Advisory Committee on Sustainability
Tuesday, January 11, 2011 9:30 am
Location: Board of Regents boardroom (A2029)
Attendance: Kris Aubrey, Edwin Bezzina (via teleconference), Nancy Burt, Peter Earle, Melanie Feltham (Sustainability
Office intern), Meghan McCarthy, Arlene McDonald, Jackson McLean, Angela McLoughlin, Shannon O’Dea Dawson,
Kevin O’Leary, James Quinlan, Kieran Smith (via teleconference), Dwayne Taverner, Bob Walsh.
Regrets: Kent Decker, Danielle Jeddore, Josh Lepawsky, Jennifer Lokash, Clemente Miranda, Toby Rivers, Toby Rowe,
Frank Wall.
Chair: James Quinlan Minutes: Nancy Burt
1.0 Call to order and welcome: 9:35 am
2.0 Review/Revise Agenda: Add to New Business: bottled water sold in UC; Chartwells follow-up; parking regulation
booklets.
3.0 Approval of minutes:
November 2010 minutes approved – M. McCarthy /J. McLean.
December 2010 minutes approved – A. McDonald / A. McLoughlin
4.0 Action items from previous meeting:
Action: M. McCarthy will draft letter in support of sustainable purchasing policies and forward to ACS members for input
prior to sending to K. Decker. Not completed – no longer applies.
Action: S. Dawson to check on Furniture Finder story to run in The Gazette. Carried forward.
Action: S. O’Dea Dawson to check on the possibility of having the screens in kiosks throughout campus turned off
overnight and on holidays. Carried forward.
Action: T. Rowe to check on status of printers and photocopiers at library to see if they are double-sided. Carried
Forward.
Action: T. Rowe to send E. Bezzina a copy of the St. John’s campus community garden proposal. Completed.
Action: T. Rowe to contact other departments to determine if there is any interest in participating in Green Report Card.
Carried forward. T. Rowe not available for update at this meeting.
Action: T. Rowe to send revised ToR document (with MISU added) via e-mail to group for input. Carried forward.
Document has gone to Kent Decker and will be distributed once his comments are received.
Action: T. Rowe to distribute draft document on purchasing policy once comments received from ACS members.
Completed. No responses were received from the ACS.
Action: K. Aubrey to draft a letter requesting that any new development on campus be built to LEED standards. Carried
forward.
Future Action Items
Action: K. O’Leary to contact G. Jones re giving a presentation on wind power and possible reductions on MUN hydro
bills. Carried forward to Fall 2011 semester.
5.0 Membership: N. Burt provided update on changes in ACS membership: T. Rivers will remain on the ACS but is not
available for the monthly meetings for this term only; J. Green has been removed from the ACS while on maternity leave,
no replacement or alternate has been designated from the Registrar’s Office; T. Rowe sent an e-mail to all members
requesting they approve outstanding minutes via e-mail as it’s been difficult getting quorum. Only T. Rivers responded.
N. Burt explained that minutes would be approved more quickly if all members looked over the minutes sent out by T.
Rowe monthly and approve or disapprove via e-mail.
6.0 Updates/Actions
a) Purchasing policy: M. McCarthy reported that the purchasing policy working group is starting consultations with
specific groups. Sustainability focus consultation is planned for next week.
b) Food service provider contract: J. Quinlan requested submissions from ACS members regarding issues or concerns
with the current provider to be compiled prior to the next tender call.
c) Waste Audit: J. Quinlan stated that the Sustainability Office has received approval for $14,000 from the MMSB/Harris
Centre Waste Management Research Fund to complete a waste audit. T. Rowe is currently determining start date and is
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looking for a grad student from Environmental Science or Geography Dept. K. Aubrey asked if a new graduate could
apply. Action: N. Burt to check with T. Rowe to see if audit must be completed by a grad student.
d) Baseline Inventory: M. Feltham said she now has all paper stats for the past four years but has not noticed much
change in the paper use at the library over this time. She is still unsure of which printers and photocopiers are defaulted to
double-sided printing in the library. She just received stats on garbage generated on campus and welcomed any
information that members can provide to complete the inventory.
e) Sustainability Fund: See 7.0 c) - Policies subcommittee report.
7.0 Reports
a) Paper and Recycling Subcommittee: No update (no meeting).
b) Sustainable Infrastructure Subcommittee: No update (no meeting).
c) Policies Subcommittee: K. O’Leary stated that T. Rowe spoke with the MUN lawyers about the Sustainability Fund
set-up and the sub-committee has a meeting planned with J. O’Neil of Alumni Affairs on January 20.
d) Marine Institute Sustainability Committee: No update (next meeting Jan. 20).
e) Vice-President’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability (Grenfell Campus): E. Bezzina reported that they’re
waiting on ACOA for the remaining $85,000 required the composting project. They are also working on defaulting all
copiers to double-side, and planning a meeting with the Western Environmental Centre about the possibility of a
community garden.
f) GSU: J. Quinlan stated that the GSU has hired a sustainability co-ordinator who is looking into a system to monitor
energy usage on campus starting with Field Hall. B. Walsh suggested touching base with Don Peach in Facilities
Management re; residences. J. Quinlan requested suggestions for speakers for the upcoming Aldrich Lectures.
g) MUNSU: M. McCarthy reported that the planning meeting for Sustainability Week will be Thursday, January 13 at 1
p.m. in UC2001. She requested input on speakers for the week. S. Dawson suggested S. Pardy from the City of St.
John’s Waste Facility or Leigh Puddister from the MMSB. MUNSU has been working on making changes to the
purchasing policy and focusing on the transit strike.
h) Project Green: J. McLean stated that the Project Green bi-weekly movie screenings will continue with “The 11th
Hour” on Wednesday, January 12 at 7 p.m. in IIC2001. They are also planning the “Dump & Run” to be held at the end of
the semester. They are considering entering the ‘TD Go Green contest’ where student organizations send in a video on
their campus’ biggest green challenge and the winner will receive $100,000 to put towards the initiative. He requested that
any suggestions from members be sent to Project Green. K. O’Leary suggested a composter for the community garden.
B. Walsh suggested speaking with the Grenfell campus as they’ve recently purchased a large composter for their campus.
Action: E. Bezzina will send composter information and contact name to J. McLean.
i) C & C: A. McLoughlin stated that the C & C Sustainability Committee has uploaded a page of IT-related green tips on
their website and they also will be holding a meeting later this month to discuss online forms.. Action: N. Burt to link to
that page from the Sustainability website. Action: A. McLoughlin to invite T. Rowe to next meeting of C&C committee.
j) Community Garden: J. Quinlan stated that the next meeting is on January 12. Planting is planned for this spring.
8.0 New Business
a) Bottled water sales in the UC: J. Quinlan stated that the UC is governed by the ‘University Centre Management
Advisory Committee’ or UMAC and that the contract to supply bottled water can be amended for this building. Action:
M. McCarthy to draft a letter to UMAC requesting the suppliers reduce the bottled water in vending machines in the UC.
b) Chartwell’s statistics: J. Quinlan requested a member to follow up with Chartwell’s to get stats that have been
requested but not received. Action: D. Taverner volunteered to contact Chartwell’s for stats.
c) Parking regulation booklets: K. O’Leary questioned the printing of parking regulation booklets and if this
information could be available online. Action: B. Walsh to speak with Phil Smith of Campus Enforcement and Patrol re.
opting out of receiving a booklet when purchasing a parking permit.
9.0 Events/Announcements
a) Transportation Survey results: J. Quinlan stated that the transportation survey results are now available. Action: T.
Rowe to send transportation survey results to ACS members.
b) Climate Change Presentation: ‘Climate Change and the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions’ with Dr. Thomas F.
Pedersen will be held tomorrow, January 11 at 7 p.m. in IIC2014.
c) The Communicator deadline: S. Dawson stated that content is due mid-February for The Communicator.
Next Meeting: February 8, 2011 in IIC2014.
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