4 years running
Mohawk named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers
HAMILTON, ONTARIO - Mohawk College has been named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for the fourth year in a row by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers.
Mohawk is one of four colleges in Canada to make the 2017 list, and one of three colleges in Ontario. Canada’s Greenest Employers is an editorial competition that recognizes the employers that lead the nation in creating a culture of environmental awareness. A complete list of this year’s winners is available on Canada’s Top 100 website.
“Mohawk is committed to conducting its business in a way that positively impacts people, the environment and the economy. We’re working with students, employees and the community to develop programs that encourage people to live sustainably and to consider the environment in their day to day lives.”
Fast Facts:
- This year’s competition recognized 70 Canadian employers.
- Mohawk is the only Hamilton employer on this year’s list.
- Mohawk’s first Environmental Management Plan committed to a 20 per cent reduction of 2007 baseline carbon emissions by the year 2020. Mohawk exceeded this target reaching a 24 per cent reduction by 2014 and set a new target of a 30 per cent reduction by 2020.
- Mohawk’s commitment to sustainability starts at the top. The Mohawk Environmental Management Plan Steering Committee is responsible for ensuring the college lives up to the commitments identified in its Environmental Management and Strategic plans. Committee membership includes the college’s Vice President Corporate Services and other members of the senior management team.
- Mohawk’s Sustainability Office is leading the development of a local food procurement model for all 24 Ontario colleges in partnership with the Greenbelt Fund and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The new model will increase the amount of Ontario-grown food served on college campuses.
- Mohawk College partnered with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Canada in 2016 to create a dedicated pollinator-friendly rooftop garden at its Fennell Campus. The WWF provided $6,000 in funding to support the project through its Go Wild community grant, presented by Telus.
- Mohawk has also been recognized for its efforts to build a more sustainable campus. In 2018, the college will open The Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation. The Centre is designed to be the region’s first net-zero energy institutional building and will showcase leading edge technologies. In 2016, the Canada Green Building Council announced that the JCP&I would be the pilot that sets the standard for the Council’s new Zero Carbon Buildings Framework.
- The college’s Sustainability Office oversees numerous activities and initiatives aimed at encouraging faculty, staff and students to live sustainably. These include programs promoting alternative transit, an on-campus community-based garden with plots available for students, staff and the community, and a seasonal mobile Farm Stand that sells fresh, locally grown produce.
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For more information, contact:
Jay Robb, Director of Communications, 905.979.8893, jay.robb@mohawkcollege.ca
Mohawk College educates and serves more than 29,500 full-time, part-time, apprenticeship and international students at three main campuses in Hamilton, Ontario and learning hubs across Hamilton through City School by Mohawk, and at the College’s Centre for Aviation Technology at the Hamilton International Airport. Mohawk is among the top five colleges for applied research in Canada. It has been named one of Canada’s greenest employers seven years in a row, holds a GOLD STARS rating from AASHE for sustainability achievements and is home to the country’s largest and first institutional building to receive dual certification for Zero Carbon Building Framework design and performance for The Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation. More than 135,000 people have graduated from Mohawk since it was founded.