Tag: University of Alberta

Carbon49 - a blog on sustainability for Canadian businesses: Sustainability Becoming Required Course In MBA

Leading business schools in Canada and around the world are adding sustainability to their required MBA curricula. Oxford in the U.K., INSEAD in France, and York University in Canada are some of the business schools with required courses in sustainability. This can be seen as an indicator that sustainability has become a core business competency needed to effectively compete in today’s and tomorrow’s environments.

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Straight Outta Edmonton: Deliberation on Campus Sustainability (DoCS)

Want to join student leaders from across the campus in an innovative project that will help create sustainability policy at the University of Alberta?

If so, you are invited to contribute to sustainability planning at the University of Alberta. Deliberation on Campus Sustainability (DoCS) is a project that brings together University of Alberta students, regardless of background and experience, to participate in discussions that will help inform sustainability policy on campus and inspire community engagement across all campuses. All you have to do is show up and share your views.

Attend Phase 1 of deliberations on one of the following sessions:

  • Monday January 24th: 11:00 am- 2:30pm Lister Hall, Wild Rose Room
  • Tuesday January 25th: 2:30pm-6:00pm Lister Hall, Wild Rose Room
  • Wednesday January 26: 5:00-8:30pm Lister Hall, Wild Rose Room

Please email Lisa Dockman (lisa.dockman@ualberta.ca) which session you would like to attend.

No matter how knowledgeable or experienced you are in campus sustainability, your opinion is vital to this process and your involvement is important service for the University community. Please join us for a hearty meal and a meaningful conversation about what key issues exist on campus.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is DoCS?

DoCS is a collaborative project that is working to integrate students, staff and faculty into the University’s sustainability strategy in the most democratic way possible. DoCS is a process that involves a series of conversations or dialogues, made up of a diverse group of the campus community, focused on how we can create and contribute to a more sustainable campus. Emerging from a desire to see positive progression towards environmental, social and economic responsibility, our team is determined to design and implement a process where a series of dialogues affects change and is experienced by the participants as meaningful.

How will my input be used?

All contributions to the DoCS process will inform the end products which include a Campus Sustainability Plan and a toolkit to encourage the use of deliberative decision making processes on campus. All participants will have the opportunity to witness the outcomes and products of their effort.

What is the time commitment DoCS requires?

By signing up today you are committing to attend one 3.5 hour deliberation, and in March you will be invited to attend a similar follow up conversation.

If I am unable to attend this session, how can I learn more?

Please attend our DoCS session during International Week, it will be on Monday January 31st at 4pm in Education South 129.

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Straight Outta Edmonton: WOA Profile: Lorraine Hoffman — Where Industry Meets Ancestry

“We’re all capitalists here. We’re not anti-industry, but we do strive to find a balance. We need to find sustainable ways of doing things.”

— Lorraine Hoffman, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Councillor


Work of Arts, the University of Alberta Faculty of Arts Alumni Magazine, has a great profile on Lorraine Hoffman, an alumni who is currently a councilor for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN).

The piece highlights the complex relationship First Nation communities have with the oilsands. As Hoffman outlines, communities like Fort Chipewyan have benefited tremendously from partnering with industry. Yet, development has also led to the emergence of significant social issues, which have forced many to speak out.

Hoffman dismisses the notion that such criticisms indicate an anti-development bias from First Nation communities. In reality, these communities see development as a positive force, providing jobs and boosting local economies. However, there is a feeling that the current development approach is tilted towards industry at the expense of the environment and other local concerns.

What Hoffman calls for is a balance between development and these associated environmental, public health, and social concerns — similar to the language industry and the province uses to defend the current development policy that communities like Fort Chipewyan oppose.

Read the entire article: “Where Industry Meets Ancestry” by Benjamin Freeland.

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