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TRU HONOURED

TRU recognized for environmental protection and stewardship efforts

Jun 15, 2024 | 5:30 PM

KAMLOOPS – Thompson Rivers University (TRU) has been recognized as a leader in environmental protection and stewardship.

The university’s sustainability office is the recipient of the 2024 Recycling Council of BC’s (RCBC) Environmental Award in the public sector category.

The award was presented at RCBC’s annual general meeting and awards event on Thursday (June 13) in Vancouver.

TRU was recognized for its ongoing commitment to attaining zero waste, university staff and students’ decade-long commitment to sustainability and voluntarily piloting and leading initiatives that have recently become either common practice or government-mandated.

“This is a great honour to be recognized by an organization like the RCBC, one of the pioneer environmental organizations in B.C.,” said James Gordon, manager of sustainability programs for TRU. “All of TRU should feel very proud since there are many within our community who work very hard to manage our waste streams as responsibly as possible.

“A special shout out to sustainability programs and support co-ordinator Anna Rogers, who heads up our Zero Waste Program. She’s really taken the program to the next level by implementing many initiatives to keep us on track to meet our ambitious goal of being truly a zero-waste campus, diverting 95 per cent of waste away from landfills by 2035.”

The annual RCBC awards event brings together government policy experts, private sector organizations, non-profits, community groups and academia to discuss environmental challenges, solutions and policy ideas.

Founded in 1974, RCBC is Canada’s longest-serving recycling council.

TRU’s sustainability office team received national attention at the recent Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) Connection Conference in Calgary, winning the 2024 Gold Leadership Excellence Award for Managerial Staff.

TRU also received national and international attention earlier this year at World Congress 2023 in Montreal, receiving the bronze award from CICan for excellence in sustainable development and the bronze award from the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics for sustainable development goals.