Following on the heels of the  Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ announcement to its members to take action against bottled water, the University of Winnipeg has become the first university campus in Canada to ban the selling of bottled water.

“While plastic bottles are not environmentally sustainable, they also undermine the quality of public water,” said Vinay Iyer, University of Winnipeg Students’ Association President (pictured in red). “We encourage our students to drink safe and free public drinking water as an alternative to expensive bottled water.”

Located in downtown Winnipeg, UWinnipeg is a progressive, liberal arts-minded university with a history of supporting ecological and social activism. [It also happens to be the ecoblogist's alma matter...]

During student elections held last month, The University of Winnipeg Students’ Association held a referendum on campus asking students if they would support the elimination of plastic water bottles. Almost three quarters, or 74.8 per cent, of those who voted said, “Yes”.

Each year, approximately 38,400 plastic water bottles were being sold in the cafeterias and vending machines on campus. Now, the Students’ Association will partner with the University to provide all first year students with free reusable bottles in their orientation package.

The water-bottle ban builds on other important green initiatives including the campus-wide composting program introduced last August. Now, with its recycling program, UWinnipeg is diverting over 70% of materials that would otherwise be lost to landfills as waste.

I was startled by this headline, when I read it in the Toronto Star yesterday.

Startled, but supportive. Until I realized the actual headline was a little misleading. The article ended up inciting a small firestorm on the comment boards as readers began to hypothesize what a world without bottled water might look like…

photo by Kristin Slota

Yes, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities spoke out against bottled water this past weekend encouraging Canadian cities and towns Saturday to phase out the sale and purchase of bottled water…on municipal property.

Kudos FCM, for promoting the drinking of tap water over bottled water and leading by example on your turf.

When it’s your business to do right by the environment sometimes a company can fall short in other areas… Environmental employers may expect their employees to live and breathe ‘the cause’ creating an overworked or underpaid staff; job security and benefits may depend on funding from year to year; and workplace safety is another valuable concern for companies that render construction, retrofitting or recycling services to name a few.

Yes, employee satisfaction is incredibly important to the culture of a workplace and to the services the company provides. With that in mind ECO Canada wants to recognize the employers who get it right with their 2009 Environmental Employer of the Year Awards. This year, the final six were chosen based on results of a company employee satisfaction survey. A committee of HR professionals then evaluates both the organization’s HR practices and employee satisfaction results to determine a winner. Want to know who’s been shortlisted?

I’ve often wondered about my coworkers habits outside the workplace. Do they make an effort to conserve energy at home? Do they secretly only drink bottled water?

Since I work for an environmental organization, you would assume that my coworkers are extremely environmentally aware and vigilant, but let me assure you that even people who work in the field do not make the best choices all of the time.

In my office, there’s always someone who refuses to print double-sided pages or chooses the garbage bin over the recycling bin. But to be fair, we have done a few exemplary things – like designate a couple of small office printers to use only scrap paper – and collect and dump compost responsibly (even though our office building does not provide the service).

Turning your office green involves buy-in from upper management, but it also requires achievable goals, determination, and a little creativity to make it fun. If you are looking for some ideas to bring to your next workplace meeting, click here for ways to take eco-action in the workplace.