5 minute read
Outreach
In 2018-2019, TISED hosted and supported events to actively share expertise from sustainability leaders with the academic community, students, and general public. These events promote knowledge production and discussion with decision-makers, industry, researchers, students, and the public to increase engagement on sustainability-based solutions and science-informed policy.
TISED hosted & co-hosted events
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Circular Economy Conference
The Circular Economy Conference was held in collaboration with the Bensadoun School of Retail Management.
On the 16th of November 2018, TISED hosted a conference on the Circular Economy of Retailing in partnership with the Bensadoun School of Retail Management. The aim of the conference was to provide a forum for both professionals and academics, from leading firms and universities, to foster discussions about the latest research, industry practices and approaches, as well as trends and challenges related to the implementation of the circular economy in the context of retail.
The conference helped facilitate equipping students with the “tools, knowledge and skills they will need to be prepared to meet the demands of the retail industry today and to help shape its future. If we do this – together – we can ensure that the retail industry innovates in ways that both create jobs and businesses and promote sustainable consumption and healthier societies.” (Professor Suzanne Fortier, Principal and Vice Chancellor of McGill University).
To facilitate the cross-pollination of ideas, the event was highly interdisciplinary and featured speakers from a wide range of disciplines. The event started with opening remarks by Isabelle Bajeux, Dean of the Desautels Faculty of Management and Professor Saibal Ray, Academic Director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management.
The first talk was titled ‘Opportunities and Challenges for Electronics in a Circular Economy’ and was on how to deal with end-of-life product takebacks in the electronics industry. This was delivered by Carrie Snyder, Former Director of closed loop supply chain for Cisco, presently a circular economy consultant. This was followed by a talk by Kathleen McLaughlin, Chief Sustainability Officer at Walmart and President of the Walmart Foundation titled ‘Walmart’s end-to-end approach to addressing food waste’ on the various sustainability initiatives in Walmart with special emphasis on what the company is doing in the context of sustainable food production, procurement and consumption.
The next talk was ‘The Energy Use and Environmental Impacts of Retail and Delivery Options’ on the historical and recent studies of the overall lifecycle, energy use and environmental impacts of buying and delivering goods by Professor H. Scott Matthews from Carnegie Mellon University. This was followed by a coffee break that helped facilitate discussion on the talks so far.
After the short refreshing break, Wedad ElMaghraby, Professor at the University of Maryland gave an insightful talk on how market places can be formed and used for more effective trade of used products from electronics and (fast)fashion sectors titled ‘A Market Design Perspective to Address Waste in Electronics and Fast Fashion.’ This was followed by a talk titled ‘Sustainable Last-Mile Logistics in Global Megacities’ on the environmental and urban planning issues related to last-mile delivery, an aspect of growing importance in retailing by Matthias Winkenbach, Center for Transportation & Logistics (CTL) at MIT & Director of the MIT Megacity Logistics Lab, Center for Transportation & Logistics.
The final talk of the night was ‘Fostering Innovation in Retail in the Context of the Circular Economy’ on the various initiatives Canadian Tire has for more sustainable store operations and circular economy as it relates to durable goods. (ex: tires) delivered by Robyn Collver, Senior Vice President of Risk and Regulatory Affairs for Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited.
The event ended with a networking cocktail with participants of the Global Retail Challenge that gave everyone a chance to engage in a broader discussion around the talks at the conference as well as generally around a transition to a greener more circular economy.
Life Cycle Assessment: A Sustainable Discussion Hosted by SEAM (Sustainability in Engineering at McGill)
SEAM hosted a discussion on Life Cycle Assessment on November 21. Dr. Anne-Marie Boulay, professor for SEAD 520 Life Cycle-Based Environmental Footprinting, met with engineering students and gave a short presentation on life-cycle assessment. After the presentation, Dr. Boulay stayed and continued a dialogue on sustainability and its integration into everyday life.
The Sixth Annual Trottier Symposium on Sustainable Engineering, Energy and Design was held at the Grand Auditorium of the Bibliothèque Nationale du Quebec on the evening of April 17, 2019. This year’s theme was climate change and the question of discussion was whether society passively suffers from its effects or does society reinvent itself to tackle the problem. The event was well attended as the Grand Auditorium was filled to its full capacity of almost 300 attendees. Two speakers were invited to first talk about the issue from their perspective in front of the full audience. This was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Prof. Normand Mousseau, the Academic Director of the Trottier Institute of Energy (Institut de l’énergie Trottier).
SPEAKER | Valérie Masson-Delmotte - Global Climatologist, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group, Paris, France: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is tasked with studying the climate risks our societies face in the near and medium future. It collects scientific research from around the world and experts think about strategies to enable societies to adapt. IPCC publications are the main scientific input to international climate negotiations under the auspices of the UN. Ms. Masson-Delmotte, using slides from her group’s report, discusses climate change, its impacts, and how to mitigate it.
SPEAKER | Mario Tremblay – Vice President, Corporate and Public Affairs – Fonds de solidarité FTQ: As a member of the Executive Committee, Mr. Tremblay is also Chair of the Sustainable Development Committee. Highly committed to a human-managed energy transition, with respect for the community and the workers, he has at heart the social justice issues inherent in the ongoing changes.
He recently participated in COP24 in Poland, the official United Nations event dedicated to supporting the implementation of national commitments under the Paris Agreement. He also sat on the
advisory committee of the Just Transition Guide for Investors, released last December by the prestigious Grantham Institute for Climate Change.
Mr. Tremblay discusses the solutions to be implemented, by showing how to act concretely and, above all, in a sustainable and equitable manner for the whole of society.
Photo Credit: Denis Bernier
