LaSalle College, Going Greener and Greener!

On the LaSalle College campus, the Environment Committee is making progress! Here's a round-up of the green initiatives undertaken by the College in recent years.

Certification Cégep Vert du Québec

Created in 2008, the Environment Committee joined ENvironnement JEUnesse's Cégep Vert du Québec initiative the following year.

The Cégep Vert du Québec certification is a sustainable management certification for college-level institutions. It calls for consultation with a view to continuous improvement and responsible and sustainable development.

Having started in 2010 at Level 1 of certification, LaSalle College reached in 2013 the level of excellence it has maintained since then.

An eco-responsible cafeteria

In 2019, the LaSalle à Manger cafeteria underwent major renovations. LaSalle College took the opportunity to add:

• Fair trade/organic coffee
• Suppliers in Quebec
• Compostable or recyclable containers only

Ecostations have been installed on all floors. Composting has been introduced at LaSalle à Manger as well as at the school restaurant La Classe and in the educational kitchens.

Straws and bottled water were banned in 2019 and several fountains were added.

Towards green building management

First of all, sound paper management has been implemented: suspension of the printed student agenda, default duplex option and Omnivox printing module for teachers.

In addition, the building's systems were reviewed to optimize energy use (electricity, gas, ventilation, etc.). Victory! Energy savings have been noted since then.

When renovating the building, the College chose a floor covering that washes with water and does not require wax.

Since 2012, constant work has been done to orient the College's purchases towards eco-responsible products. For example, cleaning products are phosphate-free and a good proportion is biodegradable.

Metering systems have been installed for most of the products used by the maintenance team and the school restaurant to avoid excessive use that could result in the release of high concentrations of these products into the water system.

As far as the lighting of the building is concerned, there is a gradual switch to LEDs since 2014.

In 2015, electric car terminals were added to the College's underground parking lot.

Finally, the Environment Committee continues to move forward by presenting new institutional policies for sustainable development.

Green activities

Things are happening at the Collège! The Environment Committee has initiated several awareness-raising activities. 

Every year since 2008 a Green Week is organized. One of its features is the "Give or Take" kiosk, where students and teachers can bring in used items and leave with something they like. 

Since 2012, the Environment Committee has been collecting foodstuffs to create Christmas baskets, in partnership with Moisson Montréal.

Each year, in collaboration with students from the Arts, Letters and Communication program, an exhibition is held on the theme of nature.

Finally, many lectures were given, such as: 

• Environmental Issues (Climate Reality Canada)
• Food recovery and recycling (La Tablée des Chefs)
• Local and ethical manufacturing (Sonia Paradis from La fabrique éthique and Katia Dion from Agence Ka)

Want to be part of the change? Contact the Environment Committee at environnement@collegelasalle.com.