Advocacy & Research
By focusing on actions within the Student’s Union and on-campus Student Groups we hope to add capacity to meeting significant developments for the University Alberta and Edmonton community.
Share your ideas with us!
The Research & Advocacy Team
The Advocacy side of the Research & Advocacy Team works hard to develop a better understanding of the sustainability issues that are of interest to students. They collaborate with on-campus initiatives, organizations and groups to determine which campaigns are likely to see success on campus. The Advocacy Team then acts to advocate on behalf of these issues.
The specific advocacy project changes each academic year.
The Research side of the Research & Advocacy Team is responsible for providing research support for Sustain SU’s current initiatives, and for exploring the viability of potential projects. The team is expected to create and submit one original paper/report to an academic publication each academic year.
In order to connect community and enhance sustainability research on campus, we are looking to enhance our blog into a community portal or research hub.
The Outreach Team
The OT develops engagement activities and promotes our projects and events, while supporting student initiatives when possible and encouraging more people to become involved. These promotional activities include but are not limited to campaign work, tabling, event staffing, sales, postering, whiteboard writing, flash mobs, and podcasting!
The OT acts as external relations, and members should represent SSU at a minimum of two events hosted by campus organizations and/or student groups per month. OT members should be prepared to present on SSU projects at public events.
Check out our blog managed by OT volunteers!
Sustain SU aims to provide unique research opportunities, foster opportunities for research collaborations, and to showcase community research and work in sustainability. Our research is guided by the SU Sustainability Summary Report
The Sustainability Project Team
Members of the SPT are involved in special projects that aim to embody the three pillars of sustainability: Economy, Environment and Equity. This past year, there were 2 sub-teams within the Sustainability Project Team: Renewable Energy and Sustainable Food Packaging.
Renewable Energy: This team researched topics such as motion activated light sources in SUB, LED lights in SUB, and solar energy possibilities. They worked closely with the SUB building managers and investigated options available to the U of A and what has been done in the past.
Sustainable Food Packaging: This team was responsible for communicating with SUB vendors and researching different sustainable food packaging options. There was a focus on spreading awareness about sustainable food packaging with emphasis on proper waste disposal and waste management.
Working Groups
Social and Environmental Responsibility Committee
The Social and Environmental Responsibility Committee (SERC) acts to enhance the Students’ Union in its ongoing efforts to be socially and environmentally responsible in the administrative, political, and business arenas. Click here to view the committee's terms of reference and to learn more about the committee.
Research Partners
Sustain SU aims to maintain partnerships with University affiliates who promote academic and experiential research opportunities for undergraduates. We are currently working with Community Service Learning and will become more involved with the Undergraduate Research Initiative (URI), and Learning Experiences through Applied Projects (LEAP) programs throughout the academic year.
Phone
780-492-1648
Monday to Friday
Best available by appointment.
Sustain SU Office
0-81 Student Life Central desk
Lower Level
Students' Union Building
University of Alberta
8900 - 114 Street NW
Edmonton, AB
T6G 2J7
