EXPERIMENT WITH SUSTAINABILITY

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Prof. - Dr. Bruno Dyck

ASPER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA
CORPORATE SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
LEAD 3030
Submitted by:
IPSHA JOHAR | 7781916|
johari@myumanitoba.ca

Abstract: The aim of this report is to understand and develop a strategy on a residential
building to improve the sustainability outcomes of the household activities. The selected
residential unit is a typical wood framed single family dwelling with 5 members.
Awareness, Action and Advancement environmental management and reporting system
framework has been used. Global Footprint Network calculator was used to calculate the
ecological footprint to get aware of the areas needed to be worked upon and the action plan
was developed subjectively from discussion with housemates initially for two weeks with
the intention of carrying it forward.
Introduction

Climate change and global warming are caused as a direct result of human
activities. The greenhouse gases (GHG) that are emitted in large quantities in the
atmosphere because of human activities are namely: Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane
(CH4), and Nitrous Oxide (N2O). The use of fossil fuel as energy source in dwellings
and transportation sector, waste generation, water usage and water waste pattern are
among the human activities that contributes negatively to the climate change and
global warming. These not only impact the environment negatively but also affect the
social balance of society. According to Manaf, 2014- “With the annual rise in waste
production and heavy dependence on landfilling as disposal, it is just a matter of time
before significant problems of space limitations, health, and environmental issues hit
severely”. City of Winnipeg reported in 2017 that in 2015, over 230,000 tonnes waste and
recyclable materials were produced by the residential area in Winnipeg (Waste
Management & Diversion, 2017). Further, according to Statistics Canada the top two
sectors that consumed
But now days, there is an awareness among people about their activities and its
impacts on environment. The joined endeavors of the City and all Winnipeggers have
delivered some positive results. From 2011 to 2016, on a per capita basis, garbage
collected has diminished by 22%, recycling has increased by 17%. City of Winnipeg has
set up a waste diversion target by 50% or more, to reduce the yearly amount of solid
waste going to the landfill (Waste Management & Diversion, 2017). Furthermore, I
believe it is a responsibility of all Individuals to hold themselves accountable on a more
personal level and contribute towards sustainability. The rationale behind this
experiment was to Identify the negative externalities generated by a typical household
to address the high priority items, to prepare a plan and simulate the changes using an
online ecological footprint calculator.

There are various frameworks available that can be implemented. Three main
fundamentals that are common in all EMS frameworks Planning loop, Action loop,
and Continuous improvement loop. These processes are “loops” as they should be
conducted repeatedly (Short Guide to Environmental Management Systems (EMS),
2000). the Awareness, Action, Advancement (AAA) Environmental Management
and Reporting System is used to Identify the activities that influence the
Environment, develop an action plan for improvement and achievement of goals,
and further plans for continuous new improvements and targets. The cycle with
revisions and addition of new policies (Hughey, 2006).