by Tori Clowater
World Vision Canada is well known for relief, development and advocacy, but thanks to a group of staff committed to the environment—unofficially termed the “Green Committee”—we’re becoming environmental leaders as well.
Over the last few years, World Vision has made great strides to reduce its ecological footprint, or impact on the environment. While simple at first, these actions have had a noticeable effect.
Taking Action
At the helm of the Green Committee is Stacia Vong-Hogeterp. “I started at World Vision a little over ten years ago,” said Stacia, “and I noticed that we were doing little things, like using Styrofoam plates and cups, or plastic forks, that weren’t good for the environment.”
As a productive response, Stacia began meeting with other likeminded employees, and formed the green committee.
The group’s first action was an environmental assessment, which included assessing the waste produced by employees—in other words, they went “dumpster diving”. Sorting through the garbage, they made an astounding discovery. “Only one small bag was actually garbage,” the committee learned, while the rest could have been recycled, composted or replaced with something reusable.
With this in mind, the Green Committee began to act. “People are overwhelmed by the notion of being a tree hugger. I wanted to break it into small bits, so that people could take it one piece at a time and make it a personal application.” They called on the employees of World Vision to take these actions; donating plates and mugs in order to get rid of styrofoam, setting up an online application for employees to connect for carpools and putting recycling bins in every working space. Most recently, the committee created a community garden with 26 plots on adjacent land.
Future Plans
They aren’t done yet; when asked about the next steps for the committee, Stacia says , “We need to have an official position on environmental responsibility, get rid of plastic utensils, establish a more visible recycling system and promote more green space on our unused land.”
Her rationale for showing green leadership at an organization like World Vision is simple, “One of our core values is that we are stewards. We should be stewards of our environment as well. We are an NGO, and we are focused on the future. We can be a model for neighbouring businesses.” Stacia also hopes to make these behaviours regular practices for World Vision staff. “We need to take small acts of green and make sure that this becomes a behaviour change, that it becomes personal.”
You Can Do It Too
As a summer intern working at World Vision, it is encouraging and inspiring to see leadership on such an essential issue. Here are a few sites that might help you take the next step of environmental responsibility:
