About

 VERiS’ Values and Guiding Principles / Approaches

I)       VERiS’ Values:

VERiS’s work is guided by values of environmental protection, wellbeing and thriving for all, and social justice. We are working towards societal conditions aligned with these values through collaborative applied research projects, shifting mindsets through education and knowledge mobilization, influencing policy and regulations, and supporting emerging scholars in their journey to become effective social change agents. Our work is guided by the wisdom of Indigenous knowledge, and we apply an anti-colonial perspective to our work. We work at community, regional, national, and international levels in furthering these objectives.

1. Environmental Protection: Closely connected to Wellbeing/Thriving, this proposed value seeks to emphasizes VERIS’ commitment to and belief in our interconnectedness with the land, nature and all other beings. Such a commitment propels us to view our sustainability efforts as aiming to contribute to the wellbeing of all beings, as opposed to only humans, now and in the future. VERiS approaches seek to learn from, draw on, and closely adhere to aligned Indigenous worldviews and teachings regarding stewardship, relationality, and reciprocity.
2. Wellbeing and Thriving: While a cross-cutting value informing VERiS vision and efforts, it is important for VERiS to have this value as a standalone value. This is a reminder that one of our key drivers is to contribute to wellbeing of all, including and especially traditionally and historically marginalized and equity-seeking/deserving groups. Our hope it to contribute to a future where all belong and can thrive.
3. Social Justice and Equity: VERiS strongly commits to being an ally and contributing to social justice visions and efforts. This is inspired by and informed by social justice and equity visions, including Indigenous-inspired intergenerational justice – including the seven-generation view of the Haudenosaunee* – as well as intra-generational justice. We also recognize the importance of inter-species justice, recognizing our interdependency with other species and nature more generally. Within this value, we seek to also highlight and draw on related concepts, which clearly overlap and reinforce each other, such as: distributive justice, restorative justice, procedural justice, recognition, capabilities, as well as historical justice. We work with and alongside those who promote supportive and equitable economy and structures.

I)       VERiS’ Guiding Principles and Approaches:

1. Inclusivity and Accessibility: We seek for all our efforts, interactions, consultations, and communications to offer safe and brave spaces that do not create any barriers that might impede the full and meaningful participation of individuals and groups. We seek for all our efforts to be inclusive and accessible for all individuals regardless of socio-economic background, educational level, gender, race, ethnicity, indigeneity, age, sexual orientation, physical ability, and any other identity or background characteristics. We make an intentional effort to fully include traditionally marginalized voices and perspectives and pay close attention to power dynamics.
2. Systems Thinking/Systems Change/Approaches: We seek to approach issues in holistic ways that offers an in-depth and critical analysis of various dimensions, players, and forces shaping an issue across multiple layers (mental models, culture, relationships, power, structures, and practices). We are guided by Indigenous knowledge on relational systems thinking** that emphasizes our interconnectedness with nature and each other and recognizes the importance of reciprocity. This guides the development of research projects and programs that do address and seek to achieve systemic change.
3. Collaborative Approaches: In all our programming, we seek to work with various system actors in transdisciplinary and multi-sector collaborations and partnerships. We also seek to bridge perspectives through braided/two-eyes seeing approaches. We strive to apply the best science and practices for developing, managing, and sustaining meaningful, inclusive, and equitable partnerships and collaborations with close attention to issues of social power. We value different types of knowledges (especially Indigenous knowledge and lived expertise) and aim to make space for multiple perspectives as represented in the two-eyed seeing approach of Mi’kmaw Elder Albert Marshall***.
4. Community-engaged Approaches: Closely connected to the above, we seek to work with community, especially with traditionally and history marginalized and underrepresented groups. With an aim to empower and ensure ownership of communities and community partners in all our projects, we seek to work with community members through the whole cycle of all our projects and make long-term commitments to the partners we are working with.
5. Promote Research Excellence for Impact and Relevance: We are committed to developing and implementing research projects that have high impact both within and outside academia and that are relevant to community and organizations needs and priorities, as well as the research and policymaking communities. Relatedly, we seek to learn from as well as contribute to building the capacity of our partners, whenever needed.

* “In their decision making [among the nations of the Haudenosaunee] Chiefs consider how present day decisions will impact their descendants. Nations are taught to respect the world in which they live as they are borrowing it from future generations.”
From: https://www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.com/values/
** Relational Systems Thinking is grounded in Indigenous relationality and was described by Melanie Goodchild (Goodchild, 2021).
** "Two-Eyed Seeing refers to learning to see from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous ways of knowing and from the other eye with the strengths of Western ways of knowing and to using both of these eyes together” (Bartlett, Marshall, & Marshall, 2012, p. 335).  

Structure

Affiliated with Wilfrid Laurier University, we are governed by a diverse board of community and university leaders, led by the Centre’s Director Dr. Manuel Riemer and Associate Director Dr. Alexis Buettgen. We operate as an interdisciplinary centre supported with funds by the Office of Research Services, the Faculty of Science, and an endowment provided by the Viessmann family.
There are five research streams operating under the VERiS umbrella:

• Culture of Sustainability Stream,
• European Research Stream,
• Youth and Education Stream,
• Disability, Climate Change and the Green Economy
• Flourishing Enterprise Stream, which is affiliated with the Flourishing Enterprise Institute (FEI).

Each of these streams includes university and community fellows, students, collaborators, and partner organizations. In addition, we host the Municipalities Adapting in Response to Complexity (MARC) network and the Wele’g Dwennimmen Roots of Survivance Institute (Wele’g). The Centre’s operation is supported by our Administrative Manager E. Desmarchelier, Laurier’s Offices of Research Services and Research Finance, and multiple research assistants and associates.

History

Since its inception in 2000, the Viessmann European Research Centre has devoted itself to fostering and disseminating important research about Europe. Starting in 2016, the centre shifted its orientation toward research and knowledge related to environmental sustainability and community resilience. The Viessmann family provided the original endowment in support of the Viessmann centre. The Viessmann corporation and family have shown significant leadership in addressing climate change and promoting sustainability. Dr. Hans Viessmann, for example, served on the advisory committee for the German Energy Transition plan, working directly with the German chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel. You can learn more about their commitment to become carbon-neutral and their sustainability initiatives at Viessmann.ca.

In 2018, this transition moved into its next phase with a new director, board, name, brand and home to complement the Centre’s new focus. The newly named Viessmann Centre for Engagement and Research in Sustainability (VERiS) maintains its connection to Europe and through our international networks, aims to build upon ground-breaking examples of sustainability in Europe. In 2018, VERiS became part of EvolvGREEN, a new innovation hub for sustainability and the advancement of the ‘Green Economy’ in Canada and beyond.

In January 2019, VERiS and our EvolvGREEN partners moved into the iconic and award winning evolv1 building. evolv1, the development of which was initiated by the environmental NGO Sustainable Waterloo Region, was developed and is owned by the Cora Group (both organizations are VERiS partners). evolv1 is Canada’s first commercial, carbon neutral and net-positive energy, multi-tenant office building and is the result of an elaborate collaboration of multiple partners and significant community support. You can learn more about the unique story of this community-initiated innovative building in this report.  This report is one research output among several others that resulted from our longitudinal study in evolv1 on cultures of sustainability.

In the same year, VERiS incubated the Flourishing Enterprise Institute (FEI), which was initiated by FEI Director Randy Sa’d and Director of Research Dr. Peter Jones, together with several other systemically oriented social innovators. The FEI is affiliated with VERiS, although operating independently. In 2020, we began the development of the Municipalities Adapting in Response to Complexity (MARC) network, which is supported by VERiS and co-led with REFOCUS, ICLEI World Secretariat, and the FEI. In October 2023, our research in evolv1 concluded and we moved into the Community Hub on Laurier’s Waterloo campus, where we are co-housed with our close collaborator, the Centre for Community Research, Learning, and Action (CCRLA). In 2024, Dr. Ann Marie Beals established the new Wele’g Dwennimmen Roots of Survivance institute to promote Indigenous ways of being, knowing, and survivance, emphasizing holistic approaches to health and wellbeing. The institute aims to create a space for academic inquiry and community engagement that honours and respects Indigenous knowledge systems, fostering connections among diverse communities while prioritizing Indigenous health and wellbeing. Through collaborative initiatives, Wele’g Roots of Survivance seeks to nurture multifaceted commitments to sustaining Mother Earth, recognizing the importance of promoting the interconnectedness of all living and non-living beings.