Title: A Partnership for Addressing Equity and Justice within Municipal Climate Action Planning

Co-Leads: Manuel Riemer and Randy Sa’d

Funding: SSHRC Connection Grant, VERiS, City of Kitchener

Rationale and Objectives

Municipalities and other local authorities play a critical role in achieving the targets of the 2016 Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Many have already developed comprehensive corporate and/or community climate action plans (CAP) that lay out specific steps for reducing Greenhouse Gases (GHG) across sectors. There can be unintended consequences of these climate actions prioritized by municipalities on our societal and ecological systems, however, especially within already marginalized communities. Existing inequities may actually be made worse rather than reduced. In addition, the potential for impactful co-benefits of climate action (e.g. community ownership of local regenerative energy projects) is often not being realized. Now, municipalities, their stakeholders and partners are taking steps towards addressing sustainability justice more systematically, including rethinking approaches to strategic planning and creating opportunities to develop more sustainable and equitable communities. It is our goal to support them in identifying, testing, and scaling innovative approaches and tools.

What are we doing?

VERiS and its affiliated Flourishing Enterprise Institute (FEI) have initiated a partnership designed to address equity and accessibility gaps within municipal climate action planning through collaboration among four key stakeholder groups: Municipal actors, equity-seeking groups, academics, and (social) innovators. The initial group of partners established recently received a highly ranked Connection Grant from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

For the purpose of developing a strong and diverse partnership within Canada and internally VERiS will be hosting a series of three virtual 90-minute workshops featuring keynote presentations, panel discussions, and breakout discussions this fall. Participants will have the opportunity to provide input and feedback, and engage with other partners by leveraging an online engagement platform.

The workshops seek to:

1. Exchange knowledge, identify gaps and barriers to the integration of sustainability justice into municipal climate action plans and establish how to tap into the strengths of existing organizational networks
2. Explore how innovative and more holistic management approaches and tools can be applied to change the way city planning is generally practiced, creating the potential for a more fundamental shift towards more integrated, holistic and inclusive thinking
3. Assess the potential and lay the foundation for a joint longitudinal multi-case and multi-national research program focused on exemplary case studies and innovative approaches

These workshops will identity a potential shared research focus, create a general approach for a joint research program, and generate the structure for a learning community designed to facilitate ongoing exchange, co-learning, and collaboration. Ultimately, this exchange is intended to set the foundation for the launch of a long-term applied research program led and supported by a diverse collective of committed partners.

Current and Past Partners

Municipal Actors

• Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention
• Canadian Urban Sustainability Practitioners
• City of Kitchener
• City of Thunder Bay
• City of Toronto
• Clean Air Partnership
• Climate Action Waterloo Region
• District of Ucluelet
• Dufferin County
• ICLEI
• REEP Green Solutions
• Region of Peel
• Regional Municipality of Durham
• Sustainable Waterloo Region

Equity Seeking Groups

• ABC Network of Waterloo Region
• Agirre Lehendakaria Center
• Canadian Centre on Disability Studies Inc. o/a Eviance
• David Suzuki Foundation
• Future Ancestors Services Inc.
• Kinbridge Community Association
• North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre
• Progress Toronto
• Sustainability Through an Inclusive Lens
• The Integrated Community Development Group

Academics

• Balsillie School of International Affairs
• Colgate University
• Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
• Georgian College
• Humber College
• Macalester College, Department of Environmental Studies
• McMaster University
• OCAD University
• Ryerson University
• Tufts University
• University of Auckland, School of Psychology
• University of Groningen
• University of Toronto
• University of Waterloo
• Viessmann Centre for Research and Engagement in Sustainability
• Wilfrid Laurier University

Innovators

• Centre for Sustainable Organizations
• Co-operative Enterprises
• EIT Climate-KIC
• Flourishing Enterprise Institute
• FlourishX
• Green Beacon
• International WELL Building Institute
• Kennedy Consulting
• Local2Global Solutions
• McConnell Foundation
• r3.0 
• Shareable.net
• The Roots Collaborative
• Transformation by Design

Title: Expanding a Knowledge Network for Flourishing Organizations

PI: Manuel Riemer, Wilfrid Laurier University

Co-Applicants: Peter Jones, Sean Geobey

Collaborator: Mark McElroy, Antony Upward, Nicole Norris, Pourya Salehi, Exmond DeCruz, Bill Baue, Randy Sa'd

Project Leads: Randy Sa’dand Tim Posselt

Funding: SSHRC Connection Grant and Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA), and Conestoga College

Rationale and Objectives

From the COVID-19 pandemic to social unrest and the climate emergency, senior leaders are finding themselves responding to polycrises due to accelerating change and a widening range of complex, interconnected challenges. To this date, however, there are only limited generally accepted tools and theories for managing effective responses to high levels of complexity. In response, a diverse and connected community of innovation-focused researchers and management professionals have combined scientific knowledge with innovative management approaches grounded in systems-thinking to develop Systemic Management Innovations (SMIs). SMIs include new knowledge, methods and tools designed to match the increasing complexity leaders face and support achieving a sustainable and just future.  
 
In 2019, a core group of these researchers, innovators and management professionals founded the Flourishing Enterprise Institute (FEI), and in doing so, transitioned from an informal community of practice to an established research and innovation institute. The FEI is dedicated to catalyzing the development and mobilization of Systemic Management Innovations (SMIs) by facilitating transdisciplinary applied research in the field and widely disseminating new knowledge. With a growing recognition among private, public, and non-profit organizational leaders for the need to adapt management practices towards systemic approaches, the development of the FEI has come to a critical juncture. The opportunity has emerged for the FEI to shift from a niche community of professionals collectively focused on developing the next generation of management innovation, to one with a broad appeal and the potential to penetrate the mainstream. By focusing on widely and more effectively mobilizing knowledge to new audiences, the FEI has the potential to capture this opportunity and with it, generate a far greater impact.  

What are we doing?

Our team has designed a comprehensive outreach strategy with the following specific objectives:  

1. Strengthen and expand our network by connecting with new audiences of researchers, innovators and practitioners, and further establishing the FEI by implementing membership and recognition structures, soliciting new partners, affiliates and fellows, and securing additional network nodes (e.g., in Sweden, Germany and Mexico).
2. Create knowledge-focused content (e.g., case studies, scoping reviews, knowledge and policy briefs, practical tools) by synthesizing existing research that is valuable to our network and the field of SMIs, and profiling research conducted by the FEI as well as network members.  
3. Expand outreach and build community through increased programming across a range of complementary forms of media designed to more effectively engage new and more diverse audiences (community meetings, website development, conference presentations, webinars, social media posts, blogs, videos, etc.). 

Title: Design Impact on Social Power: A Study of Open Innovation Platforms and Marginalized Resident Groups

PI: Timon Sengewald (ACM SIGMIS Member) – FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany

Co-Applicants: Tim Posselt – FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany, Manuel Riemer – Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada

Funding: Association of Information Systems SIGMIS

Rationale and Objectives

This research proposal focuses on the transformation of cities into “smart cities” over the past two decades. Municipalities are leveraging digital technologies to enhance services, foster citizen participation in decision-making, and improve urban life. However, questions arise about the equitable distribution of these benefits, with concerns that certain groups may be disadvantaged, while others, such as private companies, may gain more influence.

The proposal also explores the introduction of open innovation platforms in some municipalities, aiming to increase cooperation within the city. These platforms, exemplified by the Amsterdam Smart City initiative, facilitate collaboration among citizens to address mutual challenges. However, the research also acknowledges potential shortcomings and risks, such as the marginalization of certain resident groups and the shift in power balance among residents. The proposed research aims to investigate these issues further.

1. How do key dimensions of social power relate to the system design features of an
open innovation platform? 
2. How can intentional considerations of social power be utilized to reduce power differentials among social groups by actively promoting social inclusion of traditionally marginalized voices?

What are we doing?

We will use a single case study design to answer the research questions.
Phase 1 we will do a literature review to develop a framework of how different
dimensions of power relate to digital technologies used in open innovation platforms.
Phase 2 this framework will be used to conduct an analysis of social power within one
specific exemplary open innovation platform.
Phase 3 concludes with qualitative interviews with users from four potentially marginalized groups within the selected online platform from Phase 2 as well as experts representing these groups: For the qualitative part of the study, we plan to interview people belonging or advocating of four
different marginalized groups:

1. Seniors,
2. People experiencing homelessness,
3. People with disabilities and
4. Immigrants and refugees.

Co-Leads: Randy Sa’d and Peter Jones

Research Streams: FEI, VERiS General

Rationale and Objectives

The current year, characterized by the COVID-19 crisis and continuing pressure of climate change effects, offers a rare period during which to observe and develop organizational responses to complex crisis drivers. Especially at the municipal level, which planning scholars identify as the most effective locus of climate and environmental planning (Wheeler, 2013, Measham, et al., 2013), we may have access to response strategies and can advise on better strategy in complex planning. The City of Kitchener, Ontario has partnered with the Flourishing Enterprise Institute (FEI) @ VERiS to complete an applied research study as part of addressing the challenges they currently face. Kitchener is the fastest growing city in Canada, a high-tech industry center, and recognized for its leadership in public engagement, climate action planning, storm water management, economic development, community well-being and more.

While facing the immediate task of responding to short-term impacts of the pandemic, Kitchener leaders recognize the municipal planning practices they currently employ require change to cope with the increasingly volatile and uncertain situation emerging environmentally and societally.  In recovering from COVID-19 and building resiliency in anticipation of devastating events that will predictably occur more frequently in the future, Kitchener is proactively seeking to make fundamental changes to strategic planning and senior leadership practices consistent with anticipatory governance (Quay, 2010). 

Supporting this ambition, Kitchener is the first municipality in Canada to engage with REFOCUS, a non-profit cooperative that trains leadership teams to apply their Enterprise Evolution program. Having led a similar engagement of Enterprise Evolution in 2018 with a leading European innovation cluster serving roughly 100 enterprises, the Global Centre of Expertise - Norwegian Offshore Drilling and Engineering (GCE NODE).  An elongated, experiential learning program was delivered to engage GCE NODE members, drawing on a mix of independent learning, facilitated workshops and ongoing coaching sessions to support leadership teams in developing strategic sustainability management capabilities. Kitchener will actively participate with REFOCUS by collaboratively tailoring the programming and tools to be employed for a municipal context and will co-produce the case study for knowledge mobilization from which other municipalities can learn. The FEI’s research plan proposes to assess and study through action learning during the training and transition promised during this set of interactions.

What are we doing?

The COVID-19 PEG proposal defines a research approach based on new thinking in strategic management, collaborative decision making, and complexity to assess decision mindsets, planning models, and management approaches that promise best-fit responses to emerging situational complexity.  The research addresses the need to transform municipal strategic planning for complex social and ecological climate scenarios, enabling a just recovery from COVID-19, and to develop preparedness and resilience within Kitchener to effectively adapt to a complex of future risks. An action case study, based on an action learning approach will be used with Kitchener to address the following research objectives:

1. Assess the experience of Kitchener’s senior leadership team participation in the Business Evolution learning program, for understanding mindsets and individual outcomes (Experience);
2. Explore the factors that mediate effective decision making for complex municipal sustainability and how leadership and planners are addressing those factors (Mediational Factors); and
3. Explore new planning models and assess the changes in perceived capability for leadership sense making of complex situations for future-directed strategic sustainability planning (Impact).

Lead: Bianca Dreyer

Funding: VERiS

If cities are built for people, then how well cities can meet the needs of all its residents now and into the future is an important indicator of their success. Yet, cities find themselves in an unprecedented growth-related (ecological) crisis that could “well undermine the prospects for a global civilization” (Rees, 2009, p. 300). Thus, there has been an increasing demand for urban transformation towards sustainable, healthy and just places for a growing urban population (UN 2012, UN 2015, WBGU, 2016; Skodra, 2018).

This project aims to develop an in-depth, socio-ecological understanding of the transformative potential of urban just sustainability projects in the area of affordable housing. The project is an in-depth case study focused on exploring how participatory co-production projects can address ecological and social needs. Affordable housing presents an opportunity to pursue just sustainabilities, as buildings are an important target area for climate change mitigation, given that they account for 40% of global energy use and 33% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (UNEP, 2012), and 30% of cost of housing is wrapped up in energy.

The project partner and case study subject is Critical Concrete (CC), a non-for-profit organization in Porto, Portugal, that connects communities with urban development professionals, architects, construction experts, academics, social workers and a team of multidisciplinary students in active and collaborative community-based revitalization planning. CC engaged in co-production projects of affordable housing complexes in 4 Summer Schools (2016, 17, 18, and 19) with students, local communities and content mentors. 

The study objectives are to:

1. Explore and articulate how co-production of affordable housing provides an example of transformation for urban just sustainability.
2. Assess the processes that facilitate/ impede transformation across stakeholder groups and settings. Understand the short- and long-term effect of co-production (as a social practice) on other socially and ecologically unsustainable practices for CC members (students, staff and mentors).
3. Assess how the CC program can inform future program development and knowledge mobilization activities in the area of sustainability justice and recommend improvements for CC programming.

Co-Leads: Jennifer Dobai, Manuel Riemer and Bianca Dreyer

Funding: NSERC, Wilfrid Laurier University, VERiS

Rationale and Objectives

To work towards sustainability justice a “better quality of life for all, now and into the future, in a just and equitable manner, whilst living within the limits of supporting ecosystems” (Agyeman et al., 2003, p.5) municipalities and local authorities can create climate action plans. Sustainability justice links the planning, implementation, and assessment of sustainability and climate mitigation and adaptation initiatives with considerations of equity and accessibility. While - in principal - sustainability as a concept includes clear links to social justice and most actors working in this space embrace values of equity and accessibility, in practice opportunities to create co-benefits and change systems more holistically are often missed, while in other cases it actually exacerbates existing inequalities or produces new ones. This project aims to support Waterloo Region in planning their climate action plan to ensure social justice and equity considerations are included in the plan and planning process, along with greenhouse gas emission reductions.

What are we doing?

To address sustainability justice in the context of municipal climate action planning, our team is working with ClimateActionWR, which is a collaboration between local organizations and community members focused on climate change mitigation led by Reep Green Solutions and Sustainable Waterloo Region. To ensure social justice and equity considerations are included in the upcoming Climate Action Plan for Waterloo Region we have provided evidence-based recommendations through a living literature review document, a guiding checklist and visual model of sustainability justice. The former document was created for the purpose of reviewing the literature and existing case studies to support municipal climate action planning teams who are interested in fully integrating sustainability justice (SJ) into their strategic planning. The guiding checklist is a supporting document that includes key questions for decision-makers to consider in all stages of municipal climate action planning: the overall framing (e.g., mandate, mission and value statements), process (e.g., through representation and participation), approaches and strategies to change (e.g., free installation of solar panels for low income housing), and evaluation and assessment (especially impact on equity-seeking groups). We hope the review can be used to strengthen local capacity and become a tool for advocacy to create better conditions for local actors to meaningfully address social justice and equity in their planning.

We will continue to support ClimateActionWR by providing evidence-based research and reviewing their plan documents to ensure social justice and equity is at the forefront of their plan and planning.

In addition to supporting ClimateActionWR in their climate action planning, we are conducting a study focused on understanding how the core groups involved in climate action planning in the Waterloo Region at the municipal leadership level are considering social justice and equity in their strategic planning as well as more generally how they conceptualize the idea of sustainability justice in the context of their work. The results from this study will be used to further support ClimateActionWR in their planning and inform our larger project Towards Just Transitions: A Partnership for Addressing Equity and Justice within Municipal Climate Action Planning. Specifically, the objectives of the proposed research are to determine.

How groups perceive issues of justice and equity in climate action planning.
To what extent is justice and equity represented in climate action planning, if at all.
What are the reasons for justice and equity being or not being represented in planning?

Co-Leads: Manuel Riemer, Stephanie Whitney, and Hillary Scanlon (STIL Executive Director)

Project Manager: Alicia Bevan

Stream: VERiS General

Funding: SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant 

Background Information

Disabled populations remain overlooked within academic literature on social sustainability and community-level policy and planning geared towards enhancing societal participation in sustainability initiatives. Upwards of 1.5 million Canadians are currently living with Vision Loss (VL); however, the ability of the VL population to participate in sustainability initiatives (e.g., recycling, community gardening, etc) is often hindered by poor design and other physical barriers. These roadblocks to participation represent disability discrimination and a violation of basic human rights. Reaching Canada’s sustainability goals (including achievement of international commitments) will require inclusive approaches that enable every individual (including those living with disabilities) to participate in solutions to sustainability problems. This project works to address the barriers to sustainability that exist for individuals living with VL .

What are we doing?

VERiS has partnered with Sustainability Through an Inclusive Lens (STIL) Solutions, a for-profit social enterprise. STIL was established by a visually-impaired Laurier student to help enhance the ability of individuals with disabilities to participate in sustainability initiatives through technological innovation and inclusive policy development. Working with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) and other key organizations, STIL has developed a WasteFinder system – a series of visual and tactile indicators on the ground adjacent to waste disposal units that assist persons with VL to independently and correctly dispose of their waste.

In this project, VERiS will work with STIL on a case study of the WasteFinder system, which will be piloted at Wilfrid Laurier University. The study will employ a mixed method study design (i.e., quantitative, qualitative methods) that will be conducted pre- and post-installation to address the following objectives:

1. Assess the ability of the WasteFinder to enhance the ability of VL individuals to independently and correctly dispose of their waste and their perception of and participation in sustainability
2. Ascertain whether the installation of the WasteFinder system impacts the awareness of inclusivity and accessibility opportunities, in the context of sustainable practices, of the broader Laurier community.
   
   More than a mere assessment of the WasteFinder, the study will contribute to the nascent body of research knowledge on the disability, sustainability and inclusivity nexus.

Co-Leads: Felix Munger and Manuel Riemer

Funding: SSHRC Connection Grant

With over 80% of Canadians living in cities, these urban centers are extremely vulnerable to climate change because of their high exposure and unique sensitivities. National, provincial and municipal authorities are focusing on improving the ability of cities to mitigate and adapt to climate change, however there are blind spots when it comes to community safety and security. Efforts to advance climate action have included consultations with experts from urban planning, health, disaster management, infrastructure, and insurance sectors, while security and safety experts have, thus far, been largely excluded from these discussions. Existing research suggests that the effects of climate change on violence and safety/security maybe the repercussions of short-term shocks and longer-term stressors that may threaten to overwhelm policing, emergency, and social welfare responses. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting emergency measures foreshadow how lack of preparedness for emergencies---such as those associated with climate change threats---undermine community safety and reveal security blind spots like safety at home. This interdisciplinary, multi-stakeholder collaboration sets the foundation for a comprehensive approach that explores wide-ranging climate change risks, together with plausible public safety outcomes in a municipal context.

Investigators: Manuel Riemer, Simon Coulombe, Joel Marcus, Paul Parker, Bianca Dreyer, Stephanie Whitney, Allan Taylor

The built environment has been identified as an important means for addressing the negative effects of climate change. Buildings are estimated to account for 40% of global energy use and 33% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A promising approach is the development of high-performance green office buildings (HPGBs), that is, office buildings designed with the goal of a net-zero or net-positive impact on the environment (e.g. more energy produced than used; zero non-recyclable waste), and which aim to support human wellbeing and productivity. Despite the promise of HPGBs, their actual performance often does not match design expectations. This performance gap has to do with how the buildings are operated, used, and experienced by those managing and inhabiting them.

Understanding these human factors within HPGBs is critical to achieve their intended contribution to lowering Canada’s environmental footprint and achieve the potential of these building to contribute to the wellbeing of their occupants. Our team and partners seize a unique opportunity to study these human factors in the context of evolv1, Canada’s first net-positive commercial office building. evolv1 is a 110,000 sq. ft. building in Waterloo, Ontario, that models leading-edge practice for the integration of regenerative building system design with the human/social dynamics of building occupants.

Our comprehensive three-year longitudinal mixed-method case study focuses on four key objectives:

1. Explore how a COS develops over time and can be fostered.
2. Understand how the use of and experience in the evolv1 changes over time and how this relates to wellbeing and organizational success.
3. Develop and evaluate a state-of-the art building management and feedback system.
4. Assess the impact and value of evolv1 on and for the local community.

Investigators: Bianca Dreyer, Joel Marcus, Manuel Riemer and Simon Coulombe

The team is currently developing reliable and valid measures for assessing a culture of sustainability in specific organizational contexts (e.g. a business, institution or office building).

Realizing the full potential of green-certified government office buildings in promoting employee mental health.

Dr. Manuel Riemer, Wilfrid Laurier University

Poor employee mental health has become one of Canada’s most prevalent and costly occupational health issues. It is well established that better indoor environments in office buildings are correlated with more satisfied occupants and with higher levels of wellbeing. It is also commonly assumed that green-certified office buildings, such as the new Edmonton Tower, provide superior working environments with beneficial outcomes on wellbeing and productivity. The empirical evidence in regard to these benefits is encouraging, although limited and inconsistent. The study will address current shortcomings that may explain the variability in the empirical findings. Starting with a strengthened theoretical foundation and a broadened understanding of wellbeing, our research will explore three key research questions:

1. What are key differences in experienced wellbeing and productivity of government employees in newly developed green-certified buildings compared to retrofitted green-certified buildings and traditional buildings?

2. What are the key factors contributing to the positive mental health and productivity benefits of green-certified buildings for government employees?

3. To what degree and through what processes does a newly developed green-certified building contribute to a positive culture of sustainability within the building?

Using a longitudinal multiple case-study design, we will compare environmental (e.g., air quality), survey (e.g., perceived wellbeing), and qualitative data (e.g., subjective experience of the building) collected within the new Edmonton Tower (built to LEED-Gold standard) with data from two comparison sites in Edmonton (a retrofitted building with BOMA-Level 1 certification and a traditional building). In addition, we will collect survey data regarding key outcomes (wellbeing, productivity, and sustainable behaviours) and a variety of relevant contributing factors (e.g., culture of sustainability) from 30 government buildings of various types within Alberta. Our integrated knowledge mobilization strategy will allow us to disseminate evidence-based information on the human impacts of sustainable buildings and on ways to create workplace settings that better support employees’ mental health.

Read Abstracts

Abstract 1

Abstract 2

Reports coming soon. Thank you for your patience.

For more details about the full report please contact veris@wlu.ca

Principal Investigator: Devon Fernandes

As many organizations are engaged in a war for talent, job seekers are often able to be more selective in their career prospects. As a result, job seekers may be able to look for employment opportunities that better align with their values. For instance, job seekers may be more attracted to organizations that are environmentally conscious. In this mixed-method study we explore to what degree young job seekers are attracted to working in a green-certified building.

Principal Investigator: Stephanie Whitney

In partnership with the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Canada, this research investigates the motivations and barriers for engagement in sustainable energy management practices within commercial office buildings. Improving the sustainability of the commercial real estate sector, particularly existing stock, is seen as a significant step towards reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, even the most efficient, green-certified buildings consistently fail to deliver the emissions and energy-use reductions they promise. This is because buildings are complex systems, and solutions often do not fully account for the dynamic interactions between the physical building features, technology, and human behaviour (including culture).

In order to understand the breadth of motivations and barriers within the commercial real estate sector, interviews are being conducted with approximately 50 private- and public-sector property owners, managers, operators and their tenants. Interview participants have been purposively selected in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Alberta, covering a range of property classes, and gradation of assets under management.

Principal Investigators: Simon Coulombe, Manuel Riemer, Bianca Dreyer, Stephanie Whitney, Joel Marcus

Poor employee mental health has become one of Canada’s most prevalent and costly occupational health issues. Better indoor environments in office buildings correlate with greater occupant satisfaction and wellbeing. It is assumed that superior working environments in green-certified office buildings support wellbeing and productivity. While empirical evidence is encouraging, it is limited and inconsistent.

Our study addresses several of the current shortcomings that may explain the variability in the empirical findings. Starting with a strengthened theoretical foundation and a broadened understanding of wellbeing, our research explores key research questions such as:

• What are the differences in experienced wellbeing and productivity of government employees in newly developed green-certified buildings compared to retrofitted green-certified buildings and traditional buildings?
• What are the key factors contributing to the positive mental health and productivity benefits of green-certified buildings for government employees?

We are exploring these questions in partnership with the City of Edmonton. A majority of their employees recently moved into a certified LEED green building. We used a variety of measures assessing, among other things, occupants’ satisfaction with physical features, psycho-environmental potential; and negative and positive wellbeing and physical health in this and two comparison buildings.

Principal Investigator: Laine Bourassa

While evidence exists showing youth environmental programs are able to promote program participant leadership, it is not yet known to what degree these participants are able to improve the environmental engagement of members of their social networks. This “ripple effect” was assessed in this study through the context of the Make-A-Difference (MAD) Youth Sustainability Leadership Program in New Zealand.

The program involves a three-day social gathering (hui) and ongoing support for several following years. The ripple effect of environmental engagement is explored using a four-phased, mixed-methods design with 30 participants of the MAD program and six members of their social networks as participants.

Results indicate that MAD participants undergo transformational changes during the program, including developing an identity of a change agent and becoming a member of the MAD community.

Principal Investigator: Sara Wicks

The study investigated how to sustain young people’s motivation for environmental action over time through narrative interviews with 11 environmental leaders who attended a conference called IMPACT! Youth Conference for Sustainability Leadership in 2009 or 2011. Drawing upon the literature on life paths to environmental action the interviews incorporated an exercise that asked participants to plot important events in their lives and use the events to graph their engagement over time. The data analyzed included interviews that built upon these engagement graphs drawn by participants during the interviews.

The findings indicated that competency (the knowledge of an issue, skill-development and self-efficacy), identity development and relatedness (sense of community) were highest while participants attended university. Competency and identity development were found to be cumulative, but relatedness fluctuated, directly impacting the level of engagement participants had. Developing a supportive community and finding relatedness appears to be important for facilitating sustained engagement in action.

Principal Investigator: Petra Schweizer-Ries, Bochum University of Applied Science

This project studied the planned development of Bochum University of Applied Science into a leader of sustainability within the European context. We were specifically interested in observing the process of communication and collaboration of the transdisciplinary team and the multiple stakeholders at this university. The role of the CEJRG members in this project was that of a “critical friend” who observe and support the process from the outside.

Principal Investigators: Anne Wilson and Manuel Riemer

As the global climate changes, extreme weather events such as heat waves are on the rise and are having a disproportionate impact on socially vulnerable groups. Seniors are among those with the highest risk of negative effects of heat waves, as evidenced by the number of seniors affected by the 2003 European heat wave that killed tens of thousands and the 1995 Chicago heat wave that killed almost 900 elderly residents. In order to mitigate the threats of extreme weather, it is critical to develop and promote resources for coping during these events. However, mobilizing the Canadian public to respond to our changing climate has proven challenging, since perceptions of both general and personal risk associated with these events remains low, even among those most at risk.

Researchers in disaster mitigation suggest that a better understanding of risk perceptions and the factors that influence them is needed in order to improve public responses to threatening events. However, there has been little exploration of either the perceptions of the risks of extreme heat or of the social context of risk and resilience to climate change among seniors. Our study examined risk perceptions and coping practices in seniors in Waterloo Region using qualitative interviews with fifteen residents aged 65 or older, and a survey of more than 200 seniors across the region.

Principal Investigator: Manuel Riemer

There is a growing understanding that a focus on changing individual-level environmental behaviors, or personal practices, is insufficient to create the societal transformation needed to effectively address anthropogenic environmental degradation including global climate change. Instead, another form of engagement – environmental action – is needed. Several gaps in the empirical research on effective programs for youth engagement in environmental action motivated our multinational group of researchers, representatives of community organizations, and youth environmental leaders to develop Youth Leading Environmental Change (YLEC), a program that is driven by a theory of engagement that combines several youth-engagement strategies with a high likelihood of impact in diverse settings, derived from the current knowledge base in this area.

Coordinated by CEJRG, the collaboration allowed YLEC to maintain a consistent format and approach while remaining adaptable and relevant to the particular features of each country’s environmental, social, economic, and cultural contexts. Just as the issue of climate change is interdisciplinary, so too is our collaboration, involving academic partners from such fields as:

• Community Psychology
• Education
• Sociology
• Economics
• Geography
• Business
• Environmental Studies

Together we conducted a comprehensive longitudinal mixed-method quasi-experimental study evaluating the impact of YLEC on program participants across six countries (Bangladesh, Canada, Germany, India, Uganda and the United States of America). The results showed that the YLEC workshop led to a meaningful personal transformation for participating youth resulting in environmental action.

The project has produced:

• A facilitator’s manual;
• An evaluation of a Psychology, Environment and Action course taught at Wilfrid Laurier University; and
• A special issue of Ecopsychology edited by Riemer and Dittmer called Youth Leading Environmental Change. This journal is the only peer-reviewed journal that places psychology and mental health in an ecological context to recognize the links between human health, culture and the health of the planet.

Principal Investigators: Cindy Ward and Manuel Riemer

This project was conducted in partnership with PulseEnergy, the largest North American provider for online energy information software. The goal is to develop a better understanding of what motivates small to medium business owners to reduce their energy use and how an effective marketing strategy could be developed.

The study included interviews and surveys with business owners. Funding is provided by MITACS, Pulse Energy, and P&G Centre for Business and Sustainability. Data collection is completed and we are currently writing up the results. Findings suggests that it needs to “make good business sense” to owners to save energy. Most often, this suggestion means that there needs to be clear cost savings to justify the investments.

Principal Investigator: Manuel Riemer

This research focused on the long-term impacts of a workshop called "Camp Suzuki in the Rouge," which was conducted by our partner, the David Suzuki Foundation (DSF). The main purpose of the workshop is to mentor and support community leaders in engaging their own communities to use the park. With our research study we explored how this workshop is impacting the long-term environmental and community engagement behaviours of participants. We also wanted to understand how the community they are trying to engage is impacted by their engagement efforts. We used a complex mixed-methods, longitudinal design to assess the impact on both the participants and the community members.

Principal Investigator: Radha Sayal

This study examined the factors that sustain and disable one’s long-term motivation after attending an environmental engagement program. The study examined the Camp Suzuki in the Rouge program, which was facilitated by the David Suzuki Foundation. The program goal was to raise awareness about Rouge Park, which is Canada’s first urban national park. The study employs a mixed method design where both surveys and interviews are used to better understand participants’ program experiences in terms of their change in motivation towards the environment, the actual commitment to the environment and engaging their community, and the overall impact of the program. The aim of the study is to gain a better understanding of what factors contribute to long-term motivation in order to make environmental engagement programs more efficient and effective.

Principal Investigator: Alexa Stovold

The narrative approach can be defined as an individual or group of individuals sharing their lived experiences through narratives or stories as a form of education and insight into specific areas of investigation. Although the narrative approach has been understudied, research has shown that it can have a profound impact on those who witness individuals’ sharing their lived experiences.

As part of the advanced undergraduate Psychology, Environment and Action course offered at Wilfrid Laurier University, students heard a personal story from environmental activist Ada Lockridge, who has experienced a series of environmental injustices as a resident of the Aamjwinaang reserve in the middle of “Chemical Valley” in Sarnia, which is home to 40% of Canada’s petro-chemical industry.

This study investigated the effectiveness of this narrative approach and its ability to facilitate students’ learning and understanding of environmental justice, as well as motivate them to learn about environmental issues and take actions toward change. Ten semi-structured, qualitative interviews have been conducted with students from the course.

Principal Investigators: Livia Dittmer and Manuel Riemer

Building on pilot research that indicates the importance of complex interventions for environmental change, this case study investigated the efficacy of a workshop-style intervention on raising critical consciousness of environmental factors on students employed by Reduce the Juice (RTJ).

These four workshops conducted over the summer, each focused on a particular theme (e.g. the ecological model, urban planning and design, government and policy, and environmental justice). The workshops were designed to help the students develop an understanding of the multiple levels of influences that impact individuals’ environmental and transportation choices.

This intervention intended to help the students develop knowledge and skills to help them in the short term, with their RTJ work as community educators, and in the long term as environmentalists. The students’ experiences were explored phenomenologically through recordings of the workshops, qualitative interviews, journal entries from the RTJ team leaders, and questionnaires regarding the students’ previous environmental and general community involvement. 

Principal Investigators: Tania Del Matto, Jennifer Lynes and Manuel Riemer

Despite claims by both retailers and consumers that there is an interest in “buying green,” there is a disconnect between retailers and consumers regarding the offering of sustainable products in stores. Consumers assert they have trouble finding sustainable products because of confusion at the point of purchase (i.e. lack of information and awareness of product availability) and, in some cases, difficulty locating retailers who sell these products.

In this study, led by MySustainableCanada, Tania Del Matto from My Sustainable Canada, Jennifer Lynes from the University of Waterloo, and Manuel Riemer were trying to determine how marketing mix strategies are used by retailers to influence consumer purchases towards energy and water efficient products over conventional products and what potential barriers and incentives exist for consumers at the point of purchase when attempting to purchase these products.

This multi-method study collected data in two ways: an information review of secondary data sources and covert observation (e.g. mystery shopping) of the shopping experience at retail stores in Ontario. A total of 240 mystery shopping instances in 38 retail stores in two regions were conducted.

Principal Investigator: Felix Munger and Manuel Riemer

In determining the underlying causes of the current environmental crisis, researchers increasingly point to the link between environmental degradation and other societal issues such as social injustices and the trend toward individualism and decline of community.

In searching for pathways to change, we are developing a research program to systematically study attempts in creating alternative communities and to understand their successes and challenges in developing communities that are environmentally sustainable and socially just. The planned empirical study can only be accomplished with a cross-disciplinary approach that builds on the strengths and unique perspectives of community members, policy makers and scholars from a variety of disciplines

Principal Investigators: Johanna Wandel (University of Waterloo) and Manuel Riemer

The goal of this research pilot was to work towards a better understanding of the vulnerability of those experiencing homelessness in the urban centers of Waterloo Region. This case study was achieved using three objectives:

1. To assess the current vulnerability of the target group, the urban homeless of Waterloo Region, to climate change.
2. To identify future changes in the target group’s vulnerability given what we know from climate and air quality science.
3. To reduce the vulnerability of the target group.

The research was conducted by a team of researchers and students in collaboration with Waterloo Region Department of Social Planning. The outcome of the research included not only insights on the pilot case study, but the development of new tools and methodologies to assess and reduce the vulnerability of marginalized populations in developed economies. Forty-eight qualitative interviews with people experiencing homelessness in Waterloo Region have been conducted.

Principal Investigator: Manuel Riemer

Reduce the Juice (RTJ) is a youth-driven community education initiative in Waterloo Region. They employ high school students during the summer to canvas their neighbourhoods and persuade local residents to reduce their carbon footprint and air pollution by changing their transportation and energy-intensive household behaviours.

This evaluation of their 2009 campaign includes a pre-post comparison group design to evaluate the impact of the high school students on residents. In addition, qualitative interviews were conducted with residents to explore the type of challenges they experienced in trying to change their behaviours and habit and what has helped them along the way.

Principal Investigator: Kate Klein (with Johanna Wandel and Manuel Riemer)

This study was a phenomenological inquiry into the experience of environmental justice and injustice in a community of people experiencing homelessness. People who have experienced homelessness are a highly understudied population in environmental justice scholarship, despite the fact that due to their unique life situation, they experience the effects of global climate change, pollution, littering, and other environmental issues in a way that cannot be equated with the experiences of other people in low socio-economic brackets.

This study explored their understandings of these injustices, as well as their experiences with attempts to address them: Do they understand their personal environment as a justice issue? Do they feel represented by the people making decisions on environmental issues that affect them? Is political engagement in environment issues something that appeals to them, and what barriers exist to their engagement?