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Students help Vancouver reach zero waste goals

Jun 15, 2012

Students at Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business are using their sustainability-in-business acumen to help the City of Vancouver and other B.C. jurisdictions reach their zero waste goals. Annually, SFU’s MBA students undertake real-world sustainability projects for clients across Canada. This year, they are working with the Recycling Council of British Columbia (RCBC) and the city in a project that is also being supported by the packaging division of Walmart Canada. Both RCBC and the city have mandated zero-waste goals, at a time when the province is moving towards “extended producer responsibility” — which puts the onus of waste disposal on product manufacturers and retailers. Students in the MBA sustainability class and the undergraduate course Managing for Sustainability (Bus 489), both taught by Stephanie Bertels, a Beedie School assistant professor, are designing companies or processes that close existing gaps in the consumer recycling landscape – from discarded computers and electronics to take-out food packaging.

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