ABOUT THE TRIP

CHANGE ACTION TEAM 2010

From September 12-20, 2010, Aeroplan Canada will lead Groupe Aeroplan’s second Change Action Team experience in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

The 2010 Change Action Team is composed of nine Groupe Aeroplan employees: one employee from Aeroplan Canada, three from Groupe Aeroplan-UK, three from Carlson Marketing, one employee from Air Miles Middle East and one from Nectar Italia.

Working with Offsetters, Groupe Aeroplan’s and Aeroplan Canada’s carbon management partner, the Change Action Team will travel to the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Lead by Alden Hadwen, CSR, Groupe Aeroplan, and a representative from Offsetters, employees will spend a week learning about climate change, carbon emissions, carbon offset projects and how local communities are linked with these projects. The CAT will visit clean technology projects in Vancouver, First Nations communities in Tofino and the resort of Whistler in the Coastal Mountains.


Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Day 1 - UBC and Offsetters




As a general principle, if you want to change the world, posting sarcastic comments on your internet blog is not the way to go, and considering the "colourful diversity of views" which anonymity can generate, this is probably not a bad thing. A notable exception to this rule apparently though, is the weather, as for most of Monday afternoon, Vancouver has been doing its best to make me eat my words with some wonderful blue skies and sunshine.

We started the day in the marine ecosystems building on the campus of the University of British Colombia, where a number of the key personnel from Offsetters talked us through how their company has grown from a handful of original staff to one of Canada's leading carbon management firms, with thirty people working in carbon footprint assessment and the sourcing of offsets. I'm sure that some of my fellow team members will go into more detail on what an offset is, so I'll cut to the summary and just say that they are investments in projects which reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, allowing companies and individuals to offset the impact of their own CO2 emissions.

After the Offsetters presentation, we had a presentation from professor John Robinson of UBC, who has been responsible for initiating the construction of the CIRS (Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability) building, due for completion in 2011. This facility has been designed to be one of the greenest buildings in the world, with heat scavenging systems meaning that it will reduce overall energy consumption on Campus, by taking heat currently wasted by a neighbouring building and using part for itself, and returning part to the steam pipes which distribute heat around the university. In addition, it has reed bed filtration systems which mean that sewage will be treated on site, with a soakaway meaning that the aquifer under Vancouver is replenished with water of a better quality than the rain being harvested on the roof of CIRS. The professor's clear passion for this project was genuinely inspiring, and as an example of how buildings can be constructed in the future not just to leave the environment unharmed, but actually to have a positive effect, I wish CIRS every success.

For the remained of the morning, we took a short tour of the campus, visiting the CIRS building site and also the recently completed Life Sciences building, which has been designed not just for energy efficiency (it is Leadership in Energy Efficient Design (LEED) Gold certified), but which is also intended to enhance the well-being and productivity of its occupants through ensuring natural light is available throughout and giving the occupants control over their surroundings via blinds and operable windows.


- Brendan
Posted by Groupe Aeroplan Change Action Team 2010 at 7:34 AM

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FUN FACTS ABOUT THE TEAM

Jo-Ann: In 2006, I had my head shaved during the Shave to Save campaign to raise funds for the fight against Breast Cancer.

Laura: I recently achieved my personal goal to visit 30 countries before I turned 30 and celebrated with a visit to Brazil at Carnaval.

Will: I hold a private pilot’s licence and have been flying since I was 16 years old.

Jackie: When I was in high school I won a contest to name a ride at a local amusement park – The Flitting Flume of Festal Frenzy! It was a log water ride. I won a $100 savings bond, six case of Coke and a season pass to Valleyfair. Oh, and let's not forget the coverage in the local newspaper...ha!

Brendan:The Metro (London’s free newspaper) once sent me on a blind date to Paris, along with a film crew who normally worked on documentaries in war-zones.

Marcello: I visited Geogia during Russian air raids, Ukraine after Orange Revolution and I’ve just come back from former war countries in Balkans: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro. I use my trips as inspiration, writing for newspapers and magazines, I’ve even created a blog: http://www.marcellopeluso.it/. I’ve also published some books…and more are coming! It’s my way to describe the world.

Sanju: My love for animals constantly worries my wife as she isn’t sure what new addition I’ll bring into our home at anytime.

Emma-Lee: I used to work for Bridgeclimb in Sydney. I’ve climbed 1,439 steps to the top of the Sydney harbour bridge over 500 times – that’s 719,500 steps in total! Once I was caught in a freak storm at the top of the bridge with 50 tourists, the winds were over 140Kmph and we were completely exposed to the elements, unable to move until the storm passed.

Majeed:I love to eat - my favourite saying is: “People eat to live, while I live to eat”.