Published November 23, 2010
by iris_author
Laurie Mook, the co-director at the Centre for Social Economy at the University of Toronto is in the process of writing a book entitled Social Accounting for Social Economy Organizations, which is scheduled to be published in 2011. York professors and students, Darryl Reed, J.J McMurtry, and Jacqueline Medalye are writing Chapter 10 of the edited collection entitled Environmental, Ethical Trade and Fair Trade Purchasing Policies: Some Challenges of Promoting Sustainability in Canadian Universities.
The chapter outlines some of the history behind sustainable purchasing policies in Canadian universities and though a number of themes emerge, one element is clear: it is university’s student organizations along with dedicated student’s that play a vital role in the implementation of purchasing policies.
Other highlighted impacts included the key role played by university administrators in implementing sustainable purchasing policies; the high awareness of sustainable purchasing policies by procurement managers; the sense of "powerlessness" felt by many managers in needing approval from "above" for all new policies; and finally the role of provincial governments as a main driver of initiatives.
So- what does this have to do with YorkU? If student-run on-campus organizations like the Fair Trade Coalition, the Sustainable Purchasing Coalition, Business and Society as well as other like-minded groups have their say, York U will soon be on its way to implementing a sustainable student run business that would buy local, organic, and fair trade products. For information or how to get involved please contact Darryl Reed at: dreed@yorku.ca.
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