A University of Guelph PhD candidate who is pushing Colombian industry toward cleaner and greener production is part of a team receiving a United Nations Climate Solutions Award.
Paola Vasquez, a student in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, helped organize the Fostering Cleaner Production program, one of 16 projects selected, from more than 450 applicants, for the annual Momentum for Change award.
The awards are offered by the UN Climate Change secretariat to showcase innovative ways of addressing climate change. They are funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, and operate in partnership with the World Economic Forum.
The 16 winning entries will be displayed during the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11.
Vasquez learned her project had been selected in an email from the UN.
“I read it four times just to make sure that I understood the English correctly, since it’s not my first language,” she said.
“I’m still so surprised – I have no words to express how I feel beyond that it is so amazing.”
Vasquez’s project brings together women in Colombia to push for cleaner production (CP) practices in industry.
Analyzing CP cases in that country for her research, she found women owners and managers often led those practices.
“The problem with CP projects in developing countries is that industries enthusiastically start applying the strategies, but once the project is completed, industries easily return to their old mentalities or polluting activities,” she said.
“However, women who got involved in CP projects sustained the actions over time and developed new CP initiatives in their firms and organizations.”
She invited women from organizations with successful environmental strategies to share their knowledge and to motivate other companies to go green.
The construction industry is one of the most heavily polluting sectors in all of Colombia, she said.
Vasquez and other women designed a CP certificate program for a large construction firm and its suppliers. Now those companies use durable metal forms instead of single-use timber forms, reuse water from cutting bricks, and use rainwater instead of drinking water for other activities.
“The methodology we used to develop the certificate program was precisely the conceptual framework I developed in my PhD,” she said.
“My framework is a model to transfer CP technologies into micro, small and medium enterprises in developing countries. This was a great opportunity to link the University with the industry, which is fundamental for encouraging and developing green innovations in industry.”
Her supervisor, Prof. Al Lauzon, said Vasquez’s previous engineering experience helped her succeed in the Guelph program.
“This is an interdisciplinary program, where our students come from many backgrounds,” he said.
“The program teaches students how to approach challenges systematically, which is what Paola’s done. I’m really happy for her, as this will be a big boost for her career.”
Vasquez believes this project is just the first step to using CP practices in developing countries.
“Women have an important role to play in greening industries,” she said.
“They have particular features such as perseverance, leadership and environmental sensitivity that are crucial for CP transfer processes. The way we applied knowledge into the field, we brought theory to practice.”