Sustainability

Hamilton Sustainability Professionals Network Launch Event

By Justin Jones
Published May 09, 2013

Here in Hamilton, there are a great many things taking place just underneath the surface that might surprise you.

People from outside our City don't often think of software design, creative industries or sustainability when you ask them what they think about when they think about Hamilton - but the reality is that our City is becoming a leader in all of these areas thanks to our wealth of talented, passionate individuals.

It was with the goal of finding, celebrating and, most importantly, connecting those passionate, driven individuals in the Sustainability field that I first joined the organizing committee for Hamilton's Inaugural Sustainability Professionals Network (SPN) Event.

Since moving to Hamilton, I've been amazed to discover how many people in this City work to integrate sustainability into every aspect of their organization's daily activities.

From the great work being done by local NGOs like Environment Hamilton and Green Venture to the ways that our colleges and universities are integrating sustainability to seeing our local utilities try to minimize their environmental footprint, I've been consistently impressed by the scope, scale and volume of sustainability projects that are taking place.

And yet, even though there was all this amazing work going on all around me, done by all these passionate individuals, I found that even those that I knew in the sustainability field weren't really that aware of all the other work going on around them.

I know from experience that sometimes, when your work involves sustainability, it's hard just to keep on top of all of your projects, much less follow what is going on all around you.

So when I heard about the SPN, I was extremely excited to be a part of a group whose goal was to start bringing more of these engaged professionals together to find out more about what is going on in the City that we all call home.

On Wednesday, May 15, we will gather for the first time at The Pheasant Plucker on Augusta from 6 pm until 9 pm to hear inspirational stories of how various professionals in Hamilton got into the sustainability field, and what they are doing to make the City a sustainability hub.

We'll trade stories, discuss projects, and hopefully find new connections and new projects that interest us. Importantly, we'll also be discussing what the next steps for this group could be - and deciding what kinds of actions we can initiate as a group to help move our mutual goals forward.

So we're inviting all people interested in sustainability to join us for a great night of meeting, greeting, discussing, connecting and inspiration!

If you plan to attend, please register online. Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter for updates @HamiltonSPN. Engage in the discussion through Twitter on May 15 using the hashtag #hamspn.

I hope to see you there!

Justin Jones is the Manager, Bicycle Friendly Ontario at the Share the Road Cycling Coalition. Justin is a project manager, sustainability professional and rabble rouser with nearly a decade of experience in the sustainability field. His work with student groups, municipal governments and NGOs has taken him all over the country. He is passionate about civic engagement, with a special focus on active transportation issues and the creation of liveable cities through better infrastructure and education.

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