Congratulations to the Sustainable Action Award winners 2023–24

We are pleased to announce and congratulate the winners of the 2023–24 Sustainable Action Awards.

These awards recognize and celebrate people who are making tangible contributions to sustainability at the University of Toronto.

Award winners receive a $200 gift card while runners-up receive a $100 gift card. Group winners receive a single gift card. Winners and runners-up will be invited to an award ceremony later this month.

Learn more about the Sustainable Action Awards.

Sustainable Action Award recipients

Individual student

Winner: Yazan Zamel

Currently an undergraduate student, Yazan Zamel is president of the Sustainable Engineers Association and organizer of their annual conference. Since 2020, over 150 participants have joined each year. Zamel has joined the Committee on the Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability as a work-study student and worked with Climate Networks as a sustainability intern. As operational director of the Green Student Association, he trains students from across U of T to be sustainability leaders in their fields. Yazan is currently working with the Sustainability Office to develop energy data machine learning models, and he was recently selected as a Clean Economy Ambassador by Re-generation, a Canadian youth-led nonprofit empowering the next generation of leaders to rethink how the economy can better serve ecological and human well-being. In 2023, Yazan was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 25 Environmentalists Under 25 by The Starfish.

Runner-up: Riya Osti

Riya is an international scholar award recipient at the University of Toronto Scarborough and is involved in a wide variety of groups there. She is the vice president of communications for the Geography and City Studies Student Association as well as co-president of public health for the Global Brigades, where she focuses on ethical sustainable development. She also participates in sustainability programs at U of T, such as the Sustainable Citizen Certificate and Sustainable Living Learning Communities, and she volunteers as a waste ambassador. Riya works as a Residence Advisor and incorporates sustainable elements into residence-based events. Off campus, Riya has established a trust fund in Nepal that provides scholarships to more than 10 female students annually, enabling them to pursue higher education.

Student group

Winner: MealCare Toronto

The MealCare Toronto Student Chapter is a non-profit, student-run organization that aims to decrease food waste and improve food security by diverting surplus food to local beneficiaries. By rescuing surplus food from campus cafeterias and redistributing it to local shelters, food banks, and even students in need on campus, MealCare has provided over 20,000 meals to those in need. MealCare also conducts research in partnership with undergraduate and graduate courses, hosts fundraising and educational events, and organizes social justice projects, including providing holiday care packages to a local women’s shelter with hygienic necessities, winter accessories and grocery store gift cards.

Runner-up: Sustainable Innovation Group

The Sustainable Innovation Group (SIG) is a student club that provides sustainable consulting services, working to bridge the gap between environmental, social, and governance principles and business world practices. SIG is also dedicated to integrating sustainability into students’ career aspirations and daily lives. In 2023, they partnered with the Ugandan non-profit Nexim International Development Organization, helping to complete grant applications to fund an eco-stove initiative. Currently, SIG is consulting for the U of T Arbor Room, exploring options for sustainable packaging in response to Ontario’s newest law banning single-use food containers. Their Sustainable Innovation Forum brings together the U of T Sustainable Offices, GreenSpeaking, student clubs (such as FishMustLive), and professionals in innovation and strategy.

Individual faculty member

Winner: Leanne De Souza-Kenney

Leanne De Souza-Kenney is an assistant professor of global public health in human biology and health studies. She works with school boards, underserved populations and vulnerable communities to advance sustainable initiatives through a wide array of initiatives. Her exemplary work in the field champions the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Most recently, her efforts have involved a school board food insecurity partnership, mapping food access on the St. George campus, and an event called Imagining Sustainable Cities, where grade-school students come together with U of T undergraduate and graduate students—as well as social workers and school board representatives—to workshop ideas for sustainable living, removing access barriers and creating equitable spaces.

Runner-up: Nisrin Elamin

Nisrin Elamin is an assistant professor in anthropology and African studies. Following her evacuation from Sudan following the war breaking out in April 2023, Elamin co-organized the Sudan Solidarity Collective with students at U of T, which then went on to launch the Sudan Solidarity Fund. Since then, the fund has raised thousands of dollars for Khartoum emergency response rooms. These groups assist with food- and medicine-distribution efforts, as well as a broad spectrum of work that includes the organization of communal kitchens and rape crisis centres, converting schools into shelters—as well as coordinating evacuations, protection activities, emergency health services, and ensuring education for more than 19 million children who are out of school. We applaud Elamin for her ongoing research that addresses seven UN Sustainable Development Goals, as well as meaningful contributions to alleviating poverty and providing access to education.

Individual staff member

Winner: Alex Hoa

Alex Hoa, operations assistant, Food Partnerships, is a sustainability champion at U of T Scarborough. Alex chairs the Sustainability Subcommittee of the Food Partnerships Committee and is essential in organizing and implementing sustainability-related food purchasing efforts. Alex led the project to bring the Friendlier Reusable Container program to UTSC’s food retailer, The Marketplace, and continues to support its implementation and operations. Alex is also responsible for maintaining UTSC’s Fairtrade certification and has increased promotion and awareness of Fairtrade coffee and tea on campus. Additionally, she runs The Market at UTSC, a year-round vendor market that promotes local business opportunities within the campus community, highlighting female- and BIPOC-identifying vendors.

Runner-up: Kuldeep Gangireddy

Kuldeep, senior manager, caretaking & waste management, has made significant strides in advancing UTM’s waste reduction and diversion initiatives. Kuldeep collaborates closely with the Sustainability Office and caretaking team and has led many new initiatives to bring UTM closer to reaching their waste goals. His new waste management practice included the creation of responsible disposal hubs for specialty waste, like e-waste, cartridges, and batteries, and the implementation of a coloured bagging system for waste segregation. Kuldeep used town hall-style presentations and Q&A sessions to ensure that the caretaking team was well-informed on these new practices.

Staff group

Winner: ICUBE Team

ICUBE, a business incubator, developed and executed the Sustainable Innovation Challenge at UTM. Partnering with Sobeys, the ICUBE team created a learning experience for students through a live case challenge, tackling some of the most significant sustainability challenges faced by the grocery retail industry. To support students in their learning, ICUBE provided access to mentors, workshops, and prototyping labs. The competition directly engaged external partners in a substantial way and played a significant role in expanding sustainability knowledge on campus, fostering sustainability thinking in students from many disciplines.

Runner-up: Trinity Residence Dons and Community Advisors

At the end of every school year, students moving out of residences create a massive amount of waste when they leave belongings behind as garbage. In 2023, the Trinity Residence Dons and Community Advisors came together and organized a clothing swap to cut down on this trend. After impressive uptake and participation, the Switch It, Don’t Ditch It event resulted in more than 25 bags of gently used items being donated to Diabetes Canada. The event also fostered a sense of community among the residents, encouraged responsible consumption of goods, and inspired participants to create systemic change.

External business or partner

Winner: Helping Our Planet Earth

Helping Our Planet Earth (HOPE) is a youth-led, clinician-supported non-profit organization making mental health support accessible to young people internationally. Their mission is to provide mental health education and peer support, empowering youth advocates in needy communities. HOPE has several registered psychologists on a clinical advisory board and is working to develop partnerships with educational institutions across the world. Since 2021, HOPE has impacted over 360 individuals through its Community Education and Community Building programming. They have received the United World College Alumni Values in Action Award, the Women of Wellness Changemaker Award by Liv Media, the Platinum Award for the Youth Wellness Mentor of the Year by Liv Media, and the Global Citizen Youth Leaders Award.