SEDV Research Showcase

On September 27, 2017, the SEDV program hosted the first annual SEDV Research Showcase: Developing a Sustainable Future. This event provided an opportunity for students from the 2016-2017 cohort to display and present their Capstone research projects to fellow students, faculty, staff, and members of industry. The projects were exceptional, with some students continuing their research beyond the scope of the course requirements. Highlighted below are three of the projects.

Kristin Skelton & Emma Yang: Exploratory Study of the Potential of Crowdfunding for Sustainable Energy Projects (Bud Funding)

Kristin Skelton and Emma Yang teamed up to assess crowdfunding sustainable projects in Canada from the perspective of both the founder and funder, while providing insights on how crowdfunding platforms can foster renewable and sustainable energy development.

With a lack of equity-based crowdfunding platforms in Alberta, the main goal of their research was to create a viable project, proposing a solution to sustainable project funding. They were selected to be a part of the Summer Incubator Program offered through Innovate Calgary, which provides UCalgary graduate students with an innovative product or service idea access to free professional business mentorship services and entrepreneurial-based educational programs to help them better understand their market.

They now have a multi-functional platform specialized in funding sustainable projects (www.budfunding.com) and three pilot projects on the go, including a solar energy and farm community in Medicine Hat (SolAgra), a 100 per cent renewable eco-community in Okotoks and a potential solar community project in Mexico.

They also provide other marketing tools, services and facilitate interaction between project owners and funders. With no prior entrepreneurial experience, they feel fortunate to have been able to share in this learning experience together and are committed to the success of the project.

What is next for Bud Funding? They are taking things one day at a time, as do most start-ups, but have a long-term vision to establish a platform well-used by Canadians with the possibility of developing an app in the future. Right now, they’re focused on expanding their user base, attending different events to be visible in the community and leveraging social media as their main advertising tool, check them out on Instagram (@budfunding) and on Facebook (The Sustainable Development Group).  

Oksana Treacy: Evaluation of Solar PV Installation in Wheatland County

When contemplating project topics, Oksana focused on providing a benefit to a community group or organization, while simultaneously fulfilling her own research objectives. This was her strategy to stay motivated and inspired. As well, she wanted to gain experience in a completely new area and thought renewable energy was a great place to start.

Oksana teamed up with Wheatland County, a rural municipality with various sustainability initiatives. The research focused on examining a recently installed Solar Photovoltaic (PV) system as part of the Alberta Municipal Solar program. More specifically, she wanted to determine if the system was producing energy as designed while evaluating the environmental and economic performance of the installation.

Fortunately, she was able to collect accurate local weather data from a weather station collecting current and historical solar data near the installation, which provided credibility to her results. The project allowed Oksana to gain better understanding of the technical intricacies of a working PV installation, while allowing her to leverage her existing engineering skills.

Oksana’s project has expanded beyond the scope of the class and course requirement. She continues to update the study with an ultimate goal of collecting a full year’s worth of data to follow the model of a typical performance evaluation conducted on an annual basis. Follow up is also required on the project’s economics, as it relates to some electricity billing issues.

What’s next for Oksana? Her research continues to make a positive impact on the community. She presented her research on November 7th to council, and hopes to make the results publicly available once the study is complete. If this happens, this would be the first published study of its kind in Alberta, as the province has only recently started promoting and subsidizing solar PV projects.

 

Markus Selkirk: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Firm Level Response: Suncor’s Sustainability Reporting and Disclosure Strategy

After securing a full-time internship at Suncor with a focus on sustainability reporting, Markus set out with a goal to incorporate the work he was doing within his new role into his SEDV Capstone project. Wanting to base his research on a relevant and important issue in society, he questioned Suncor on the current topics of interest they intend to research and explore in more detail.

Suncor identified the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as an emerging area of interest, but one not many understood in extensive detail. The chatter and buzz surrounding the SDGs escalated over the course of the year; the main debate being whether private sector organizations should attempt to align themselves strategically to these objectives. In an effort to become a subject matter expert on the SDGs, Markus framed his research topic around the corporation’s sustainability reporting and disclosure strategy, with a focus on the SDGs and Suncor’s firm-level response. 

Throughout his research, he discovered existing and evolving changes in Suncor’s reporting standards, assessments and ratings in response to the introduction of the SDGs in 2015. As the significance of the SDGs continues to grow, Markus’ work and research has expanded beyond the scope of the project requirements and he is being leveraged as a subject matter expert within this area at Suncor. Right now, they are undergoing a strategy review to evaluate how effectively aligned Suncor is with the SDGs.

What’s next for Markus? His passion for sustainability reporting continues to grow as he learns more about the topic and its significance for businesses and society overall. He believes there is still a lot of work to be done, a ton of unanswered questions and as such, he hopes to continue his research on the subject. Perhaps he will venture to Europe to gain different perspectives in this field or continue his research here while working towards a PhD. Either way, Markus knows the growing interest in this area will continue and he wants to be a part of the action!

A complete list of the 2017 projects and their abstracts can be found here.