January 25, 2016 | Sherbrooke, Quebec. The University of Sherbrooke has become Canada’s 12th Fair Trade Campus! The University has been committed to supporting fair trade for many years, and has being doing so through its purchasing and public engagement activities. Today however, it becomes official! “As an educational institution, our contribution to the growth of fair trade is another tangible way to respond to the concerns of our students and staff about sustainable development, commented Alain Webster, Vice-President of sustainable development and Vice-President at the Longueuil campus. We are pleased that we have been formally recognized for our contribution to the development of fair trade by granting us the Fair Trade Campus designation, we are committed, with our partners and student associations, to intensify our efforts in this direction over the next few years”.
The level of cooperation and commitment of the student associations and partners of the University allowed the University to reach the standards required by this designation. Eddy Supeno, chairman of the student union, “Cooperative UdeS is happy, in accordance with its guidelines for sustainable development, to offer fair trade products to the university community”. In the Longueuil Campus, Van Houtte and Pâtisserie Rolland were also involved in the process to become a Fair Trade Campus by offering different fair trade products which enabled the campus to meet the requirements of the designation. These three partners offer the university community and their external customers a variety of fair trade products allowing, for example, to certify 100% of the coffee sold to the University, on three campuses. The contribution of student organizations, the FEUS and REMDUS, is also a key element of this approach. Besides their contribution to raising awareness and monitoring of the process, they contribute to the provision of fair trade product through the integration of this criterion in their activities.
As part of becoming a Fair Trade Campus, a committee was established to ensure the promotion and development of fair trade at the university. This committee will develop an action plan to increase the supply and consumption of Fairtrade certified products moving forward.
“Congratulations to the first francophone Fair Trade Campus! Congratulations to the entire team involved in this project, on a job well done. Mélissa Dubé, Fairtrade Canada.
“The University of Sherbrooke is a leader in sustainable development and has always been at the forefront in its commitment to fair trade. So it’s a well-deserved honor that it has become Canada’s first francophone university to be designated a Fair Trade Campus” Éric St-Pierre, Association Québécoise du Commerce Équitable.
“It is with great privilege that I get to congratulate the University of Sherbrooke on becoming Canada’s 12th Fair Trade Campus. This milestone has been reached by the hard work and commitment of many. The University becomes Quebec’s second, but Canada’s first Francophone university, which is very exciting!” Sean McHugh, Executive Director, Canadian Fair Trade Network.