SLC Launches Climate Action Committee

Submitted by Pamela Shea, Professor, Honours Bachelor of Behavioural Psychology 

SLC has established a new Climate Action Committee, uniting leaders from diverse sectors of the College and the City of Kingston with a shared commitment to advancing meaningful environmental initiatives. The group represents a collaborative community-focused effort aimed at identifying, designing, and implementing sustainable solutions that enhance the College’s environmental performance and strengthen its role as a local sustainability partner. 
 
This initiative is informed by applied research from Dara Pinch, Honours Bachelor of Behavioural Psychology, who is examining the impact of Prosocial strategies on sustaining a long-term climate-focused group. Prosocial strategies encourage collaboration and value alignment in groups pursuing social good.  
The committee is using these principles in combination with ACT-based approaches to build shared purpose, strengthen commitment, and support action-oriented planning for environmental change. Research suggests that ACT strategies promote psychological flexibility and coordinated engagement in behaviour linked to personally held values, which can improve sustainability outcomes (Hayes et al., 2021; Atkins & Parker, 2020). 

With this foundation, the Climate Action Committee will focus on campus-based initiatives developed by the committee. The group emphasizes that sustainable transformation requires participation from every voice within the College community. 

The committee includes: 
Paulina Szlachta, Evelyn Herbst, Lindsay Brant, Michael Richards, Mike Williams, Katherine McMillan, Ross McMillan, Beth Insley, Karen Robertson, Jessica Bredschneider, and Pamela Shea. Each member brings sector-specific expertise in education, infrastructure, student support, and community sustainability, creating a strong foundation for coordinated action. 
 
Call for Participation 
Students and employees are invited to join the committee and contribute their perspectives, creativity, and skillsets. The work ahead requires diverse contributions on environmental stewardship. All levels of experience are welcome.  Learn more about upcoming meetings and opportunities to get involved by emailing Dara at dara.pinch@student.sl.on.ca or Pamela at pshea@sl.on.ca.