Engineers and Geoscientists BC

Panel Discussion: Opportunities and Challenges for Integrating Sustainability into Practice

Date(s):
Tuesday, June 13, 2023
12:00 PM–1:30 PM Pacific Time
Format:
Webinar
Status:
Registration is now closed.

Eligible for 1 CE Hour(s) of Technical Learning

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Registration deadline was June 7, 2023.

Event Details


Cost

Free

Contact

For more information about this event, please email [email protected].

Event Presenter(s)


Facilitator:
Dr. Nancy Olewiler
Professor, School of Public Policy, Simon Fraser University

Co-hosts:
Dr. Thomas Elliot, P.Geo., Chair, Sustainability Advisory Group and representatives from the Vancouver Branch

Speakers:
Dr. Nancy Olewiler
Professor, School of Public Policy, Simon Fraser University

Dr. George Abbott
Adjunct Professor, University of Victoria

Tina Neale
Executive Director, BC Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness

Brent Burton, P.Eng., FEC
Division Manager, Liquid Waste Services, Metro Vancouver

Event Description


The Engineers and Geoscientists BC's Sustainability Advisory Group, in partnership with the organization's branches, has organized several panel discussions in the past few years around sustainability and climate change. To raise awareness on environmental sustainability strategies, the panelists will focus on some of the initiatives being led across BC and share with us their approaches to creating a sustainable future through local action. Learn more about the challenges and opportunities for sustainability by attending this panel discussion.

About the Event


The theme for this year’s event is climate change and disaster preparedness and community resilience. The event will feature presentations from a group of panelists with diverse backgrounds ranging from academia, and public policy to provincial and regional governments. They will be sharing their insights into:

  • The climate and disaster risk reduction and resiliency initiatives currently underway that address risk priorities;
  • The tools and supports available to access information on existing risks and the work to improve resilience; and
  • What Engineers and Geoscientists BC registrants need to know about delivering on risk reduction and resilience initiatives in the Province.

Dr. Nancy Olewiler, Professor, School of Public Policy, Simon Fraser University will facilitate the event.

Please join us on June 13 to gain a greater understanding of the various sustainability initiatives and discussions about sustainability trends to help expand awareness and engagement with these issues. The event will also include content on recently published revisions to Engineers and Geoscientists BC’s Professional Practice Guidelines on Sustainability.

Presenter Bio

Dr. Nancy Olewiler

Nancy Olewiler is an economist and professor in the School of Public Policy, Simon Fraser University. Her PhD in economics is from the University of British Columbia. Nancy’s areas of research include studies on energy and climate policy, natural capital and ecosystem services, managing catastrophic risk, and federal tax policy. She has served on federal and provincial government advisory committees and currently is Co-Chair of BC’s Climate Solutions Council, on expert advisory committees for the Canadian Climate Institute, a member of the External Advisory Committee on Regulatory Competitiveness, and Chair of the Macroeconomic Accounts Advisory Committee for Statistics Canada. She has been a board member of TransLink, BC Hydro, and the Pembina Institute, and currently sits on the boards of Technical Safety BC, The Institute for Research on Public Policy, and GenomeBC.

Brent Burton, P.Eng., FEC, IRP

Brent is an experienced professional engineer who developed his expertise in strategic infrastructure planning and resiliency over more than 25 years of progressive experience working in both consulting and regional utility environments. He currently leads a group of professional and technical staff responsible for liquid waste planning, policy, and resilience at Metro Vancouver. Brent was among the first professionals granted the Infrastructure Resilience Professional (IRP) credential by Engineers Canada. He has held appointed positions with the Water Resources Sustainability Division of the American Water Works Association, Climate Change Advisory Group for Engineers and Geoscientists BC, and with Engineers Canada's Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee (PIEVC). Brent has a B.A.Sc. in civil engineering and an M.A.Sc. degree in water resources, hydraulics, and hydrology from UBC.

Tina Neale

Tina is the Executive Director of Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation at the BC Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness. She leads program areas supporting enhanced understanding of disaster and climate risks, development and coordination of disaster mitigation policy, and disaster mitigation funding programs. Her current priority initiatives include the Disaster and Climate Risk and Resilience Assessment for BC and the ClimateReadyBC platform. Prior to this, she was the Director of Climate Risk Management in the Climate Action Secretariat, BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy where she led development of the BC’s Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy.

Tina is passionate about climate change adaptation and public policy and uses her strengths in leadership and systems thinking to drive the evolution in policy and practice needed for a climate resilient future. Tina is a citizen of the Métis Nation of Greater Victoria and is grateful to live and work, as an uninvited visitor, on the traditional territories of the Songhees, Esquimalt, and W̱SÁNEĆ Nations.

Dr. George Abbott

George Abbott is a former cabinet minister for British Columbia and a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia representing the riding of Shuswap from 1996 to 2013. He served as a cabinet minister under two BC premiers and held ministerial responsibilities dealing with diverse areas including health, education, resource management, community, and reconciliation. He is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Victoria, and director and chair on boards at Technical Safety BC and at the Institute for Health Sustainability and Transformation.