Tristyn Wylie (University of Guelph) with her project “Sustainable Development Goals: A Pathway to Success”

We would like to congratulate both teams on their outstanding efforts. Their ideas were inspiring and demonstrated that the future of standards development is filled with possibility. We would also like to thank all of those who participated in the voting process. Your involvement is an important part of encouraging young people to engage in the world of standards. Tristyn will receive $1,000 as a reward for her success. Eve Bernstein, Liam Donaghy, Kelly Low and Shashank Sharma (University of Toronto) will receive $500 each for their second place award.

Champion – 2020 CSA Group Academic Challenge

Sustainable Development Goals: A Pathway to Success

Team Member(s):
Tristyn Wylie

Advisor:
Ruben Burga

Institution:
University of Guelph, Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics

Summary:
This project strived to address key gaps in information available between the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their connection to the standards created by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA). Of the 17 SDGs, the project primarily focused on SDG 13 which is Climate Action, with CSA’s adopted standard from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), CAN/CSA-ISO 14064 which encompasses action towards greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A relevant literary review explained each of these concepts in further detail to create a necessary foundation of understanding. Through an analysis and discussion of the current relationship between key concepts, three primary recommendations were suggested to strengthen the current relationship and propel effective, transformational change on an international level.

Watch the video submission:

Second Place – 2020 CSA Group Academic Challenge

A Framework for Implementing Process Safety Management Systems for Small and Medium Enterprises

Team Member(s):
Eve Bernstein, Liam Donaghy, Kelly Low, Shashank Sharma

Advisor:
Graeme Norval

Institution:
University of Toronto, Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry

Summary:
There are no legal obligations for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to manage process safety related to the hazards posed by their current business operations. This poses several issues – the agency responsible for reducing the overall societal risk posed by businesses under their authority is not informed about the level of risk posed by each business and whether the businesses have the most effective means of control in place. The Strathcona County Emergency Services have identified a need for the agency to establish a framework that can be used to aid businesses in implementing components of Process Safety Management Systems (PSMs) as defined in CSAZ767 [1]. This project addressed three major components of design which are key for understanding and sharing knowledge about effective strategies for risk management: generation of a website, database and data collection template. The implementation of this framework was accomplished through four phases to address the identified problem.

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