Thunder Bay – Environment – On Friday, March 10, Lakehead University will host a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony for its new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations located near the ATAC building. The event is part of Lakehead’s participation in the first-ever SDG Week Canada, which aims to raise awareness about the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The ceremony will begin at 12 pm and will feature the university’s new Level 2 ChargePoint chargers with 16 electric vehicle connectors. The Thunder Bay CEDC and Plug-In Thunder Bay collaborated with Lakehead University to procure and install the charging stations as part of the Year of Climate Action in 2021/2022.
In addition to the ribbon-cutting ceremony, local EV owners will be in attendance from noon until 2 pm for campus and community members to take part in an informal electric vehicle car show.
Lakehead University has been a leader in climate action and sustainability. The university’s Sustainable Building Policy requires all new construction and major renovations to be built to LEED gold standards or higher. Lakehead also committed to divestment from the Carbon Underground 200 in November 2020, making it only the sixth Canadian university to do so.
“We need to rapidly decarbonize transportation,” said Devon Lee, Lakehead’s Sustainability Coordinator. “Lakehead’s EV chargers will assist the university and community in making this transition.”
The university is among the top employers in Thunder Bay and provides some of the largest on-site public parking facilities in the city.
