A major investment from the Suncor Energy Foundation in Sarnia's Lambton College began a whole new focus on sustainability awareness and innovation. In March 2007, the Suncor Energy Foundation (SEF) announced plans to invest $1.05 million to launch the Suncor Sustainability Centre, which would help to bring a community vision for the Bluewater Sustainability Initiative to reality.

On September 26, 2008, the new Suncor Sustainability Centre was officially opened as a multi-use facility on the grounds of Lambton College. The renovated bingo hall houses a student and community drop-in centre and a resource centre. It is also the new home of Bluewater Sustainability Initiative, Industrial Education Cooperative, Community Awareness and Emergency Response, Sarnia-Lambton Environmental Association and Lambton College's own sustainability initiatives. The SEF investment also funds:

• a program coordinator
• curriculum around sustainability practices, planned to become a mandatory part of many technology and businesses courses offered at the college
• seed money for a sustainability scholarship, to be awarded to students pursuing technology training at Lambton
• a $15,000 prize, to be awarded annually over three years, to individuals or groups in the community that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability
• a community sustainability network, an online forum for sharing information about sustainability issues, with links to various information sources
• a lecture series, open to the public, offered over three years
• an outreach program for youth, in particular Aboriginal youth, to encourage a life-long commitment to sustainability.

The investment has also provided funding for the Suncor Sustainable Smart Home that serves as a training site in the use of alternative energy sources for both the college and the community, and as a testing site for community use. Design of this facility occurred in 2007, with construction completed in late 2008.

The success of this initiative has resulted in the Suncor Energy Foundation looking for similar sustainability opportunities in other key communities. In the fall of 2008, a $500,000 investment was made to the United Way of Wood Buffalo to renovate and open a multi-tenant shared space for non-profit organizations in the community of Fort McMurray.