Nicholas Charles SONNTAG

Nicholas Charles Sonntag
October 10, 1947 - June 27,
2015

Nicholas ('Nick') Sonntag, a
Canadian engineer and expert in
sustainable development
internationally, died unexpectedly of a heart attack at home in
Gibsons, BC, on June 27, 2015
He was 67.
   In the course of his singular
career, Nick made a positive
impact on the lives of hundreds
of thousands of people around
the world. His lifelong
commitment to making the
world a better place was
empowered by a very bright
intellect coupled with a deeply
caring heart. His career in
sustainable development
spanned over 40 years and he
led development efforts around
the world, from China, Thailand
and Vietnam in Asia, to France,
Sweden and Switzerland in
Europe, and many places in
between including all over North
America.
   Nick immigrated to Canada from
Britain as a child at age five with
his parents Paul and Katie
Sonntag and attended schools in
North Vancouver. Nick's
engineering and business roots
were at the University of British
Columbia (UBC), where he
graduated in engineering in
1970 with a B.A.Sc. in Engineering (Engineering Physics), and
then earned a Masters degree in
Management Science, M.Sc., in
1975.
   Upon graduation, Nick spent the
next four years engaged in
scientific research at UBC. He
was particularly influenced both
by the pioneering work of Prof
C.S. (Buzz) Holling in the field of
ecological economics, along
with the period that he spent
working at TRIUMF- Canada's
national laboratory for particle
and nuclear physics.
   In 1979, Nick and some other
UBC grads formed ESSA
(Environmental and Social
Systems Analysts). Their new
company was one of Canada's
first sustainability consulting
firms. This Vancouver- based
Canadian firm became the first
Western environmental
consulting firm permitted by the
Vietnamese government to
work in Vietnam after the war
and it is there the company
eventually established an office.
   Nick's abundant personal
characteristics included an
irresistible charm and sense of
humour. His social IQ was one of
his greatest assets, exemplifying the qualities of a diplomat. It
was these traits, coupled with
his expertise in sustainable
development, that saw Nick
recruited as the Chief of Staff to
Maurice F. Strong, the Secretary-
General of the United Nations
Conference on Environment and
Development ('UNCED'), based
in Switzerland. This watershed
internation al summit, which
focused on the future of our
planet and humanity's impacts
on it, was held in Rio de Janeiro
in 1992. It was the largest
gathering of heads of state that
has ever taken place and was
popularly referred to as the Earth
Summit. In his senior role, Nick
became Canada's sustainable
development ambassador to
the world. His role included
interacting with the office of the
presidents and prime ministers
of over 120 countries. This
began the international lifestyle
that the family so readily
embraced over the following
decades.
   Part of Nick's agreement in
taking on the role with the Earth
Summit was to spend the year
following to bring back his
knowledge and experience to
Canada's International Institute
for Sustainable Development
(IISD) located in Winnipeg. The
family spent a year in Winnipeg,
beginning in 1993, on their way
back to Vancouver, as Nick had
the role of Fellow of the IISD for
one year, where he was able to
add his international sustainability expertise to the knowledge-
bank of the IISD.
   In 1995, Nick was again
identified to take on a major
international role in sustainable
development. The renowned
Stockholm Environment
Institute (SEI), the world's
second largest environmental
research institute, recruited Nick
to become its Executive Director,
and the family moved to
Stockholm in 1996. Nick's work
and family thrived in Stockholm
and this period is remembered
fondly as a very important time
in the growth of Nick's family
and career.
   The next major chapter in Nick
and the family's life took place in
2000, when he was recruited by
one of the world's largest
engineering firms, Denver-
based CH2MHill, to bring his
sustainable development
expertise and engineering
background back to Canada to
become President of the national
engineering firm, CH2MHill
Canada.
   As a result of his success leading
CH2's Canadian engineering
practice and his familiarity with
working in Asia, Nick was
identified as the man to drive
CH2MHill's expansion into China
In 2004, Nick and Linda moved
to Beijing where they began
their sojourn in China and their
love affair with this ancient
country and its people. In all, the
Sonntags lived a total of six and
a half years in Beijing in two
separate stays. After the 2008
Olympics in Beijing, a new role
was created at CH2MHill and
Nick became the company's
global Senior Vice President of
Sustainable Development and
moved back to Vancouver.
   However, as much as he relished
this new opportunity, Nick felt
strongly that his time in China
was not yet finished. During this
new period, Nick became
familiar with the groundbreaking work that a homegrown
clean technology company in
Vancouver, Westport
Innovations Inc., was doing with
clean engine technology that
came out of Nick's alma mater,
UBC. In 2005 Nick left CH2MHill
and not long afterwards became
the Executive Vice- President of
Westport. By 2007 Nick and
Linda were back living in the
same apartment building in
Beijing, with Nick setting up
Westport's business in China and
utilizing his many relationships,
skills, and engineering
background to negotiate
agreement s for Westport with
partners in China and to oversee
those relationships. It was a
happy time for Nick and Linda,
and satisfying for Nick as he saw
the fulfillment of many of his
efforts in China. Nick's final
overseas posting was in Lyon,
France, where he led the
European business for Westport
Nick and Linda enjoyed their
two- year stay in Lyon until their
departure in 2013 and Nick's
retirement from Westport.
   Sustainable development is
ultimately about thinking
globally while acting locally
Taking that to heart, Nick's next
steps were to engage in the non-
profit sector at two levels
Locally, Nick directed his
attention and energies to the
well being of Gibsons and the
Sunshine Coast of British
Columbia. Nick and Linda, and
their long- time friends, Gerry
and Nancy Zipursky, formulated
a plan to create an active centre
for the community in the form of
the Gibsons Public Market. As a
founding member and President
of the Gibsons Public Market
Building Society, Nick was able
to make concrete his abiding
belief in sustainable development at the local level. Internationally, Nick joined the board of
Vancouver 's Globe Foundation
at the request of his long- time
colleague, Dr. John Wiebe,
Globe's President. Nick was
happy with this opportunity to
contribute his perspective to
Globe's focus on helping to build
a sustainable global economy for
the 21st century.
   Nick was a devoted family man
and loyal friend, who treasured
close relationships in all aspects
of his life. Throughout his
distinguish ed career he acted as
a mentor and role model for
dozens of aspiring colleagues
He was an inspiration to many
people with his positive outlook,
inclusive worldview, and
commitment to a positive
future.
   Nick was predeceas ed by his
father, Paul. He is survived by his
mother, Katie; his wife, Linda;
his son, Christopher (Morgan);
his daughter, Catherine
(Guillaume ); and his extended
family in Chilliwack, Vancouver,
California, and the UK.
   To honor Nick's lifetime of work
in sustainable development and
his commitment to Gibsons and
the Sunshine Coast, the family
requests that in lieu of flowers or
other gifts you make a
contribution to the development of the Nicholas Sonntag
Marine Education Centre, which
will be a featured part of the
next stage of the Gibsons Public
Market. Please direct your
donation to the Sunshine Coast
Community Foundation for the
Nicholas Sonntag Marine
Education Centre Fund. All
donations made payable to the
Foundation will be met with a
tax receipt. Donations may be
made in two ways: online at the
website of the Foundation at:
www.sccfoundation.com;
alternatively, you may mail a
cheque made payable to the
Sunshine Coast Community
Foundation at: Gibsons Public
Market, 473 Gower Point Rd,
Gibsons, BC, V0N 1V8. If you
would like to share stories and
memories about Nick's life, you
can do so on a special Facebook
page set up for this at https:// www.face book.com/ inmemoryofnicksonn tag?ref=hl
A public celebration of Nick's life
will be held on October 10th,
from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., at the
Gibsons Public Market, located at
473 Gower Point Rd, Gibsons,
BC.