Friday June 19, 2020

Did you know that 75% of employees would be more likely to work for a company with a green footprint? That’s just one of the many reasons employers are blazing more sustainable paths.

This year, 14 organizations from the bullfrogpowered community have been honoured on the list of Canada’s Greenest Employers. These sustainability leaders have embedded good environmental practices into their core business models, and they continue to find innovative ways to green their operations and engage their staff.

Winners of Canada’s Greenest Employers are evaluated on the following criteria: developing unique environmental initiatives or programs; reducing their own environmental footprint; involving employees and applying their unique skills to these programs; and linking their environmental initiatives to the employer’s public identity.

In addition to choosing green energy through Bullfrog Power, these organizations have innovative environmental initiatives in place. Here are some of our favourites from the 14 bullfrogpowered organizations recognized by Canada’s Top 100 Employers this year:

• RBC’s environmental policy focuses on supporting clients’ transition to the low-carbon economy, they’re moving towards net-zero emissions for their operations, and over 500 employees act as Green Champions to encourage sustainable behaviours through employee-led initiatives.
• The Co-operators have developed an intensive recycling program, and they salvage usable materials from commercial and residential property claims for donation to Habitat for Humanity.
• MEC has maintained a 90% waste diversion rate since 2007. They’ve also focused on reducing plastic within their stores and shipping by eliminating single-use shopping bags and using “sushi-roll” packaging. This style of packaging has eliminated approximately 140 tonnes of plastic since 2010!
• LoyaltyOne (AIR MILES) has expanded their waste diversion program to capture organics, clothing, eyeglasses, e-waste, coffee cups, batteries, and writing implements. They also have one of Canada’s first large rooftop solar installations—the 800 solar panels on their Mississauga call centre produce 165 KW of power.
• Nature’s Path has an 11-stream recycling station in their head-office and achieved a waste diversion of 97% from landfills at their Delta, BC facility in 2019. They also partner with organic farms in Canada and the United States to ensure more than 48,000 hectares of farmland stay free from chemical fertilizers and toxic pesticides.
• TD has planted over 390,000 trees since 2010 as part of the flagship TD Tree Days. In addition, their Friends of the Environment Foundation has supported over 26,000 local environmental projects since 1990.
• Symcor encourages employees to take alternative transport to work by offering secure bike parking, electric vehicle parking, transit discounts, and preferred parking for people who carpool.
• The Home Depot helps Canadians reduce their impact at home with their Eco Options product line, which has over 1,700 products that contribute to energy efficiency, sustainable forestry practice, water conservation, and more.
• Sodexo Canada is working with chefs across Canada to expand their plant-based menu items. They eliminated all single-use plastic take-out bags, straws, and stir sticks in 2019, offering compostable options on request, and their WasteWatch program has reduced food waste by 50% on average.
• The Printing House reduces paper waste by donating paper cut-off and envelopes to charities, daycare centres, and schools. Paper waste is also donated to recyclers and recycled paper makers.
• DIALOG developed a Carbon Action Plan in 2012 to address electricity and natural gas usage, air travel, daily commuting, and water and paper usage.
• Assiniboine Credit Union has an extensive greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategy that monitors the consumption of natural gas, electricity, paper products, employee commuting habits, business travel, and waste to landfill.
• Diva International has many internal sustainability measures, including a paper policy which reduces excess waste and requires the use of FSC-certified paper. Employees are introduced to these measures on their first day at work and participate in regular sustainability workshops and challenges like #NoPlasticNovember.
• Credit Valley Conservation uses TerraCycle to capture additional recyclables such as pens and pencils, and they set up their own organic composting where municipal programs aren’t available.

Congratulations to this year’s recipients! We thank you for taking care of the environment, and we look forward to seeing what new green initiatives you take on.