Loblaw Named One of Canada's Greenest Employers for Third Consecutive Year
19 April 2012 - 10:52PM
PR Newswire (Canada)
BRAMPTON, ON, April 20, 2012 /CNW/ - - Once again, Loblaw Companies
Limited (Loblaw) has been named one of Canada's Greenest Employers,
by Mediacorp Canada. The award commends Loblaw for creating a
corporate culture committed to the development of industry-leading
environmentally conscious and sustainability focused
initiatives. Respect the Environment is one of five
principles that drive Loblaw's corporate social responsibility
(CSR) commitments. "Loblaw and its colleagues, employees and
franchise owners are committed to being one of Canada's Greenest
Employers," said Bob Chant, senior vice-president, corporate
affairs and communication, Loblaw Companies Limited. "As Canada's
largest grocery retailer Loblaw takes seriously its responsibility
to continue to reduce the environmental impact of our operations
through the sourcing of sustainable products, environmentally
friendly purchasing decisions and by reducing energy consumption."
Some of Loblaw's environmental accomplishments in 2011 include: --
Helping protect our oceans:In 2009 Loblawannounced a commitment to
source all seafood sold in its retail locations from sustainable
sources by the end of 2013. In 2011 Loblaw more than doubled the
number of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified wild-caught
seafood products sold in its stores. WisesourceTM Salmon became
more broadly available across more stores in Ontario and Quebec and
introduced in Atlantic Canada. WiseSource™ Salmon is a sustainably
sourced farmed Atlantic Salmon raised in Canadian waters using an
innovative process called Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture
(IMTA), a method committed to healthier waters through a balanced
ecosystem management approach. -- Reducing the use of plastic
shopping bags: Since 2007, and motivated by its national charge for
plastic shopping bag program, Loblaw has reduced the number of
plastic shopping bags from its stores by 3.8 billion. -- Fuel
Efficiency -Over the past several years, Loblaw has undertaken a
number of initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of its
transport fleet. In 2011, the Company reduced overall fuel
consumption by 2 per cent and reduced idle time by 20 per cent in
comparison to 2010. The Company added 52 newer, more efficient
trucks to its fleet; expanded the number of long combination
vehicles and shipped more than 22,000 loads of product via rail. To
reduce empty kilometres, Loblaw maximized load volumes by
increasing cube per load and increased the number of backhaul
trips. -- Reduced energy consumption:Loblaw is committed to taking
action on climate change and reducing green house gas emissions
primarily resulting from energy consumption and refrigerant leaks.
In 2011, the Company completed lighting retrofits for 112 corporate
stores nationally where more than 36,000 light fixtures were
converted to fluorescent technology resulting in energy savings
that would power 4,700 homes in Canada for one year. Loblaw also
achieved a 14 per cent reduction in energy consumption in renovated
corporate stores in Western Canada. In Ontario, all four solar
panel projects were in commercial operation and by year-end
generated 222,780 kilowatt hours of clean carbon energy. Across the
organization, Loblaw reduced the total amount of refrigerant leaked
by 9.7 per cent through the installation of cutting-edge
refrigeration systems and continued improvement in leak-checking
program. -- Increased waste diversion:Loblaw is committed to
reducing waste throughout its supply chain. In 2011, the Company
expanded organic waste diversion and multi-stream recycling
programs in corporate stores, distribution centres and store
support centres. Loblaw also piloted Reusable Plastic Containers
(RPC) for shipping produce. By year-end Loblaw diverted 78 per cent
of waste from corporate distribution centres, 75 per cent from
stores support centres and 60 per cent from corporate stores. In
2008, Loblaw introduced Canada's first and only national recycling
program for gardeners. Exclusive to Loblaw stores, gardeners across
the country can drop off their used plastic pots and flats which
are not accepted by the Blue Box programs. The plastic products are
then recycled to create new pots and flats for the next season.
Through this unique program, Loblaw diverted 4.1 million pounds of
plastic flower pots and flats from landfill from 2008 to 2011. --
Fostering green advocates: In 2011, Loblaw supported several
environmental initiatives for colleagues and their communities.
Loblaw's Supply Chain Community Stewardship Program supports local
community environmental initiatives and programs by providing an
annual financial grant to each corporate distribution centre to
encourage support of local community projects, activities or
charitable organizations with an environmental focus. Through
partial proceeds from the sale of plastic shopping bags, Loblaw
continued to support WWF conservation initiatives such as the Great
Canadian Shoreline Cleanup™, National Sweater Day™ and theWWF Green
CommUnity School Grants program. -- Increasing our greener
options:Loblaw's PC®G.R.E.E.N®product line crosses a variety of
categories including home, baby, and pet accessories to help
customers reduce their environmental footprint. Some of the new
products launched in 2011 include the PC®G.R.E.E.N® Express Cycle
Dishwasher Detergent and the PC®G.R.E.E.N® Multi-Use Produce
Shopping Bags. On April 30, 2012, Loblaw will be releasing its 2011
Corporate Social Responsibility Report, which will provide updated
information on the full range of Loblaw's CSR commitments and
achievements. Please visit the responsibility page at loblaw.ca for
more information. Launched in 2007, the Canada's Greenest Employers
competition is organized by the editors of the Canada's Top 100
Employers project. This special designation recognizes the
employers that lead the nation in creating a corporate culture of
environmental awareness, have developed exceptional earth-friendly
initiatives and attracting people to their organizations because of
their environmental leadership. Employers are evaluated based on
the following criteria: (1) the unique environmental initiatives
and programs they have developed; (2) the extent to which they have
been successful in reducing the organization's own environmental
footprint; (3) the degree to which their employees are involved in
these programs and whether they contribute any unique skills; and
(4) the extent to which these initiatives have become linked to the
employer's public identity and whether they attract new people to
the organization. About Loblaw Companies Limited Loblaw Companies
Limited, a subsidiary of George Weston Limited, is Canada's largest
food retailer and a leading provider of drugstore, general
merchandise and financial products and services. Loblaw is one of
the largest private sector employers in Canada. With more than
1,000 corporate and franchised stores from coast to coast, Loblaw
and its franchisees employ more than 135,000 full-time and
part-time employees. Through its portfolio of store formats, Loblaw
is committed to providing Canadians with a wide, growing and
successful range of products and services to meet the everyday
household demands of Canadian consumers. Loblaw is known for the
quality, innovation and value of its food offering. It offers
Canada's strongest control (private) label program, including the
unique President's Choice®, no name® and Joe Fresh® brands. In
addition, the Company makes available to consumers President's
Choice Financial® services and offers the PC® points loyalty
program. Loblaw Companies Limited CONTACT: Public Relations
Department, Loblaw Companies Limitedpr@loblaw.ca or (905) 459-2500
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