DESPITE ECONOMIC UPHEAVAL GENERATION Y IS STILL FEELING GREEN: RSA CANADA
SURVEY

One-third of Gen-Y would quit job with environmentally irresponsible employer

TORONTO, Oct. 28 /CNW/ - Despite facing the first extreme financial recession of their adult lives fueled with fears of job safety and economic uncertainty, Canadian Gen-Yers have not lost their altruistic faith entirely, according to a recent survey.  In fact, 77 per cent agree that it's important for their company to be environmentally-friendly with one-third reporting that they would quit their job if they found their employer was environmentally irresponsible.

The survey, conducted by Leger Marketing on behalf of RSA Insurance, highlights the growing attitude among young Canadians to expect that their employers are aware of their collective impact on the environment and that they demonstrate their commitment to resolving it.  In fact, 68 per cent of Gen-Yers reported that they would actively participate in helping their company meet their green standards by creating or joining an internal "green team" - a growing trend across Canadian offices such as RSA Canada, a leading home, business and automobile insurer.

"At RSA, we have a very detailed Green Team strategy which was created and driven entirely by our employees," says Adrian Hall, Executive Sponsor Green Team.  "As the workforce continues to age and more like-minded Gen Yers start their careers, there is no doubt that an increased focus will be placed on ensuring a company's environmental and sustainability record are in the "green" and that employers are proactive in taking steps to recognize, encourage and foster this interest among their employees."

At RSA, the Green Team is focused on implementing simple changes that have a massive impact when adopted by all employees.  Some of the key objectives of RSA's Green Team include:

• Water Bottle Reduction
• The RSA Green Team effectively eliminated over 5,000 water bottles and expects to surpass their annual goal of 5,300 through a reusable bottle and pitcher campaign.
• Paper Reduction
• Through a variety of paper-saving methods, RSA's Green Team has eliminated over 127,000 sheets of paper which translates into 15 trees.
• Meetings at a Distance
• To decrease the environmental impact associated with travel (i.e. carbon emissions), the Green Team promoted and helped to implement technologies such as video conferencing and webex.
• Reduce Garbage and Increase Recycling
• The Green Team launched a recycling program in Calgary with expected diversion from landfill of approximately 2 to 2.5 tonnes.  A composting program has also been put in place in Atlantic Canada, with Maritime employees composting more than 700 lbs.

In addition to these specific initiatives, RSA's CFO, Nick Creatura, has pledged his commitment to demonstrate RSA's environmental focus when he traveled with the World Wildlife Federation to Copenhagen to attend the United Nation's climate change conference. He will also be joining WWF-Canada on an Arctic excursion in November 2010 to observe a select polar bear population in the Canadian Arctic, led by scientists and subject matter experts. This trip provides a valuable opportunity to gain a better understanding of the impacts of climate change, as the Arctic is often a good indicator of the overall health of our climate. Because environmental sustainability has become so important to the RSA family at large, an internal competition was launched to determine who will join Rowan in the Arctic to share this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"While factors such as salary, vacation and benefits packages will always be important, it is becoming more and more clear that Canadians, most notably those from Generation Y, want to spend their days working for a company that shares the same vision they do for the world," says Hall. 

The Leger study was conducted between August 2^nd to August 5^th 2010, with a sample of 1522 Canadians, 18 years of age or older.  A probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of ±2.5%.

About RSA Canada
RSA Canada includes Roins Financial Services Limited, Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada, Quebec Assurance Company, Johnson Inc., Western Assurance Company, Ascentus Insurance Ltd., Canadian Northern Shield Insurance Company and is part of RSA Insurance Group plc. RSA Canada employs approximately 3,200 people and is represented by a large network of brokers across the country. In 2009, the Canadian Group wrote $1.9bn in direct premiums with assets exceeding $5.5 billion. Internationally, RSA Insurance Group plc employs about 21,000 people and has the capability to write business in 130 countries and in 2009 its net written premiums were £6.7bn. RSA is a trade name of Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada.

For further information:

about RSA, please visit www.rsagroup.com