Employees Identify Aon Hewitt's "Green 30" Organizations Based on Eco-Friendly Programs and Practices

Workplace Perceptions of Employers' Environmental Initiatives May Impact Employee Attraction and Retention

TORONTO, April 26, 2012 /CNW/ - The list of Canada's "Green 30"—organizations whose employees are most positive about their record on environmental stewardship—was released today by Aon Hewitt, the global leader in human capital consulting and outsourcing solutions. The list (attached) was compiled from employee feedback using Aon Hewitt's Employee Green Index, which focuses on employers' environmental strategies and activities, and their efforts to consider long-term social, environmental and economic impacts when making decisions.

As part of the 2012 Best Employers in Canada and Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada studies, Aon Hewitt surveyed over 112,000 employees at more than 261 organizations regarding their employers' commitment to environmental stewardship. Amongst the Green 30, 82 per cent of employees have a positive perception of their employers' eco-friendly efforts, contrasted against the 30 organizations with the least positive reviews, only 49 per cent were favourable.

"Employees see the difference when their employer focuses on making environmentally-conscious policies and practices a part of their business - and these practices may also have the effect of drawing certain employees to join—or stay with—the organization," says Neil Crawford, Aon Hewitt's leader of the Best Employer in Canada study. "There's a significant difference in the engagement scores between the Green 30 and firms that were lowest on the Employee Green Index. Seeing this impact highlights how positive it is for organizations to be proactive in implementing environmental policies."

The Green 30 are more likely to implement practices and programs to support and reinforce their commitment to environmental stewardship, as the following table demonstrates:

Eco-Friendly Practice	The Green 30				30 Lowest Ranked
Using environmentally preferred office equipment or supplies	96%				71%
Events to facilitate participation in Earth Day or Earth Hour	79%				45%
Program(s) to reduce Green House Gas emissions from business operations	79%				22%
Programs to reduce fuel use / emissions of  vehicle fleet	61%				22%
Subsidize costs of storage / showers for employees who cycle to work	64%				36%
Pay for / subsidize carbon offsets related to business travel	21%				11%
Subsidize travel by public transit to work, or provide parking discounts for employees who drive alternative fuel vehicles to work	29%				18%

"Aon Hewitt's ability to collect data from leaders and employees on the connections between employee engagement and CSR has been insightful, and it has allowed participating organizations to refine their approach, improve communications and best leverage their efforts," states Crawford. "It's important to appreciate that not every organization takes—or needs to take—the same approach to environmental practices. The thing these employers have in common is their demonstrated commitment to reducing the impact of their business on the environment. It's this passion—and action—that has the most value in the eyes of their employees."

The Green 30 list appears in the May 7 issue of Maclean's magazine, available on newsstands today, the week of Earth Day.

Organizations that participate in the Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada (50 - 399 employees) or the Best Employers in Canada (400 or more employees) studies are automatically eligible for The Green 30 list. The deadline to register for each study¾and therefore be considered for the 2013 Green 30 list¾is May 31, 2012. For more information and to register online, please visit www.hewitt.com/bestemployerscanada, or contact Colin Platt, Associate Partner at Aon Hewitt at 416-227-5817 or email [email protected].

About Aon Hewitt
Aon Hewitt is the global leader in human capital consulting and outsourcing solutions. The company partners with organizations to solve their most complex benefits, talent and related financial challenges, and improve business performance. Aon Hewitt designs, implements, communicates and administers a wide range of human capital, retirement, investment management, health care, compensation and talent management strategies. With more than 29,000 professionals in 90 countries, Aon Hewitt makes the world a better place to work for clients and their employees. For more information on Aon Hewitt, please visit www.aonhewitt.com.

About Aon
Aon Corporation (NYSE:AON) is the leading global provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human resources solutions and outsourcing. Through its more than 59,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon unites to deliver distinctive client value via innovative and effective risk management and workforce productivity solutions. Aon's industry-leading global resources and technical expertise are delivered locally in over 120 countries. Named the world's best broker by Euromoney magazine's 2008, 2009 and 2010 Insurance Survey, Aon also ranked highest on Business Insurance's listing of the world's insurance brokers based on commercial retail, wholesale, reinsurance and personal lines brokerage revenues in 2008 and 2009. A.M. Best deemed Aon the number one insurance broker based on revenues in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and Aon was voted best insurance intermediary 2007-2010, best reinsurance intermediary 2006-2010, best captives manager 2009-2010, and best employee benefits consulting firm 2007-2009 by the readers of Business Insurance. Visit http://www.aon.com for more information on Aon and http://www.aon.com/manchesterunited to learn about Aon's global partnership and shirt sponsorship with Manchester United.

The list of The Green 30 of 2012 appears below in alphabetical order.

Organization	Headquarters
Accor/Novotel Canada	Toronto ON
BC Biomedical Laboratories Ltd.	Surrey BC
Brookfield LePage Johnson Controls	Markham  ON
Celestica	Toronto ON
Cisco Canada	Toronto ON
Co-operators Life Insurance Company	Regina  SK
Cruickshank Construction Limited	Kingston ON
Delta Hotels and Resorts	Toronto  ON
EllisDon Corporation	London ON
GEF Seniors Housing	Edmonton  AB
IHG	Mississauga  ON
Ivanhoé Cambridge Inc.	Montreal  QC
LoyaltyOne Inc.	Toronto  ON
LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics	Vancouver  BC
Marriott Hotels of Canada ltd.	Mississauga  ON
Mountain Equipment Co-op	Vancouver  BC
National Leasing	Winnipeg  MB
Nexen Inc.	Calgary  AB
North Shore Credit Union	North Vancouver  BC
Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan	Waterloo ON
PCL Constructors Inc.	Edmonton  AB
Port Metro Vancouver	Vancouver BC
Softchoice Corporation	Vancouver BC
Stikeman Elliott LLP	N/A
TD Bank Group	Toronto  ON
The Co-operators	Guelph  ON
The Sovereign General Insurance Company	Calgary  AB
Vancity Credit Union	Vancouver BC
Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre	Vancouver BC
Wakefield Canada Inc.	Toronto  ON

 

 

Media Contacts:  
Tom Oldfield, 416.263.7860, [email protected]