BRAMPTON, ON, April 22, 2013 /CNW/ - (TSX:L) - 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 corporate social responsibility (CSR) principles that drive the way the Company does business.
"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, we take our responsibility seriously to continue to reduce the environmental impact of our operations through waste reduction and recycling, the sustainable sourcing of products and by reducing energy consumption."
Some of Loblaw's environmental accomplishments that the award committee considered were:
- Reducing the use of plastic shopping bags: With the support of its customers, Loblaw reduced the number of plastic shopping bags in its stores nationally by more five billion since 2007. This is a testament to the success of the charge-for-plastic shopping bag program, which was implemented in 2009, with partial proceeds going to WWF-Canada to support conservation initiatives to mobilize Canadians to take positive action on the environment.
- Increased waste diversion: Loblaw is committed to reducing waste throughout its supply chain. In 2012, the Company expanded organic waste diversion and multi-stream recycling programs in corporate stores, distribution centres and store support centres. Loblaw distribution centres diverted 81 per cent of waste from landfill while its store support centres diverted 76 per cent. In 2008, Loblaw introduced Canada's first and only national recycling program for gardeners where they can drop off their used plastic pots and flats which are not accepted by curbside recycling programs. The plastic products are then recycled to create new pots and flats for the next season. Through this unique program, Loblaw diverted 5.2 million pounds of plastic flower pots and flats from landfill.
- Helping protect our oceans: In 2009, Loblaw committed to source all seafood sold in its stores from sustainable sources by the end of 2013. This affects all fresh, frozen and canned seafood along with products that contain seafood as an ingredient. To that end, in 2012, the Company focused its efforts on increasing the number of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified products in its stores and today sells the widest range of MSC certified products in Canada. It hosted a national MSC certified sustainable seafood in-store promotional event, the first of its kind in Canada. Loblaw also became the first and is the only retail member in the world to join the International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organisation (IFFO), the trade association for the marine ingredients industry.
- Fuel Efficiency - Over the past several years, Loblaw has undertaken a number of initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint of its transport fleet. In 2012, the Company installed a fleet tracking system in all corporate trucks; reduced driver idle and reduced the number of empty trailers on the road by increasing the number of long-combination vehicles in its fleet and backhaul trips. The Company also added 57 new, more efficient trucks to its fleet - 195 new trucks in total.
- Reduced energy consumption: Loblaw is committed to taking action on climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions primarily resulting from energy consumption and refrigerant leaks. In 2012, the Company completed lighting retrofits in 129 corporate stores and six distribution centres nationally to high-efficiency technology. Loblaw currently has four solar panel projects in commercial operation with 12 projects under construction.
- Fostering green advocates: Loblaw supports several environmental initiatives for colleagues and their communities. Loblaw's Supply Chain Community Stewardship Program supports local environmental initiatives and programs by providing financial grants to local community projects, activities or charitable organizations with an environmental focus.
- Widest range of green options: Loblaw's range of PC® G.R.E.E.N® products have the high performance and unbeatable value customers expect from the PC® brand, along with green benefits that make them feel great about using them in their home. Loblaw's PC® G.R.E.E.N® product line spans a variety of categories including household cleaners, home, and baby to help customers reduce their environmental footprint.
Please visit www.loblaw-reports.ca to find out more information about Loblaw's CSR programs and achievements. The 2012 Loblaw CSR Report will be available as of May 2, 2013.
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 134,000 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.
SOURCE: Loblaw Companies Limited
Public Relations Department, Loblaw Companies Limited
(905) 459-2500 or [email protected]
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