SAS Canada Named One of Canada's Greenest Employers for 2010

Recognized for its commitment to Environmental Sustainability through its LEED Headquarters and Earth-Friendly Initiatives

TORONTO, April 22 /CNW/ - SAS Canada, the leader in business analytics (http://www.sas.com/businessanalytics/), today was named one of Canada's Greenest Employers (http://www.canadastop100.com/environmental/) for 2010. SAS Canada was recognized for its commitment to environmental sustainability, its LEED Silver certified headquarters, and its earth-friendly employee initiatives. The list is published by Mediacorp Canada Inc., which manages the annual Canada's Top 100 Employers competition.

"At SAS, our green initiatives represent continuous employee-driven efforts and corporate initiatives that allow our company to grow and maintain a successful business without sacrificing our planet's natural resources, said Carl Farrell, President SAS Canada. SAS Canada is becoming a leader in environmental sustainability, not only for recognizing and demonstrating that sustainability requires conservative use of natural resources but also supplying software tools which help organizations manage their environmental footprint."

Held annually since 2007, the Canada's Greenest Employers competition recognizes employers that lead the nation in creating a culture of environmental awareness. The winners on this year's list have developed exceptional earth-friendly initiatives -- and are attracting people to their organizations because of their environmental leadership.

SAS's eco-friendly headquarters celebrated its fourth anniversary in December 2009, announcing a 375 per cent return on investment since opening the building in 2006; proof that going green can be good for the bottom line.

"When we announced our new green headquarters there were some naysayers," said Stuart Bowden, Senior Vice President, Operations and Finance for SAS Canada. "But today, with one of the most sustainable commercial buildings in the country a noticeable reduction in employee absenteeism, an above average return on investment and the fact that we are operating at 40 per cent less in energy consumption than a typical Ontario office building, I think we've proven them wrong."

Earlier this year SAS Canada celebrated four consecutive years of double-digit growth announcing a 13 per cent increase in 2009 software revenue over the previous year. In response to this growth, SAS also announced that it is adding approximately 20 new positions to meet the continuing demand for its solutions.

SAS remains the overwhelming leader in the advanced analytics market, according to IDC, with 33 per cent market share in 2008 (IDC, June 2009 (http://www.sas.com/news/preleases/IDCbusinessintelligencetoolsreport.html)). According to Gartner (http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=855612), the number one spending priority in 2009 was Business Intelligence software; a technology founded on analytics. Gartner recently listed advanced analytics as one of the top 10 strategic technologies (http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1210613) for organizations in 2010.

SAS Canada's environmentally friendly Toronto headquarters was LEED (http://www.cagbc.org/leed/what/index.php) Silver certified in 2008 and the company continues to generate public recognition for its leadership in corporate sustainability practices. SAS Canada was honored with the Award of Excellence - energy conservation - at the 2009 Green Toronto Awards (http://www.toronto.ca/greentorontoawards/index.htm). The headquarters was also the winner of the Real Estate Excellence Award (REX) for Office Development of the Year in 2005.

About SAS

SAS is the leader in business analytics (http://www.sas.com/businessanalytics/) software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. Through innovative solutions delivered within an integrated framework, SAS helps customers at more than 45,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world THE POWER TO KNOW(R).

The Canadian subsidiary of SAS has been in operation for 22 years. Headquartered in Toronto, SAS employs 263 people across the country at its Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec City and Montréal and offices. www.sas.com

SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. (R) indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright (C) 2010 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.

For further information: Editorial Contact: Suzanne Sprajcar, [email protected], [phone]; Visit the SAS Press Center, www.sas.com/presscenter