TORONTO, April 22, 2013 /CNW/ - Stikeman Elliott is pleased to announce we have been selected as one of Canada's Greenest Employers for 2013, based on the firm's application to this year's Canada's Top 100 Employers competition, together with research conducted by MediaCorp.
"It is a privilege to be acknowledged for our commitment to achieving measurable results in the areas of waste reduction, recycling and energy efficiency, and significantly reducing the environmental impact of our daily operations," said William Braithwaite, Chair of Stikeman Elliott. "Since our internal GoingGreen program launched in 2008, formalizing green initiatives across all offices, we have constantly looked for ways to improve sustainability in our business processes and culture. Recognitions such as this confirm that we are on the right path."
According to MediaCorp, Stikeman Elliott stands out as an environmental leader and is deserving of this recognition for many reasons, among them:
- For establishing our GoingGreen program, a key element in our continuing effort to build environmental awareness among firm members. It involves implementation of market-leading environmental best practices, coordinated by a Green Committee in each office, with membership from a broad cross-section of firm members.
- Offices nationwide participate in a variety of green initiatives. For example: Calgary helps to clean parks every year, Vancouver recycles containers to raise money for charity, the finance team in Montréal has eliminated all paper based reporting and Toronto maintains a green blog, which has been active since 2009.
- The Toronto office supports CivicAction's "Greening Greater Toronto" initiative, which aims to make the Greater Toronto Area one of the greenest regions in North America.
- Firm buildings are all BOMA BEST certified, and our Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa and Calgary offices are currently aiming for LEED Gold certification.
Over the last five years, the firm's carbon footprint calculation has gauged the impact and progress of the GoingGreen program. This analysis reveals:
- Stikeman Elliott is the first Canadian national law firm to be certified as carbon neutral. Through collective national effort the firm reduced its carbon footprint by 13% since the first footprint in 2008.
- A firm wide commitment to duplex printing launched in 2008, has seen a reduction of 39% in paper usage, which equates to a savings of over 93 tonnes of paper.
- Energy efficiencies and improved waste diversion have resulted in a 23% reduction in building operations across the firm due to recycling and energy conservation initiatives, including education to change behaviours, changes in lighting schedules and improved technologies.
- Waste disposal across the firm decreased due to increased diversion of organics, batteries, e-waste, paper and in general improved recycling behaviour.
At a national level all offices have:
- A comprehensive recycling program in place for paper products, cans and bottles, toner, batteries, organic waste, electronic waste and office supplies.
- Printers and copiers are installed with "sleep modes" where after a specified period of inactivity they reduce their energy consumption by powering down without turning off completely.
- Multi-function printer machines (used to print, copy and scan) are used in all offices replacing separate standalone units, helping reduce energy consumption.
- Various energy efficient best practices, such as reducing lighting levels in common areas and adjusting temperatures during the season to improve energy usage.
A full list of this year's winners can be found at www.canadastop100.com/environmental.
ABOUT STIKEMAN ELLIOTT LLP
Stikeman Elliott LLP is recognized internationally for the sophistication of its business law practice. The firm is a Canadian leader in each of its core practice areas - corporate finance, M&A, banking, corporate-commercial, real estate, tax, insolvency, structured finance, competition, business litigation - and has developed in-depth knowledge of a wide range of industries from banking and insurance to energy, mining and technology.
Stikeman Elliott maintains offices in Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, as well as London, New York and Sydney. The firm was named as one of Canada's 50 Best Employers for 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, and as one of the Top 100 Employers in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. It was further recognized in 2010, 2012 and 2013 as one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers and in 2010 as among the Best Employers for New Canadians. It was also named as a Green 30 organization in 2010, 2011 and 2012, a distinction presented to businesses who display a commitment to environmental sustainability in their operations.
For more information about Stikeman Elliott please visit www.stikeman.com.
SOURCE: Stikeman Elliott LLP
Media contacts:
Michelle Di Rocco
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416.869.7062
Mirabel Paquette
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