2017 Burnaby Pledge Member Sustainability Highlights!
Every year we celebrate the achievements of our Pledge members! Check out some of the incredible sustainable achievements of Burnaby’s business community.
Shape Properties commitment to sustainable business practices throughout its operations at Lougheed Town Center and Brentwood Mall and has achieved Boma Best Certification (Canadian industry standard for commercial building sustainability certification) in the following areas=Energy
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- Water
- Waste reduction
- Emissions and effluents
- Environmental management system
- Composting and energy reduction
Reid Automotive | Teresa Reid |Co-owner
Pledge member, winner of the Burnaby Business Excellence Awards for Sustainability and recipient of the City of Burnaby’s award for Environmental Sustainability is most recently profiled by Climate Smart for greenhouse gas reduction.
Reid’s Automotive Recycling first measured its greenhouse gas emissions with Climate Smart in 2014, and identified three main sources: (1) staff commuting; (2) natural gas used to heat its building, and (3) waste.
According to owner Teresa Reid, “We know that automotive recyclers aren’t necessarily perceived as protectors of the environment, but the very nature of our business–recovering and supplying used auto parts –has significant environmental benefits. We are very proud of being part of the solution and providing a green option in automotive repair. Working with Climate Smart to extend this commitment to our operations was not only a logical next step for us, it resonated strongly with all of us who work here. The results have benefitted us on many levels. Our expenses are lower and our staff are more engaged and work more collaboratively. This has assisted a growth in our revenue, increased our efficiency, and helps us deliver a higher level of service to our customers. It’s really been win, win, win.”
Read more here.
Simon Fraser University
A key achievement for this year was the development of a long term sustainability plan. See plan here. Read news article here. The vision includes ambitious plans for SFU to be a globally recognized leader in sustainability, move towards 100 per cent renewable energy sources, become a zero-waste university and more.
BCIT
The Province of British Columbia created the BC Energy Step Code to make buildings net-zero energy ready by 2032. It provides an incremental and consistent approach to achieving more energy-efficient buildings that go beyond the requirements of the current BC Building Code. The City of Vancouver is also leading the way with the Zero Emissions Building plan.
Our BCIT team (i.e. the ZEB team) was created to support the construction industry with transitioning to the new BC Energy Step Code and new City of Vancouver Zero Emissions Building bylaws. We provide a full suite of educational products that are short and hands-on.
Royal Printers | Minto Roy | Senior Partner
“Everybody Has a Role to Play”
Positioning sustainability as a primary business driver has positively impacted Royal Printers in many ways. It has improved and galvanized employee pride and loyalty as well as strengthened relations with customers and key business stakeholders. It has become a powerful brand differentiator that resonates and adds measurable value to customer groups across the industry. Sustainability has been instrumental in creating new and mutually beneficial partnerships with leading environmental organizations, industry associations, government agencies and prominent business leaders who are equally committed to elevating sustainable practices and policies. OUr commitment to the environment has driven new product innovation and creativity from employees, customers, and supply chain partners. As an industry, printing companies can play a large role in the reduction of deforestation. Moving forward it is important that these companies understand the difference that can be made by introducing sustainable policies and practices and work together to build a better future.
Telus | Geoff Pegg | Director of Sustainability
In our view, two sustainability trends to watch for in the coming years concern reporting and disclosure, along with strategy development.” We anticipate that governments and regulators will increases their focus on addressing climate change and monitoring emissions of the corporate sector. This trend has already started but will likely expand in scope and will impact organizations on a scale, depending on industry and size of the organization.
Our program we’ve implemented internally that has really produced results is our Work Styles initiative which provides employees the ability to work in the office, at a mobile site or at home. The program not only reduces our C)2 emissions by enabling us to consolidate our real estate holding and eliminate hours in employee commuting – it is also delivering a series of other benefits including increased engagement, productivity and business results.
The Silent Gardener | Sheldon Ridout
With our on going goal of trying to have as small of GHG foot print possible, we put a deposit on a Mighty E electric utility truck. (NEV) The Mighty E is built on the Island, so we are also supporting local manufacturing. In 4 months you will see this little truck running around the streets of Vancouver, Primarily around the Westend and the Olympic Village. http://www.canev.com/might_e_truck.php
Envirosafety
In a bid to reduce waste this year we have eliminated paper notes for phone messages and memos in the office by using the instant messaging service – Google Hangouts. The initiative has been very successful and proves to be more efficient than paper notes we have used in the past. In 2018 we plan to introduce more electronic forms into our operations in a bid to reduce the use of paper.
ABC Recycling
Implemented pen recycling program through Project S.A.V. E.
