BRAMPTON, ON, April 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - (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
principles that drive Loblaw's corporate social responsibility
(CSR) commitments.
"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 Loblaw takes seriously its responsibility
to continue to reduce the environmental impact of our operations
through the sourcing of sustainable products, environmentally
friendly purchasing decisions and by reducing energy
consumption."
Some of Loblaw's environmental accomplishments in 2011
include:
- Helping protect our oceans: In 2009 Loblaw announced a
commitment to source all seafood sold in its retail locations from
sustainable sources by the end of 2013. In 2011 Loblaw more than
doubled the number of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified
wild-caught seafood products sold in its stores. Wisesource
TM Salmon became more broadly available across more
stores in Ontario and Quebec and introduced in Atlantic Canada. WiseSource™ Salmon is a
sustainably sourced farmed Atlantic Salmon raised in Canadian
waters using an innovative process called Integrated Multi-Trophic
Aquaculture (IMTA), a method committed to healthier waters through
a balanced ecosystem management approach.
- Reducing the use of plastic shopping bags: Since 2007,
and motivated by its national charge for plastic shopping bag
program, Loblaw has reduced the number of plastic shopping bags
from its stores by 3.8 billion.
- Fuel Efficiency - Over the past several years, Loblaw
has undertaken a number of initiatives to reduce the environmental
impact of its transport fleet. In 2011, the Company reduced overall
fuel consumption by 2 per cent and reduced idle time by 20 per cent
in comparison to 2010. The Company added 52 newer, more
efficient trucks to its fleet; expanded the number of long
combination vehicles and shipped more than 22,000 loads of product
via rail. To reduce empty kilometres, Loblaw maximized load volumes
by increasing cube per load and increased the number of backhaul
trips.
- Reduced energy consumption: Loblaw is committed to
taking action on climate change and reducing green house gas
emissions primarily resulting from energy consumption and
refrigerant leaks. In 2011, the Company completed lighting
retrofits for 112 corporate stores nationally where more than
36,000 light fixtures were converted to fluorescent technology
resulting in energy savings that would power 4,700 homes in
Canada for one year. Loblaw also
achieved a 14 per cent reduction in energy consumption in renovated
corporate stores in Western
Canada. In Ontario, all
four solar panel projects were in commercial operation and by
year-end generated 222,780 kilowatt hours of clean carbon
energy. Across the organization, Loblaw reduced the total
amount of refrigerant leaked by 9.7 per cent through the
installation of cutting-edge refrigeration systems and continued
improvement in leak-checking program.
- Increased waste diversion: Loblaw is committed to
reducing waste throughout its supply chain. In 2011, the Company
expanded organic waste diversion and multi-stream recycling
programs in corporate stores, distribution centres and store
support centres. Loblaw also piloted Reusable Plastic Containers
(RPC) for shipping produce. By year-end Loblaw diverted 78 per cent
of waste from corporate distribution centres, 75 per cent from
stores support centres and 60 per cent from corporate stores. In
2008, Loblaw introduced Canada's
first and only national recycling program for gardeners. Exclusive
to Loblaw stores, gardeners across the country can drop off their
used plastic pots and flats which are not accepted by the Blue Box
programs. The plastic products are then recycled to create new pots
and flats for the next season. Through this unique program, Loblaw
diverted 4.1 million pounds of plastic flower pots and flats from
landfill from 2008 to 2011.
- Fostering green advocates: In 2011, Loblaw
supported several environmental initiatives for colleagues and
their communities. Loblaw's Supply Chain Community
Stewardship Program supports local community environmental
initiatives and programs by providing an annual financial grant to
each corporate distribution centre to encourage support of local
community projects, activities or charitable organizations with an
environmental focus. Through partial proceeds from the sale
of plastic shopping bags, Loblaw continued to support WWF
conservation initiatives such as the Great Canadian Shoreline
Cleanup™, National Sweater Day™ and the WWF Green CommUnity School
Grants program.
- Increasing our greener options: Loblaw's PC®
G.R.E.E.N® product line crosses a variety of categories including
home, baby, and pet accessories to help customers reduce their
environmental footprint. Some of the new products launched in 2011
include the PC® G.R.E.E.N® Express Cycle Dishwasher
Detergent and the PC® G.R.E.E.N® Multi-Use Produce Shopping
Bags.
On April 30, 2012, Loblaw will be
releasing its 2011 Corporate Social Responsibility Report, which
will provide updated information on the full range of Loblaw's CSR
commitments and achievements. Please visit the responsibility page
at loblaw.ca for more information.
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 135,000 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