Congratulations to the winners of the 2013 Living Planet @ Work Awards!

Yesterday evening, the Living Planet @ Work 2013 Award recipients were announced and honoured at WWF’s Annual Public Meeting (APM). The APM is our time to reflect on the past year, recognize all who supported our efforts along the way, and look forward to the exciting projects in the year ahead.

Last night was truly the perfect opportunity to recognize the efforts of champions and their green team members who work year-round to drive sustainable practices within their workplaces.
There are over 670 champions within the HP championed Living Planet @ Work program, representing companies from across Canada and around the world. Their collective effort highlights the importance of  grassroots environmental action in the workplace as a necessary movement towards business sustainability and lasting change.
Congratulations to the following 2013 Award recipients, who are leading examples of commitment to sustainability and employee engagement in the workplace:
Champions of the Year 
Alan Forbes, OLG Casino Thunder Bay
Alan Forbes helped to develop a comprehensive waste and recycling process for OLG’s Casino Thunder Bay site, which included the establishment of an annual internal waste audit. He has held three consecutive electronic waste drives which engaged local residents and one which collected 62,000 lbs to be responsibly recycled. Additionally, Forbes has taken his passion beyond the workplace and sits on local committees to address waste reduction in the community.

Jeannie White, Symcor
Jeannie White has been an engaged green champion in the workplace since 2011. Along with her green team, she helped spearhead an annual Eco Fair and WWF campaigns including National Sweater Day and Earth Hour, educating employees about energy conservation. Beyond driving efforts in the workplace, she has engaged the community by guest speaking about the Living Planet @ Work program and the importance of employee engagement around sustainability at various industry forums.

Green Team of the Year: Greening Government Implementation Team, Alberta Infrastructure
Alberta Infrastructure’s Greening Government Implementation Team is built for success, with representatives from across the organization and an Assistant Deputy Minister who acts as the Team’s Executive Sponsor. The Team works collaboratively across the organization to promote WWF campaigns including Earth Hour – which was coordinated at 12 government sites in five separate Alberta communities – and National Sweater Day, which engaged over 500 staff in 2013. The Team has also established a green rewards and recognition program called the Green Acclaim Awards that encourages staff to acknowledge co-workers for their green behaviours and/or contributions to Greening Government. The Team is currently engaged in priorities which will see a “green orientation” for all new Infrastructure staff, education around reducing business travel, and the creation of a green purchasing guide.

Workplace of the Year: The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise has been active in all three pillars of the Living Planet @ Work pledge: footprint reduction, participation in WWF campaigns and fundraising. To demonstrate commitment to sustainability at work, the hotel has a full-time Environmental Systems Manager to formally track and report on water, waste and energy impacts. The hotel actively participates in WWF campaigns including National Sweater Day, Earth Hour and the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, which not only engaged staff and hotel patrons but also encouraged employee fundraising for WWF’s conservation work.  An EnviroStar Award was also established to encourage employees to develop and implement environmental initiatives for the hotel.

Fundraiser of the Year: Sears Canada
Sears Canada has demonstrated their passion for conservation through an outstanding show of support for WWF’s Canada Life CN Tower Climb. In 2013, they engaged 75 employees to Climb and raise over $21,000. In addition to the donations made by employees through the Sears Employee Charitable Fund, Sears Canada employees contributed over $23,000 in support of WWF’s conservation work in the past year!

Winner of HP’s 2013 Change the Equation Sustainability Reporting Contest: Ontario Power Authority
The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) wrote the winning sustainability report in this year’s HP Change the Equation sustainability reporting contest. The report covers the OPA’s efforts to reduce waste, paper use and electricity consumption as well as efforts to procure more environmentally responsible office supplies and increase employee engagement. The report was recognized for its clearly outlined mandate, an honest review of success and opportunities which were substantiated with metrics derived from a considerable amount of monitoring.

Congratulations again, to all our winners and a big thank you to all of the participants in our community for their hard work and commitment.
Interested in leading footprint reduction initiatives, hosting environmental campaigns and fundraising for conservation programs year-round with your colleagues? Join Living Planet @ Work and get free access to tools and support to help you!