Chosen as one of Canada's Greenest Employers for 2013:
By Richard Yerema and Julien Gagnier, Mediacorp Canada Inc. staff editors
(Apr 21, 2013)
Some of the reasons why Fairmont Hotels & Resorts was selected as one of Canada's Greenest Employers (2013):
an industry leading company that recently celebrated 20 years of its "Green Partnership" program, which defines its comprehensive commitment to minimizing its hotel's impacts on their local environments -- and literally wrote the book in its industry on how to build a greener business -- entitled the "Green Partnership Guide", first published in 1990 and now in its third edition, the guide has been distributed to hotel management schools and even other hotel chains around the world
has implemented a new sustainability data management system to help track, measure and understand the results of their environmental programs, in real-time and across the entire hotel chain
continues to work with the World Wildlife Fund's "Climate Savers" program to reduce its operational greenhouse gas emissions, pledging to reduce CO2 emission by 20 percent below 2006 levels by 2013 -- and has introduced an international Sustainable Design policy that commits the company to incorporate Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards into its existing renovation and new construction standards
the company also developed a "Green Procurement Policy and Supplier Code of Conduct" to encourage and educate its main suppliers on how to meet the updated standards
recently introduced a formal "Water Management Program" that provides each property location with the tools to monitor and measure water consumption, helping to identify how best to increase water efficiency and reduce overall consumption
at some properties, Fairmont operates programs that divert over 80 percent of items that were previously thrown away as garbage (from food to furniture) with food scraps transported to farms and used furniture donated to shelters -- the company recently introduced a formal "Waste Management Program" to help hotel properties around the world reduce unnecessary waste generation
in a unique initiative, employee-led "Green Teams" compete for recognition as the "Green Team of the Quarter" as well as the coveted title of "Environmental Hotel of the Year" -- and individual employees also compete for the title of "EnviroStar of the Year", which is awarded to the individual who has shown an outstanding commitment to the company's sustainability goals, as well as the "Environmental Engineer of the Year" award for the engineer who has shown an outstanding commitment to green initiatives
has developed a variety of initiatives at its properties worldwide, including the development of organic gardens such as the rooftop garden and apiary atop the Royal York in Toronto to Vancouver's Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel's partnership with the Stanley Park Ecology Society in support of their efforts as stewards of the city's landmark park
maintains a number of partnerships with outside organizations to promote awareness of the company's sustainable tourism practices and its many unique eco-travel experiences, including partnerships with the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary program, the World Wildlife Fund, National Geographic, and the Green Key Eco-Rating program
Background Information
Major Canadian hiring locations: Toronto ON, Banff AB, Jasper AB, Lake Louise AB, Vancouver BC, Whistler BC, Montréal QC, Québec QC.
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