Chosen as one of Canada's Greenest Employers for 2011:
By Kristina Leung and Richard Yerema, Mediacorp Canada Inc. staff editor
(
Apr 20, 2011)
Some of the reasons why KPMG LLP was selected as one of Canada's Greenest Employers (2011):
around the world, KPMG's "Global Green Initiative" commits the firm to reduce its international carbon footprint by 25 percent (compared to the baseline year of 2007) through energy conservation and use of renewable energy
in Canada, the firm established a Environmental Performance Initiative (EPI) in 2007 that formalized its commitment to address its Canada-wide environmental performance and programs -- and in 2009 the firm continued its leadership with the launch the "Community Leader Strategy" to encompass and ensure that environmental sustainability is a core consideration in the firm's overall business strategy
in support of its Community Leader Strategy, the firm has created three new full-time roles to help oversee the implementation of it sustainability strategy
across the firm, volunteer employees form the "National Sustainability Office Champion Network" meet monthly (via teleconference technology) to discuss programs and share local ideas and experiences from across the country -- thus far employees have implemented recycling programs (including cellphones and eyeglasses), made the move to fair-trade coffee, replaced bottle water with filtered water and developed initiatives to collect and reuse gently used office supplies
the firm also maintains a "Sustainability Advisory Panel" that is comprised of employees representing different operational areas at the firm, from procurement to marketing to information technology -- these panel members are charged with the responsibility to find opportunities to improve their particular niche in support of the firms broader sustainability goals
the firm's head office is located in a state-of-the-art head office in downtown Toronto that is built to the "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design" (LEED) Gold standard and designed to consume 40 percent less energy than comparable buildings
the firm implemented a formal paper reduction strategy in 2007 which resulted in a 28% reduction of paper usage in just two years (over 13 million fewer sheets of paper were used in 2009 over the previous year) -- this was achieved by moving to electronic documents where possible and a formal printing strategy that included a reduction in the number of printers by one-third as well as the elimination of personal printers
the firm has also revised its paper procurement strategies with the minimum recycled content for paper purchase currently set at 30%, as well as purchasing only paper made from Canadian fibre
the firm continues in its efforts to reduce carbon emissions resulting from business travel, encouraging employees to seek alternatives (primarily through increased utilization of video conferencing technology) and updated travel policies that track the reasons for travel to better understand where future changes can be made
encourages employees to think about their daily actions and provide practical solutions through the "Think First Campaign", which provides employees with practical tips to lessen their personal and the firm's environmental impacts
has a longstanding program that includes environmental groups and initiatives on the list of charitable organizations supported by the firm's longstanding "KPMG Foundation" community program
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