RBC's head office
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 RBC was selected as one of Canada's Greenest Employers (2013):
- recently established a $20 million commitment to new social and environmental initiative -- includes the $10 million "RBC Impact Fund" to help finance projects by entrepreneurs and organizations addressing social and environmental challenges as well as a $10 million investment of its own assets into socially responsible investment (SRI) funds
- established the "RBC Environmental Blueprint" back in 2007 (but had developed its first environmental policy back in 1991), which is a green strategy to address ways in which the bank and its employees can address environmental issues, identifying three priority environmental issues, including climate change, biodiversity and water
- has a Director of Corporate Environmental Affairs and corresponding group who are responsible for oversight and implementation of the blueprint -- and recently issued its fourth annual "RBC Environment Blueprint Report Card" that tracks the bank's annual progress against 44 environmental commitments
- as part of an ongoing strategy to reduce its environmental footprint, the bank seeks to lease or build greener office space where possible (over 35 percent of its international floorspace is certified to LEED and other building standards)
- and across Canada, the bank has installed energy efficient lighting as part of a number of lighting upgrade projects as well as powering many Canadian branch locations with certified green power and operating 11 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified retail branches across the country -- the company's landmark corporate headquarters as well as the new RBC Centre in Toronto are both LEED certified structures
- established a "Global Environmental Committee" back in 2008 to monitor the effectiveness of the bank's many environmental programs and identify areas for new programs and revisions to existing environmental policies
- operates a number of waste diversion initiatives across the bank, including recycling programs, the promotion of the reuse of furniture and other fixtures where possible and the proper disposal of electronic waste (as well as considering disposal issues when procuring new equipment) and aggressive paper recycling programs
- and, has also introduced a new "Responsible Procurement Policy" that incorporates environmental and social considerations into all purchases made by the bank -- a far-reaching program noting the bank is a major purchaser of goods and services and able to encourage its many suppliers to consider their own policies
- recently introduced new financing products for solar power generation products (individual and commercial), offers energy saver loan products to help customers create energy efficient homes while saving on the borrowing costs, and offers investors seven socially responsible investment (SRI) mutual fund products
- operates the internationally focused "Blue Water Project" to support water stewardship projects in countries where the bank operates -- dedicating $50 million over ten years on projects that are focused on watershed protection and access to freshwater
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