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 Research In Motion Limited (RIM) was selected as one of Canada's Greenest Employers (2011):
recently established a dedicated "Corporate Responsibility" team to oversee day-to-day efforts in monitoring and extending the company's sustainability initiatives, and established the "Green Infrastructure" team (with representation from across the company) to coordinate the company's future initiatives
the company's manufacturing operations have achieved a 75 percent waste diversion rate from the landfill through a number of aggressive initiatives, including annual waste audits to identify diversion opportunities -- such as replacing paper towels with state-of-the-art hand dryers, the introduction of an organic composting program, a manufacturing glove laundering initiative (to decrease the number pairs of gloves used), and even the donation of trees when manufacturing waste diversion milestones are met
across its operations, the company instituted a variety of environmentally-focused initiatives, including donating used office furniture to local community organizations, introducing 100 percent post-consumer waste office paper (and strongly encouraging two-sided printing), use of compostable plastic bags for all waste and recycling collection, use of 100 percent post-consumer toiletry paper products, reducing disposable cup use in favour of reusable mugs, and the implementation of recycling programs for all printer cartridges
recently adopted Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards for any new construction -- the firm has one LEED certified building, with two facilities pending certification and two new buildings being constructed to meet LEED certifications
the company operates one of the country's largest voluntary online car pooling programs that helps employees easily find the best route matches amongst their fellow workers -- currently the program has over 300 active carpool groups
the company also has formal telecommuting options for some employees and encourages employees to bike, walk or run to work -- and provides shower facilities for the self-propelled commuter
around the RIM campus the company uses drought-tolerant plantings in order to reduce or eliminate the need for irrigation, and environmentally sensitive fertilizers on its grounds
inside company buildings, RIM installed intelligent lighting controls, low water consuming appliances as well as zone-specific heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems to help reduce overall energy consumption -- the company has even installed a "living wall" in its cafeteria
is also a member of the "Global e-Sustainability Initiative", which is an international initiative of leading information and communication technology organizations committed to achieving sustainability objectives through innovative technology -- founded in 2001, the initiative represents companies and organizations in nearly 200 countries
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