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 Stantec Consulting Ltd. was selected as one of Canada's Greenest Employers (2011):
is one of the country's leading engineering firms and advocates for sustainably designed building and projects -- working with a variety of clients on an impressive range of projects, including: engineered wetlands (for wastewater treatment); installation and operation of wind farms and solar arrays, renovation and adaptation of older structures; and development of greenhouse gas management programs for customers
in 2009 the company measured its greenhouse gas emissions (verified by an external auditor) and has followed-up with a pilot environmental footprint audit that encompasses waste, water and materials usage -- and is planning to expand its environmental footprinting over time
is one of North America's leading sustainable building design firms with over 450 Leadership in Energy and Environmental (LEED) accredited professionals who have been involved in over 100 LEED certified projects -- including the first LEED Platinum-certified building in Canada
in addition to its green line of business credentials, a number of its own offices have achieved or are moving towards LEED certification -- with its LEED-NC Silver certified Edmonton head office boasting one of the city's first green roofs that features native plant species
the company also has a number of professionals trained and certified to additional building certification standards as part of its growing climate change service area -- the company has provided planning, technical and advisory services for a variety of organizations and communities seeking to address their greenhouse gas emissions
across the company, over 50 office locations have their own employee-led "Sustainability Committees" to review and recommend in-house programs to help reduce their particular office's overall footprint -- a "Sustainability Coordinator" position helps coordinate communications and share best practices between the committees
the company actively promotes alternative transportation at various locations across the company, including transit subsidies, secure bicycle lock-up and showers (with a self-serve bike repair centre in Edmonton), carpooling programs, partnering with shared vehicle services for those employees who leave their car at home, and even sponsors its own "Cool Commute Challenge" that runs over four weeks in June with over 100 offices and 1,500 employees electing to bike, walk, take transit, carpool and even telecommute their way to work
continues to work toward reducing paper consumption, from use of electronic forms and documentation to publishing annual and quarterly reports online (and sending paper versions only to investors who request such) as well as shifting to paper with at least 80% post-consumer recycled content
the company recently implemented a new company-wide policy of setting computers into the sleep mode every evening and weekend, resulting in a potential 40% energy reduction in computer energy use
every year the company and its employees across North America are actively involved in a number of community awareness initiatives, including the week-long Commuter Challenge (with over 65 offices registered), Earth Day celebrations (including a full week of activities at the Calgary office), and movie screenings, with all offices encouraged to screen the film "An Inconvenient Truth" in 2007
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