The list of Canada’s “Green 30”-organizations whose employees are most positive about their record on environmental stewardship-was released on April 22, Earth Day, by Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting and outsourcing company. The list was compiled from employee feedback using Hewitt’s Employee Green Index, which focuses on employers’ strategies, activities and efforts to minimize the environmental impact of their operations, products and services.
As part of the 2010 Best Employers in Canada and Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada studies, Hewitt surveyed over 100,000 employees at 230 organizations regarding their employers’ commitment to environmental stewardship. At the Green 30 organizations, an average of 86 per cent of employees have a positive perception of their employers’ eco-friendly efforts. At the 30 organizations with the least positive reviews, that figure is 58 per cent.
“Our findings show that employees really see the difference when their employer is focused on developing and implementing environmentally-conscious policies and practices,” says Neil Crawford, Hewitt’s leader of the Best Employers in Canada study. “Effective green programs and practices may persuade certain employees to join or stay with an organization.”
However, more employers are gradually adopting environmentally-friendly programs. While all of this year’s Green 30 encourage recycling, waste reduction and/or reduced paper usage, so do 86 per cent of the 30 organizations with the lowest rankings on the Employee Green Index. “The gap is higher with respect to other initiatives,” states Crawford. “The Green 30 are twice as likely as the 30 lowest ranked organizations to subsidize carbon offsets for business travel, sponsor programs to reduce green house gas emissions from business operations, host events to facilitate participation in Earth Day or Earth Hour, and subsidize the costs of bike storage and/or showers for employees who cycle to work. While there are significant variations in the use of some of these practices amongst the Green 30, they all demonstrate real passion and commitment to reducing the impact of their business on the environment in the eyes of their employees.”
The Green 30 list appears in the May 3 edition of Maclean’s, as well as in the May 10 issue of Canadian Business. Both magazines are available on newsstands as of Earth Day. Organizations that participate in the Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada (50 – 399 employees) or the Best Employers in Canada (400 or more employees) studies are automatically eligible for The Green 30 list.
The deadline to register for each study - and therefore be considered for the 2011 Green 30 list - is May 31, 2010. For more information and to register online, please visit
THE GREEN 30 LIST (in alpha order):
Aecon Group Inc., Toronto ON
BC Biomedical Laboratories Ltd., Surrey BC
Bentall LP, Toronto ON
BLJC, Markham ON
Cascades Inc., Kingsey Falls QC
Cisco Canada, Toronto ON
Co-operators Life Insurance Company, Regina SK
Delta Hotels, Toronto ON
EllisDon Corporation, London ON
Envision Financial, Langley BC
G&K Services Canada Inc., Mississauga ON
Greater Edmonton Foundation: Housing for Seniors, Edmonton AB
ISL Engineering and Land Services, Edmonton AB
Ivanhoe Cambridge Inc., Montreal QC
LoyaltyOne Inc., Toronto ON
Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, Vancouver BC
Marriott Hotels of Canada Ltd., Mississauga ON
McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Limited, Toronto ON
Mountain Equipment Co-op, Vancouver BC
National Leasing, Winnipeg MB
Nexen Inc., Calgary AB
PCL Constructors Inc.,
Edmonton AB
Public Outreach Fundraising Consultancy Inc., Toronto ON
Ricoh Canada Inc., Mississauga ON
Scotiabank Group, Toronto ON
Stewart Weir & Co. Ltd., Sherwood Park AB
Stikeman Elliott LLP, Toronto ON
TD Bank Financial Group, Toronto ON
The Co-operators, Guelph ON
Vancity Credit Union, Vancouver BC
