Loblaw Named One of Canada's Greenest Employers for Third Consecutive Year

    




 BRAMPTON, ON, April 20, 2012 /CNW/ -  - Once again, Loblaw  Companies Limited (Loblaw) has been named one of Canada's Greenest  Employers, by Mediacorp Canada. The award commends Loblaw for creating a corporate  culture committed to the development of industry-leading  environmentally conscious and sustainability focused initiatives.   Respect the Environment is one of five principles that drive Loblaw's corporate social  responsibility (CSR) commitments. 

 "Loblaw and its colleagues, employees and franchise owners are committed  to being one of Canada's Greenest Employers," said Bob Chant, senior  vice-president, corporate affairs and communication, Loblaw Companies  Limited. "As Canada's largest grocery retailer Loblaw takes seriously  its responsibility to continue to reduce the environmental impact of  our operations through the sourcing of sustainable products,  environmentally friendly purchasing decisions and by reducing energy  consumption." 

 Some of Loblaw's environmental accomplishments in 2011 include: 




        --  Helping protect our oceans:In 2009 Loblawannounced a commitment
            to source all seafood sold in its retail locations from
            sustainable sources by the end of 2013. In 2011 Loblaw more
            than doubled the number of Marine Stewardship Council
            (MSC)-certified wild-caught seafood products sold in its
            stores. WisesourceTM Salmon became more broadly available
            across more stores in Ontario and Quebec and introduced in
            Atlantic Canada. WiseSource™ Salmon is a sustainably
            sourced farmed Atlantic Salmon raised in Canadian waters using
            an innovative process called Integrated Multi-Trophic
            Aquaculture (IMTA), a method committed to healthier waters
            through a balanced ecosystem management approach.

        --  Reducing the use of plastic shopping bags: Since 2007, and
            motivated by its national charge for plastic shopping bag
            program, Loblaw has reduced the number of plastic shopping bags
            from its stores by 3.8 billion.

        --  Fuel Efficiency -Over the past several years, Loblaw has
            undertaken a number of initiatives to reduce the environmental
            impact of its transport fleet. In 2011, the Company reduced
            overall fuel consumption by 2 per cent and reduced idle time by
            20 per cent in comparison to 2010.  The Company added 52 newer,
            more efficient trucks to its fleet; expanded the number of long
            combination vehicles and shipped more than 22,000 loads of
            product via rail. To reduce empty kilometres, Loblaw maximized
            load volumes by increasing cube per load and increased the
            number of backhaul trips.

        --  Reduced energy consumption:Loblaw is committed to taking action
            on climate change and reducing green house gas emissions
            primarily resulting from energy consumption and refrigerant
            leaks. In 2011, the Company completed lighting retrofits for
            112 corporate stores nationally where more than 36,000 light
            fixtures were converted to fluorescent technology resulting in
            energy savings that would power 4,700 homes in Canada for one
            year. Loblaw also achieved a 14 per cent reduction in energy
            consumption in renovated corporate stores in Western Canada. In
            Ontario, all four solar panel projects were in commercial
            operation and by year-end generated 222,780 kilowatt hours of
            clean carbon energy.  Across the organization, Loblaw reduced
            the total amount of refrigerant leaked by 9.7 per cent through
            the installation of cutting-edge refrigeration systems and
            continued improvement in leak-checking program.

        --  Increased waste diversion:Loblaw is committed to reducing waste
            throughout its supply chain. In 2011, the Company expanded
            organic waste diversion and multi-stream recycling programs in
            corporate stores, distribution centres and store support
            centres. Loblaw also piloted Reusable Plastic Containers (RPC)
            for shipping produce. By year-end Loblaw diverted 78 per cent
            of waste from corporate distribution centres, 75 per cent from
            stores support centres and 60 per cent from corporate stores.
            In 2008, Loblaw introduced Canada's first and only national
            recycling program for gardeners. Exclusive to Loblaw stores,
            gardeners across the country can drop off their used plastic
            pots and flats which are not accepted by the Blue Box programs.
            The plastic products are then recycled to create new pots and
            flats for the next season. Through this unique program, Loblaw
            diverted 4.1 million pounds of plastic flower pots and flats
            from landfill from 2008 to 2011.

        --  Fostering green advocates: In 2011, Loblaw supported several
            environmental initiatives for colleagues and their
            communities.  Loblaw's Supply Chain Community Stewardship
            Program supports local community environmental initiatives and
            programs by providing an annual financial grant to each
            corporate distribution centre to encourage support of local
            community projects, activities or charitable organizations with
            an environmental focus.  Through partial proceeds from the sale
            of plastic shopping bags, Loblaw continued to support WWF
            conservation initiatives such as the Great Canadian Shoreline
            Cleanup™, National Sweater Day™ and theWWF Green
            CommUnity School Grants program.

        --  Increasing our greener options:Loblaw's PC®G.R.E.E.N®product
            line crosses a variety of categories including home, baby, and
            pet accessories to help customers reduce their environmental
            footprint. Some of the new products launched in 2011 include
            the PC®G.R.E.E.N® Express Cycle Dishwasher Detergent and the
            PC®G.R.E.E.N® Multi-Use Produce Shopping Bags.




 On April 30, 2012, Loblaw will be releasing its 2011 Corporate Social  Responsibility Report, which will provide updated information on the  full range of Loblaw's CSR commitments and achievements. Please visit  the responsibility page at loblaw.ca for more information. 

 Launched in 2007, the Canada's Greenest Employers competition is  organized by the editors of the Canada's Top 100 Employers project.  This special designation recognizes the employers that lead the nation  in creating a corporate culture of environmental awareness, have  developed exceptional earth-friendly initiatives and attracting people  to their organizations because of their environmental leadership. 

 Employers are evaluated based on the following criteria: (1) the unique  environmental initiatives and programs they have developed; (2) the  extent to which they have been successful in reducing the  organization's own environmental footprint; (3) the degree to which  their employees are involved in these programs and whether they  contribute any unique skills; and (4) the extent to which these  initiatives have become linked to the employer's public identity and  whether they attract new people to the organization. 

 About Loblaw Companies Limited Loblaw Companies Limited, a subsidiary of George Weston Limited, is  Canada's largest food retailer and a leading provider of drugstore,  general merchandise and financial products and services. Loblaw is one  of the largest private sector employers in Canada. With more than 1,000  corporate and franchised stores from coast to coast, Loblaw and its  franchisees employ more than 135,000 full-time and part-time employees.  Through its portfolio of store formats, Loblaw is committed to  providing Canadians with a wide, growing and successful range of  products and services to meet the everyday household demands of  Canadian consumers. Loblaw is known for the quality, innovation and  value of its food offering. It offers Canada's strongest control  (private) label program, including the unique President's Choice®, no  name® and Joe Fresh® brands. In addition, the Company makes available  to consumers President's Choice Financial® services and offers the PC®  points loyalty program. 

Loblaw Companies Limited


CONTACT:  Public Relations Department, Loblaw Companies [e-mail] or [phone] 


    

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