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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 Limitedpr@loblaw.ca or (905) 459-2500