Canadian Retailer - Fall 2014 - 19

WhAt does it mean to be a green employer?

IKEA Canada, who have been named one of
Canada's Greenest Employers for the past six
years consecutively, offers one definition.
"To be green means to work aggressively as
a company to integrate sustainability into your
core business," says Madeleine LöwenborgFrick, Public Relations Manager, IKEA Canada.
"We are working across all functions of our
business every day to advance progress in
these three areas that we call 'change drivers,'"
she continues. "IKEA recognizes sustainability as a global imperative that requires leadership to address, but also as an enabler of our
business success in so many ways."

"The program also advocates for healthy, sustainable transportation choices by reducing single-occupancy vehicle travel,"
says Brad Chittick, aVP, Supply Chain Facilities & Maintenance
at Canadian Tire Corporation. "The program already has more
than 215 registered users and over 65 carpools in place!"
cANADIAN tIRE SEttINg thE tREND

In 2014, Canadian Tire implemented several new initiatives upgrades to lEDs and
to further increase energy installed motion sensors
savings and reduce GHGs
across its supply chain. One
in realized cost avoidance
recent example includes the
energy lighting retrofits at
the AJ Billes, Brampton and
in energy savings
Vaughan distribution centres.
Another example is the
2
company's use of Long Com(GHG emissions)
bination Vehicle (LCV) per- *as of second quarter 2014
mits for Toronto to Kingston
and Kingston to Montreal routes.

= $121,000

= 938,000 kWh

= 103 tonnes CO e

Greening the business

IkEA's People & Planet Positive Strategy outlines
the following three principles that guide the
ongoing greening of global operations:
*	inspire	and	enable	millions	of	people	to	live	a	
more sustainable life at home,
*	pursue	resource	and	energy	independence;	and
*	create	a	better	everyday	life	for	the	people	that	
are impacted by the business.

Canadian Tire has one of the largest transportation
networks in the country with 100,000 different
types of products moving to more than 490 stores
from coast-to-coast. The use of long combination
vehicle (lCv) permits has resulted in:

$230,000 + 204 tonnes
savings in fuel and
operational costs

reduction in GHG
emissions

RoAD-to-RAIL coNvERSIoN

Since 2011, Canadian Tire has optimized the transportation of
When it comes to innovative sustainable products by undertaking a major road-to-rail conversion within
practices-especially in the area of reducing Eastern Canada. By working collaboratively with CN, distribution
its carbon footprint-Canadian Tire Corpora- centres in Brampton and Montreal are taking advantage of railroad
tion is another retail leader. One of these pro- access so that shipments to and from Nova Scotia are now transgrams is an employee carpool initiative called ported by road only 12 per cent of the time and by rail the remainSmart Commute.
ing 88 per cent of the time. Besides
Launched this past June According to Canadian Tire, since
avoiding significant costs, this change
at the A.J. Billes and Bramp- commencing the program at the
reduced GHG emissions by more than
ton distribution centres, the beginning of June, carpoolers have
60 per cent-the equivalent of taking
Airport Road campus and saved an estimated:
2,500 cars off the road each year.
the Transportation facility
Canadian Tire's sustainability eflocated in Brampton, Onforts are getting noticed. The iconic
tario, the overall goal of the
Canadian retailer was named one of
single occupancy CO2 equivalent
Smart Commute program is
the Top 50 Best Corporate Citizens in
vehicle trips
emissions
to ease gridlock, improve air
Canada by Corporate Knights. And
quality and reduce GreenMaclean's, in partnership with Sushouse Gas (GHG) emissions
tainalytics, recently announced their
while making employees'
list of the 50 Most Socially Responvehicle kilometers in vehicle costs
commute to work less exsible Companies in Canada, which
pensive and more enjoyable.
the company made.

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