Corporate Climate Leaders Awards

The Employee Engagement Award recognizes a Corporate Climate Leader that has increased sustainability awareness and action among its employees. 

Congratulations to Lafarge Canada, our 2022 Employee Engagement Award recipient!

Lafarge has continued to bring their staff and employees into their vision of corporate sustainability with innovative programs to encourage and recognize employee participation.

Notably, Lafarge Canada has:

• Launching an “Energy Treasure Hunt” which identified several opportunities for energy savings in between business units.
• Got buy-in from Operations teams, leading to engagement with all levels of employees.
• Provided physical tools to promote anti-idling policy (keychains, decals, signage)

The Community Leader Award recognizes a Corporate Climate Leader that has advanced climate action in the wider community, beyond their direct operations.

Congratulations to Boardwalk REIT, our 2022 Community Leader Award recipient!

Boardwalk has worked extensively to educate and empower the communities they touch in their move towards sustainability. 

One highlight is Boardwalk’s program of developing natural and drought resistant green spaces to replace monoculture lawns at select properties, and installing creative interpretive signage to educate the community on the value of the natural infrastructure. Boardwalk also runs numerous environmental events throughout the year, ranging from Earth Day challenges to sustainability workshops educating residents and community members. 

Notably, Boardwalk REIT has:

• Developed natural and drought resistant green spaces to replace monoculture lawns at select properties, accompanied by creative interpretive signage to educate the community on the value of this natural infrastructure.
• Partnered with Avelole, an urban beekeeping company to install honeybee hives on the roofs of select Boardwalk buildings. The honey was harvested and shared with Residents and 2 workshops were hosted to educate the community on the importance of honeybees and other pollinators.
• Held several contests and challenges, including:
  • Earth Day Challenge (members take on sustainable “challenges” and for each one they accomplish they are entered into a draw for a new bike).
  • “Our Future Made Better” sustainability contest, soliciting ideas on ways to reduce climate change in communities. For each entry they are planting a tree in partnership with TreeCanada.
  • “Every Drop Counts” water conservation challenge - encouraging resident members to reduce water conservation and reinvesting the savings into sustainability initiatives.

The Corporate Climate Leader of the Year Award recognizes a Corporate Climate Leader that has demonstrated outstanding organizational commitment to climate action. 

Congratulations to Chandos Construction, our 2022 Corporate Climate Leader of the Year recipient!

Chandos demonstrated not only an ambitious commitment to net zero emissions by 2040, but also through the dedicated support of the senior leadership team: 

“Every building we build in 2040 forward will have a zero-carbon footprint (whether our clients ask for it or not).”
— Tim Coldwell, President of Chandos

Notably, Chandos has demonstrated their ambition for Climate action:

• Steadily increased their carbon tracking efforts. Since their initial benchmark, that included only the Edmonton district, they have increased their boundaries to include as much carbon as possible. 
• In 2019 they included all offices and sites, for all districts, Scope 1, 2 and operational Scope 3. 
• Starting in 2022 they have been calculating the embodied carbon of all materials on their projects.
• Publicly announced their commitment to net zero carbon by 2040 - including a commitment to net zero embodied carbon (scope 3) for all projects they build.
• They also committed to offsetting all operational carbon in the interim years - scopes 1, 2 and 3 (primarily travel related). They offset 5,800 tonnes in 2020 alone, and will be offsetting 2021 once final calculations are complete.
• They have achieved a goal of more than 80% waste diversion from construction operations - diverting 84% of all waste diversion within Chandos, including all projects.

To realize these ambitions, Chandos have implemented several internal initiatives:

• They have developed systems allowing them to coordinate construction activities and waste between projects. For example, one project required the removal of 1000s of cubic metres of soil, while the same client had a different project that required importing soil - the systems developed allowed the schedules of the projects to be coordinated such that the excess soil from the first project was delivered directly to the second one. For civil projects, they have created an internal discussion/market board to ensure that excess materials find a new home instead of being recycled.
• They have started a project between their sustainability and VDC teams to determine carbon saved by improving site efficiencies. Many onside efficiencies result in less materials, equipment uses, and duration of activities (which reduces commuting).
• Actively engaged with B-Corp Climate Collective, Carbon Leadership Forum and other Canadian Green Building Council Groups working groups to improve industry adoption of low carbon standards.
• Using 1 Click Life Cycle Analysis tool to calculate embodied carbon of construction activities, and highlight areas that Chandos can reduce their carbon footprint through efficiencies, product selection, and procurement.

Some excellent examples of Chandos’ work in action appear in the Edmonton area:

• Upgraded the electrical and mechanical systems in their head office in Edmonton, achieving a 70% reduction in energy use.
• During construction of the Drayton Valley Aquatic IPD project, they were able to install a solar power system which generated power for construction and contributed to the local power grid during the construction process.

The Employee Engagement Award recognizes a Corporate Climate Leader that has increased sustainability awareness and action among its employees. 

Congratulations to Lafarge Canada, our 2021 Employee Engagement Award recipient!

Lafarge Canada has elevated its sustainability profile, and employee engagement, through participation in the Strategic Energy Management (SEM) Program and Corporate Climate Leaders Program.

Notably, Lafarge Canada has:

• Formed energy teams at a number of facilities.
• Regularly circulated tips on energy reduction to all staff.
• Regularly presented sustainability results to supervisors and senior management—encouraging sharing of learnings between teams and recognizing employees and operations responsible for positive results.
• Developed the Lafarge Environmental Awards (awarded annually on Earth Day) where facilities and employees are nominated and recognized.
• Shared their actions and improvements on social media, other media channels and through a series of webinars: Everyone Onto the Boat, Strategic Energy Management (SEM - Real Stories/Real Savings).

The Community Leader Award recognizes a Corporate Climate Leader that has advanced climate action in the wider community, beyond their direct operations. 

Congratulations to the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues, our 2021 Community Leader Award recipient!

Through the Green Leagues Program, founded in 2017, the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues is supporting Edmonton's Community Leagues with their energy transition and sustainability. The Green Leagues mission is to help Community Leagues become leaders in solar power and energy efficiency in their communities. The program provides support through workshops and webinars, passive resources, 1:1 project support and advocacy and promotion of sustainability successes. 

To date, the Green Leagues Program has supported Community Leagues to:

• Install 23 solar projects
• Perform 21 energy audits
• Implement 21 energy retrofits
• Generate 409,000 kWh of solar electricity per year from the above projects
• Reduce 389 tonnes of GHG emissions per year

"As an organization dedicated to building sustainable communities, the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues is thrilled to be recognized for our work. But the real credit must go to all of the amazing volunteers in the Community League movement. Their commitment and leadership in solar power, energy efficiency and sustainability makes them true leaders of grassroots climate action."

— Michael Barnard, Energy Transition Advisor 

The Corporate Climate Leader of the Year Award recognizes a Corporate Climate Leader that has demonstrated outstanding organizational commitment to climate action. 

Congratulations to Explore Edmonton Corporation, our 2021 Corporate Climate Leader of the Year Award recipient!

Explore Edmonton Corporation is a leader committed to achieving sustainable excellence through their environmentally responsible operations of the Edmonton Convention Centre and the Edmonton EXPO Centre. Prioritizing a culture of environmental, economic, and social sustainability is at the core of venue operations, and they believe that they can make the events industry a sustainable industry. Every action within their sustainability programs at the Edmonton Convention Centre and Edmonton EXPO Centre have been taken in support of their Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan with the aim of achieving their GHG reduction targets.

To date, Explore Edmonton Corporation has:

• Achieved a GHG emissions reduction of 885.4 mtCO2e or a 4.92% decrease in emissions across both venues (from 2018 to 2019). 
• Made employing local suppliers (34%) a priority, which has reduced GHG emissions from production and transportation and injected more than $1 million into the local Edmonton economy. 
• Partnered with GES to offer a 100% FSC certified recyclable alternative to foam core signage at the same cost as non-recyclable options.
• Collaborated with their clients to host paperless events by offering digital event solutions through GreenTexts^TM.
• Reduced and diverted high levels of waste at both facilities through several tactics, including:
  • Donating unused food to the Edmonton Food Bank; 
  • Recycling bottles, containers and cans, and paper;
  • Implementing a composting system (more than 30,000 kg of organics from the Edmonton EXPO Centre in 2019);
  • Donating reusable materials to keep them out of the landfill (4,220 kg of materials in 2019); and
  • Purchasing in bulk or with minimal packaging wherever possible.
• Installed solar panels on the Edmonton Convention Centre roof, generating 227,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually and avoiding 150 tonnes of emissions.
• Installed urban beehives home to more than 150,000 bees each year.
• Focused on purchasing green certified or environmentally preferred products for consumables (currently 63%).