Press Releases
Hbc's Head Office First Office Tower in Canada to go ‘Zero Waste’
TORONTO, ON July 25, 2007 - Hudson's Bay Company (Hbc) today announced that its corporate head office located in downtown Toronto is the first office tower in Canada to achieve the ‘zero waste’ designation. This achievement was realized in conjunction with Ivanhoe Cambridge (the property's building management company) and Turtle Island Recycling.
Hbc’s head office achieved 96.5% diversion rate, which includes organics from landfill. This diversion rate was quantified by a third party audit performed by C. D. Sonter Environmental Consultants. Based on the standards set out by the Zero Waste International Alliance, this makes the tower a zero-waste facility. Previously the 401 Bay Street office tower had been operating at 81% diversion rate from landfill.
In addition to implementing a zero waste policy at its corporate head office, Hbc and Turtle Island have piloted zero waste products at two Hbc stores in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Plans are also underway to introduce the program at an additional five stores and two other corporate offices by the end of August.
Every office tenant located in the Simpson Tower converted garbage bins into recycling bins marked for paper; multi-material; or organics. Each day, the recyclables were collected and analyzed by Turtle Island over a four week period.
“Achieving zero waste at Hbc’s head office tower highlights our ongoing efforts to innovate in the area of environmental sustainability,” said Mike Rousseau, President, Hbc.“Each and every Hbc associate and tenant located at Simpson Tower will play a role in this initiative.It’s one more innovative environmental program in which Hbc is pleased to play a leadership role.”
“We applaud the efforts of Hbc and the property management team in attempting to reduce their environmental footprint by taking the Simpson’s Tower to zero waste,” said Ted Manziaris, President of Turtle Island Recycling.“We would like to see more companies and facilities in the City of Toronto, and across Canada, work toward such a goal. The program is challenging but the rewards in terms of the impact on the local environment are significant.”
“Creating new habits can take time but this Zero Waste Challenge was embraced by all tenants," said Arlena Hebert, General Manager of Simpson Tower with Ivanhoe Cambridge. “The City of Toronto's waste diversion efforts have created a culture that definitely helped to make the Zero Waste Challenge a huge success. The program is straight forward and we would certainly encourage other office buildings to take on the Zero Waste Challenge".
The Zero Waste program is the first sustainability initiative to be rolled out under Hbc’s new Global Mind brand.Hbc is a recognized retail leader in sustainability practices in the areas of ethical sourcing, environment and energy, associate wellness and community investment.For the last five years, the Company has been one of the few Canadian retailers to issue a formal report on its progress in these areas.Going forward, all aspects of this program, as well as new policies and customer products will be part of the Global Mind brand.
“Every day we make choices,” said Mike Rousseau, President, Hbc.“Some of the choices have an impact on our families and communities; some may reach around the world.At Hbc, we intend to act with a Global Mind when it comes to ensuring sustainability in our operations, as well as in the communities where we work, live and source our merchandise.”
In addition to moving forward with sustainability programs in the areas of ethical sourcing, associate wellness and community investment, Hbc has also established the following goals in the areas of environmental sustainability:
We will offer our customers environmentally friendly products under the Global Mind brand.Reusable shopping bags; Cold water detergent by Truly and Energy Star products will be available at stores across Canada.
We are currently exploring opportunities to reduce the amount of packaging used in our private and captive brand assortment with the goal of reducing waste and having little to no impact on the environment.Our goal is to have policy and standards in place by 2010.
We will continue to
reduce waste in our stores,
reduce energy consumption at our Company and
increase our use of green power.
For more information about Hbc’s innovative environmental sustainability programs and awards, please visit our 2006 corporate social responsibility report at www.hbc.com.
This release was printed on recycled paper
About Hbc:
Hbc is Canada's largest diversified general merchandise retailer, operating in department store (the Bay), mass merchandise (Zellers), specialty (Home Outfitters and Designer Depot) and discount (Fields) formats. With more than 580 retail outlets and nearly 70,000 associates located in every province in Canada, Hbc provides Canadians with stylish, quality merchandise at great value, through retail banners focused on exceptional customer service. Hbc is a Canadian retail leader in corporate social responsibility (CSR), branding its sustainability practices, policies and products under the Global Mind label.Each year, Hbc reports on its sustainability practices through its CSR report.
-30-
|
