Going green is a way of life at KPU.
With an onsite farmers’ market, an intercampus shuttle, rainwater harvesting, green walls and roofs, as well as 16 degrees and 6 diplomas related to environmental sustainability, it’s no wonder Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) was selected as one of the top 100 Canadian Greenest Employers by Mediacorp Canada Inc.
“We’re extremely proud of the environmentally friendly culture here at KPU,” said Dr. Alan Davis, president and vice-chancellor. “Making every effort to reduce our carbon footprint reflects the values of our people and our community.”
The competition recognizes the employers that lead the nation in creating a culture of environmental awareness. KPU was selected by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for successfully reducing their environmental impact through employee engagement in green initiatives and programs. Just a few of those initiatives include a weekly vegetable box harvested from KPU’s Tsawwassen Farm School, composting for community gardens, an expanded recycling program, and an urban forestry management plan. KPU also provides dedicated free parking for the Car2Go electric car sharing service, and maintains a partnership with the carpool.ca service to help commuters easily find ride partners.
KPU recently received is sixth annual BC Hydro Power Smart Excellence Award in recognition of its leadership in energy conservation initiatives—the university has expanded building space by 36 per cent since 1994 while managing to reduce natural gas use by 3 per cent and electricity by 9 per cent over the same period of time.
“When we started this competition a decade ago, the programs we wrote about were largely informal and incidental to an employer’s principal business,” says Richard Yerema, managing editor of the Canada’s Top 100 Employers project. “Over the years, we’ve seen a shift towards more formal programs and strategic sustainability policies, which reflect a much longer term commitment on the part of employers. This year’s winners aren’t afraid to address the adverse impacts of their operations and are charting the course for others in their industry.”
For more information on the competition and further details on KPU’s status as one of Canada’s greenest employers, visit Canada’s Top 100 Employers project.
The full list of this year’s Canada’s greenest employers is available online at canadastop100.com/green.
-Tatiana Tomljanovic
About Mediacorp
Founded in 1992, Mediacorp Canada Inc. is the nation’s largest publisher of employment periodicals. Since 1999, the Toronto-based publisher has managed the Canada’s Top 100 Employers project, which includes 19 regional and special-interest editorial competitions that reach over 15 million Canadians annually through a variety of magazine and newspaper partners, including The Globe and Mail. Mediacorp also operates Eluta.ca, the largest Canadian job search engine, which includes editorial reviews from the Canada’s Top 100 Employers project and is now used by over 7 million users in Canada each year. Together with Willis Towers Watson, Mediacorp also hosts the Top Employer Summit, Canada’s largest conference for senior-level HR professionals.
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