November 4, 2019

With more than 19 million employees working for over a million businesses across Canada, the potential for workplaces to make an impact for nature is unmistakable.

Each year, WWF-Canada’s Living Planet @ Work champions and companies engage thousands of employees to support a culture of sustainability at their workplace by leading green office challenges, shoreline cleanups and WWF fundraisers, alongside many other workplace engagement activities.

WWF-Canada makes a point to recognize these leading efforts through our annual Living Planet @ Work Awards. This year’s award-winners have each demonstrated initiative, leadership and creativity in leading office sustainability practices, engaging their workforce in conservation efforts and workplace fundraising for WWF-Canada.

I am pleased to share the 2019 Living Planet @ Work award recipients:

Workplace Champion of the Year: Ashley Fill, P&G Canada

Throughout 2019, Ashley developed and led a four-week green campaign and employee contest, with an amazing turn out, which included: the participation of 263 employees, 75% of these employees not using single-use plastics, and 52% of participants carpooling or using public transit. Ashley also led P&G’s “Gives Back” consulting project, which resulted in a $15,000 donation to WWF-Canada’s conservation work. Beyond these achievements, she also drove sustainability awareness at P&G’s all-employee town halls.  

Corporate Conservation Achievement Award: Pinchin Ltd.

This past year, Pinchin Ltd. conducted a nationwide shoreline cleanup with 370 employees in attendance – which is more than a third of their workforce! Together, through 32 cleanups, they collected 5,018 kg of garbage that otherwise would have ended up in our waterways. Participants from all departments took part in this initiative. The organization also partnered with Scouts Canada to create wildlife habitats, including: 100 birdhouse kits, 2 grey rat nesting boxes, duck boxes and a dozen bat houses. Beyond these actions, 12 Pinchin employees have volunteered their time to offer environmental consulting services at no cost to charitable organizations.  

Distinction in Workplace Giving for Nature: RBC

Using one-time and recurring donations, RBC employees have supported WWF-Canada’s conservation programs through online donations and fundraising events. Internally, they have held a campaign celebration to acknowledge employee support for charities like WWF-Canada, and this past year created had multiple teams participate in the annual CN Tower Climb for Nature. Overall, this led to total employee donations of more than $60,000 to WWF-Canada in 2018! As a leader in encouraging workplace giving, RBC is enabling employees to contribute to meaningful programs and initiatives that are promoting conservation.

Congratulations to this year’s Living Planet @Work winners. Thank you for all you do to support wildlife in Canada.