IKEA Canada has been named as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for the 10th consecutive year for its commitment to sustainability practices, including water conservation. The designation from Mediacorp Canada Inc. recognizes employers who lead the nation in creating a culture of environmental awareness in their organizations and incorporate sustainable business practices across their operations.
“Our co-workers are our best ambassadors. They make sustainability a part of their everyday work and it’s thanks to them that we’ve achieved this milestone,” said Marsha Smith, president of IKEA Canada. “We are committed to having a positive impact on people and the planet and we know it is our co-workers who will lead the way to a more sustainable future.”
For the past two years, IKEA Canada co-workers have shown their passion for living more sustainably through participation in an internally-driven Sustainable Living Challenge, where daily actions such as turning off lights, carpooling, and water conservation, are logged on a mobile app. This year’s 10-day challenge showed how small actions can yield big results, with approximately 412,300 kg of CO2 emissions avoided, 26,500 kg of waste diverted, and 3.1 million litres of water conserved.
In terms of the water Maja Boricevic, communications coordinator for IKEA Canada explained, “The number is an aggregation of all of the water-saving actions that were logged in the app by our co-workers during the Sustainable Living Challenge. These actions included shorter showers, water off while brushing teeth, installing more efficient faucets and showerheads, save a flush, meatless Mondays, reusing warmup water from showers, and maximizing loads in the dishwasher and laundry.”
As a result of the high co-worker engagement, IKEA has now made the Sustainable Living Challenge app available to all Canadians and will run the challenge from April 22 (Earth Day) through April 30 with prizes to be awarded to the top 40 participants across the country.
“We see a great opportunity to reach the many Canadians by showing how small steps can create a significant positive impact on our natural environment and can help to save money,” said Brendan Seale, sustainability manager, IKEA Canada. “It’s about taking simple actions in our daily lives that can help save energy and water, reduce waste, and live a healthier lifestyle.”
From April 22-30, customers can participate in the IKEA Sustainable Living Challenge through a mobile app, where they can record sustainable actions for a chance to win one of 40 prizes, including a $2000 IKEA gift card. The app can be downloaded at http://qrly.me/IKEA-slc-app.
Other companies that made the 2018 list with a focus on water were:
Blackberry, that promoted rainwater collection on its buildings in Waterloo, Ont.; BC Hydro that has achieved LEED Gold building standards, including rainwater capture; Hatch that eliminated bottled water use among employees; and Sheridan Nurseries, that achieves significant water conservation by managing a massive water recapture pond to collect rainwater and water run-off from its operations.
