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 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%).