Canon Canada, HP Canada, The Printing House, Symcor and Xerox Canada have been recognized as some of Canada’s Greenest Employers for 2019, based on the criteria of Mediacorp Canada Inc., which manages Canadian employment programs and events. Now in its 12th year, Canada’s Greenest Employers is a competition that recognizes employers that create a culture of environmental awareness. Winning employers, selected by editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers, are evaluated using four main criteria: Unique environmental initiatives or programs they have developed; whether they have been successful in reducing their own environmental footprint; whether their employees are involved in these programs and contribute unique skills; and whether their environmental initiatives have become linked to the employer’s public identity, attracting new employees or customers. “We are proud to be recognized for our continuing commitment to the environment and sustainability,” says Nobuhiko Kitajima, President and CEO of Canon Canada. “We are guided by our corporate philosophy, Kyosei — all people, regardless of race, religion or culture, harmoniously living and working together into the future — and this recognition reflects our commitment to helping shape a more sustainable world for not only our local communities but also the global community at large.” Mediacorp explains some of the reasons why the following companies were selected as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers (2019), among a range of initiatives: • Canon Canada celebrated Earth Week by hosting its second annual Environmental Education Day and welcoming over 100 grade six and seven students for a day of fun awareness workshops, hosted in partnership with local organizations such as the Toronto Region Conservation Authority, Credit Valley Conservation, Earth Rangers, and the Ontario Clean Water Agency. • HP Canada manages a number of programs to help employees make healthy choices at home and at work, including a free onsite health screening clinic, wellness webinars on topics such as mindfulness and work-life balance, and a global wellness challenge to encourage employees to get physically active every week for a total of six weeks (employees receive redeemable points for participating). • HP Canada supports new mothers and fathers, including adoptive parents, with maternity and parental leave top-up payments as well as the option to extend their leave into an unpaid leave of absence. • The Printing House is a major advocate of responsible paper procurement, actively promoting high-recycled content paper and Ancient Friendly Forest paper products for its customers, with over 92 percent of paper purchased being environmentally certified last year • The Printing House supports a number of environmental initiatives throughout the year, including the WWF CN Tower Stair Climb for Nature and The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup (in partnership with the WWF and Ocean Wise). The company also partners with the Forest Farmer organization to ensure that one tree is planted for every new account opened at The Printing House, planting nearly 4,000 trees since 2015. • Symcor supports unique “nooks” in common areas where employees are free to drop-off used books, movies and music, allowing them to share and recycle used items as well as enjoy something new. Additionally, IT employees recently established a dedicated Tech Hub Library, which features technology related books for exchange. • Symcor supports a variety of in-house environmental initiatives, including an extensive recycling program to capture non-conventional recyclables, from flip-flops to candy wrappers to wine corks (offered in partnership with TerraCycle), to an internal elastic band and paper-clip collection and reuse program. • Through Xerox Canada’s Bwell program, employees can access a number of online tools and health and wellness resources, including information on related initiatives, such as the company’s spring fitness challenge. • Along with offering paid time off to volunteer, Xerox Canada manages the Xerox Employee Initiated Philanthropy program to provide financial assistance to non-profit organizations where employees regularly volunteer their time. “Our process for incorporating social responsibility and sustainability into our operations and decision-making is ingrained into our culture,” says Andrew O’Born, Vice President of Business Development, The Printing House. “We’ve tried to create a portfolio of things that we keep adding to in order to support our environmental initiatives. In 2019 we will be steadfast in ‘going the extra mile’ to push through barriers, and change our habits to reduce our carbon footprint and improve our environmental impacts.”