Jacques Whitford Completes First Ever Corporate Sustainability Report

To mark the end of a very successful and sustainably focused year, Jacques Whitford Ltd., a leading provider of engineering, sustainability, environmental and earth sciences solutions, announced today the completion of the company’s first ever corporate sustainability report.

“This report is a result of the combined efforts and dedication of many groups and individuals at Jacques Whitford; particularly the meticulous work of our sustainability group and the visual expertise of our marketing team,” says Marty Janowitz, Senior Vice President of Sustainability at Jacques Whitford. “The report itself reflects our priority commitment to sustainability and seeks to address the issues that matter most to Jacques Whitford’s internal and external stakeholders.” The report follows the innovative framework of a day in the life of Jacques Whitford’s people and in accord with global standards reports on progress and challenges associated with the company’s sustainability commitments.

Since Jacques Whitford became the first consulting firm of its size and type to become carbon neutral in June 2007, the company has made a concerted effort to engage employees in its CSR goals. Sustainability was established as a priority commitment and strategy for the firm and a core value in its internal and client oriented dimensions. For example, this year the company invested $1-million in a teleconferencing system to reduce carbon emissions. The dedicated sustainability and marketing teams have also been hard at work to provide opportunities for employees to get involved in various monthly sustainable activities.

Most recently, to celebrate their Top 100 Employer in Canada recognition by Maclean’s magazine, the company organized a company-wide contest for the most sustainable celebration luncheon. A winning office from each region was chosen based on a number of categories including, location of the celebration and transportation emissions, origin of the food, materials used for decoration and clean-up.

In Western Canada, the Jacques Whitford office in Sidney, British Columbia, celebrated the top employer honour by walking and cycling to their party location. Employees created dishes for the luncheon using only local products which were grown or produced within 20km of Sidney. “We also encouraged everyone to bring a donation to the food bank and the person that brought the most food won a sustainable prize,” said Craig Norris, Jacques Whitford Business Development Manager.

Jacques Whitford’s 2008 Corporate Sustainability Report conforms to the Global Reporting Initiative’s G3 Guidelines and will be submitted to qualify for a C Application Level. The report is available on the company’s website and reports on the progress of the company’s 2007-08 fiscal year sustainability goals.

Click here to view Jacques Whitford's 2008 Corporate Sustainability Report

For more information, please contact jacqueswhitford.com