Recognize Earth Day!

The environment is an issue that affects us all and today is particularly important as we celebrate “Earth Day 2010”. Here at Rideau, we are playing the extraordinary movie “Home” for all our employees.

“Home” was released on World Environment Day 2009. It is a beautiful picture with an amazing soundtrack. It takes us everywhere on the planet and traces the history of life, human-kind and our impact on the planet.

I’m proud of Rideau’s environmental initiatives. We are very fortunate to have Jay Whitehead on our Board of Directors. Jay has co-authored a book called the “Post Carbon Economy” and is at the epicenter of corporate social responsibility. His magazine CR is doing amazing work and Rideau is proud to sponsor the “100 Best Corporate Citizens Awards” in America. Today, Jay was the opening speaker at the Yale University – New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Earth Day 40th Anniversary CEO Summit! Jay was introduced by the CEO of the NYSE!

We are also lucky to have Valerie Duchesneau on our team. She is our resident “in-house” environmentalist. Thanks to her leadership Rideau has made significant strides in reducing our carbon footprint and more importantly, she has helped us design recognition programs that reduce environmental impact and actually give back to the planet.

Valerie Duchesneau on Earth Day

Helping the environment is the right thing to do and it also makes good business sense!

According to the Sirota Survey Intelligence organization, corporate social responsibility contributes positively to a company’s bottom line, as well as increases employees’ pride as well as their engagement.

The numbers are amazing. Sirota’s research found that of employees who are satisfied with their employer’s CSR commitment:

• 86% have higher levels of engagement
• 82% feel their organization is highly competitive in the marketplace
• 75% feel their employer is interested in their well-being
• 71% rate senior management as having high integrity
• 67% feel that senior management has a strong sense of direction

I urge you to watch “Home”! Hopefully, you too will be inspired by this phenomenal documentary!

Rideau’s Engagement With Earth Day!

Rideau believes in corporate social responsibility, in fact, we were the first recognition company to sign up for the United Nations Global Compact back in 2005.

The UN Global Compact helps businesses align their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. This alignment is especially important in today’s era of globalization. It’s objective is to try and ensure there is an even and just playing field all over the world.

Obviously, the environment plays a huge role and I’m proud of the efforts my Rideau colleagues undertook to celebrate Earth Day under the leadership of our own in-house environmentalist Marion Dulude and her team across the company.

In Canada, we had information kiosks on ecological footprints, fair trade and community supported agriculture, gardening and composting, eco-friendly home cleaning products and recycling. We also enjoyed some delicious fair trade chocolate and fruity treats… my favorite was the chocolate coated coffee beans! At the same time, employees could support Rideau’s fight against Cancer by purchasing a beautiful flower pot of daffodils!



Our US colleagues under the direction of team leader Rob Collier sent a crew down to the waterfront in Plattsburgh to help with the Earth Day clean up. At first, it was not looking good for Rideau USA as it was pouring rain. However, the rain moved through and it turned into a beautiful morning.


The Rideau team was amazing… they cleaned under bridges, in the woods, by the railroad tracks along the Lake Champlain waterfront. We were the only company that showed up and our help was very much appreciated by the members of the Adirondack Mountain Club who were responsible for the event.

Employee engagement is not just about the workplace. True engagement makes our planet a better place to live.