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!

Recyc-Québec Certification!

We recently received the highest level of certification by Recyc-Québec for our recycling program.

Recyc-Québec's programme "ICI ON RECYCLE Level 3 Performance" requires a high standard of reducing, reusing and valuing waste. The level 3 certification especially entails a rigorous recycling procedure whereby 90.5% of the recyclable waste produced by Rideau is recycled.

There is still room for improvement but I am really happy our EcoAction team was recognized for all their efforts!

Marion Dulude heads up our EcoAction program and works with a dedicated team who meet regularly to pin point environmental initiatives that will make a difference.

Some of the projects we have completed:

• The complete elimination of water bottles at Rideau’s head office due to the installation of a complete water filtration system;
• The introduction of a Rideau garden at our corporate headquarters;
• The planting of trees with the support of local community initiatives;
• Introduction of Fair Trade coffee and sugar in the cafeteria as well as healthier fair trade snacks in vending machines;
• The complete elimination of styrofoam cups and plastic stir sticks throughout Rideau;
• The implementation of biodegradable cleaning products by the cleaning staff and use of ecologically friendly products in the washrooms;

It really is a team effort. One of the individuals who deserves special mention is Gilles Tittlit. Gilles works in Rideau's maintenance department and is responsible for our compacting machine. His efforts help keep Rideau tidy and green!

Every Tuesday EcoAction holds a lunch time seminar on different topics of interest. The last one was on gardening. Attendees not only learned how to start a conventional garden but those without a backyard learned how to start a balcony garden.

The idea of this program is to educate and make all of us more responsible citizens.

From my perspective, they bring employees together for great causes and make Rideau a better company.

The Greenest Awards in the World!

Rideau is doing its best to be socially responsible and green.

My brother Stephen heads up our CSR initiatives and some of his projects were recently featured in a French business weekly.

Anyways, the other day I had a meeting with a few of Rideau’s techies and the conversation turned to some of these green initiatives both internal and external. One of my young colleagues had a very interesting idea… he felt the best way of going green was to eliminate awards and use verbal praise in its place. That might be a bit radical for some, but it sheds an interesting light onto how Gen Y thinks.

Verbal praise is important. Use it!