Two more Companies Recognized under Ontario’s Environmental Leaders Program

Cornwall ON – Two more companies were recognized today by Provincial Environmental Minister John Gerretsen as being Environmental Leaders in the province, Warren’s Waterless Printing and PowerStream.

According to the Minister, these two companies are an example of a growing number of Ontario businesses

“…that prove that protecting our environment makes good business sense. I urge all businesses in Ontario to take the same approach to lower their emissions and energy use.”

PowerStream, jointly owned by the City of Vaughan, the Town of Markham, and the City of Barrie, provides power to the York and Simcoe regions. “Go Green with PowerStream” is the commitment it makes to its 320,000 customers. As well as providing numerous conservation programs to its customers, PowerStream has expanded its commitment to the environment to make sustainable practices an integral part of its business model.

“PowerStream’s commitment to being a leader in environmental initiatives is embedded within the company’s vision statement,” according to Peter Meffe, Chair of the PowerStream Board. “Being recognized by the Ministry of the Environment as one of Ontario’s Environmental Leaders is an honour and consistent with how we continue to approach our business operations.”

The utility’s stated Vision “is to be a socially responsible company, committed to the environment and sustainable growth, leading the way into the future with boldness, innovation and best in class performance.”

PowerStream’s initiatives and achievements in sustainability include:

• Construction of a LEED gold certified head office
• Implementation of an employee vanpool program
• “Smart Commute Employer of the Year” award winner for North Toronto, Vaughan
• Ontario Clean Air Alliance’s “PeakBuster Utility Challenge” award winner
• Sponsorship of conservation and sustainability business awards for five Chambers of Commerce – Aurora, Barrie, Markham, Richmond Hill and Vaughan

Warren’s Waterless Printing, in Toronto, a family owned business, uses state of the art technology in all aspects of their printing business. It is one of few printing companies certified to comply with the ISO 14001 standard. They are also certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), which provides for the use of environmentally produced paper, and also the EcoLogo Certification, which ensures that printing processes use environmentally responsible inks and cleaning solvents.

As a further step towards sustainability, Warren’s Waterless Printing obtains its power from Bullfrog Power. This generating company’s power comes exclusively from wind and hydro facilities that have been certified as low impact by Environment Canada.

Being environmentally responsible and operating in a sustainable fashion does have an important impact on the “bottom line”. Brett Wills, Director of Green Enterprise Movement, a company dedicated to helping business “go green” states: “People need to see that going green is no longer a nice to do in good times but rather a critical component of a successful business strategy. If a company is going to compete and win in 2010 and beyond, they must incorporate sustainability into every aspect of their business… we are seeing more and more examples of this as companies like Interface, Toyota, HP, Nike and so on are posting dramatic results to their bottom line by integrating sustainability into their overall business model.”

The Iso 14001 is an internationally recognized environmental management standard for organizations wishing to operate in an environmentally sustainable manner. Although several businesses in Cornwall have achieved this standard, these companies all operate in Cornwall UK, and not, at this time, in Cornwall ON.

PowerStream: www.powerstream.ca

Warren’s Waterless Printing www.warrenswaterless.com

Green Enterprise Movement: www.greenenterprise.ca

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