GTA Construction Report staff writer
Water Superstore, a monitoring member with Niagara Sustainability Initiative (NSI) since 2011, recently made a voluntary commitment to reduce its carbon footprint from business activity by 20 per cent over the next 10 years.
Water Superstore has worked with NSI for the past three years, using the environmental non-profit’s sophisticated carbon-reporting software to track carbon emissions.
A press release announcing the commitment quotes Water Superstore owner Laura McDonnell as saying: “It has been a real learning curve for us as a business and an eye opener to visually see where we can have the greatest impact on the environment.”
The release notes that Water Superstore is the first privately-owned organization to commit to a carbon reduction goal under NSI’s guidance. McDonnell says the long-term goal is good, both for the environment and as a way of “ingraining sustainability into our corporate culture.” This, she says, allows the company to make business decisions that make sense financially and at the same, time, helps the company’s employees to feel good about their choices.
She says NSI has been a positive partner organization and its staff education and training seminars have been valuable.
The company has already begun to make changes and has discovered large financial output is often not required. McDonnell says adding proper weather stripping to exterior doors, optimizing delivery routes and keeping vehicles properly tuned up are simple actions implemented without expense.
The company’s employees has come up with their own ideas including turning the heat down in winter and hosting an ugly sweater day.
NSI program manager Lila Karolak calls Water Superstore a leader in the Niagara business community for being the first privately-owned company to commit to greenhouse gas reduction.
“We believe that with their dedication to the environment and both behavioural and structural modifications, Water Superstore will be able to meet their ten year reduction target, while experiencing the added benefits of engaged employees, energy cost savings and a stronger brand.”
