Siemens Canada named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for second consecutive year: Employees plant more than 1,400 trees in partnership with Tree Canada

Siemens Canada has been named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for the second year in a row and celebrated the designation by once again teaming up with Tree Canada to plant trees in communities across Canada on Earth Day 2013.

Siemens ramped up its commitment to the environment as well as to employee volunteerism by committing a $40,000 sponsorship to Tree Canada for 2013 (an increase of $5,000 from 2012) and teaming up with the respected non-profit environmental organization for tree planting activities. Siemens employees had the opportunity to take two hours out of their work day to participate in Earth Day activities, which in addition to tree planting also included local clean ups of parks and green spaces.

As part of Siemens’ Earth Day activities, a team of employees from Ajax, Ontario planted trees in their community.

Hundreds of employees at 13 Siemens locations across Canada grabbed their shovels and got out into their communities to plant more than 1,400 trees, an initiative led by Siemens’ own Caring Hands Employee Committee. Tree Canada worked with regional Conservation Authori-ties and arborists to identify planting sites, as well as to source tree species that are native to each location.

Siemens Canada’s employee engagement and focus on sustainability are just two of many reasons the company was awarded the Canada’s Greenest Employers distinction. The annual honour, awarded by Canada’s largest job-hunting guide publisher Mediacorp Canada Inc., recognizes the employers that lead the nation in creating a culture of environmental awareness in their organizations. Companies are evaluated on how they develop and cultivate exceptional environmental awareness, attracting people to their organizations based on this environmental stewardship.

The award announcement highlighted Siemens’ key success factors when it comes to being green, including the implementation of LED signage and a waste reduction policy, which in-cludes ensuring that all food services use only recyclable materials such as plates and utensils and offers waste separation receptacles for organic, paper and recyclable refuse.

The Siemens "Ways of Working" telecommuter program encourages qualifying employees to work from home for up to two days each week to reduce their carbon emissions by eliminating unnecessary driving. These and other initiatives are overseen by a Sustainability Council headed by CEO Robert Hardt.

QUOTES:  

 “Activities such as tree planting reinforce Siemens’ commitment to the environment, our employees, our communities and to the notion that everyday should be Earth Day. It’s in-spiring to see the growing number of employees who take part in sustainability initiatives year after year, and with this level of enthusiasm, it’s clear to see why we were named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers.”

– Robert Hardt, President and CEO, Siemens Canada Limited

 “We’re proud to be recognized with the Greenest Employer distinction. This award represents an external validation of what we’ve known all along; that a culture of giving and re-sponsibility attracts the best talent, and that employees take pride in working for an organi-zation that lives by these values.”

– Kim Velluso, Vice President Human Resources, Siemens Canada Limited

 “The Earth Day campaign is a great example for other organizations to aspire to. The fact that so many Siemens employees came out to plant goes to show how environmentally conscious this group truly is.  Congratulations Siemens for this well deserved distinction!”

– Michael Rosen, President Tree Canada

About Siemens Caring Hands and the Caring Hands Employee Committee

The Siemens Caring Hands program was established in 2005 to coordinate corporate social responsibility activities, including donations, volunteerism, disaster relief and sponsorships. In 2010 Siemens Canada formed the Caring Hands Employee Committee to further unite the efforts of the more than 4,500 Siemens employees from coast-to-coast and to champion Caring Hands programs throughout the year including those developed to benefit Siemens’ charity of record Cystic Fibrosis Canada.  Siemens Caring Hands represents a culture of giving that is cultivated by Siemens in Canada and focuses on support for humanitarian and environmental non-profit organizations. Over the past number of years, Siemens Canada has made a significant impact in enhancing lives through its charitable activities.

About Siemens Canada 

For more than 100 years the innovative ideas from Siemens have helped make Canada a better place. From the Atlantic to Pacific oceans, more than 4,500 employees in Canada work together to provide answers that last in the fields of industry, energy, healthcare and infrastructure solutions for cities. Since it was federally chartered in 1912, Siemens has stood for technical achievements, innovation, quality and reliability. Sales for Siemens in Canada in fiscal 2012 (ended September 30), were $2.1 billion CAD. The company has 53 offices and 14 manufacturing/assembly facilities across Canada.