CORPORATE SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)

 
 
 
 

OUR corporate social responsibility

Even as a small business, we uphold social and environmental commitments as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Our founder and owner, Martina Rowley, has a lifelong passion for the environment. She holds an honours degree in Environmental Studies (BES Hons) from York University, Canada, a certificate in Environment and Third World Studies from the Open University, UK, and professional certification as Associate Member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) from the UK. See more under Environmental Commitment.

In addition to her professional experience – ranging from corporate environmental affairs to community animation in the non-profit sector – Martina 'walks her talk'. Her day-to-day life and activities reflect her environmental commitment and she is actively involved as a volunteer and program leader. We hire local support staff and outsource tasks we don’t do to other Canadian businesses, preferably within the GTA to support our local business friends, and the local economy.

We participate in local community or municipal civic engagement, and contribute to making and keeping our neighbourhoods and city or town a good and fair place to live in. We participate in meetings with peer groups to share our business knowledge with other small business owners, attend local business networking meetings and events and participate in public consultation meetings on local issues.

 

ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENT

Sustainable practices are part of our everyday business and life. We keep our environmental footprint as small as possible, and also encourage some better purchasing and event practices with our clients whenever possible. What we do:

  • Office Equipment: We purchase only when new, large or electronic equipment, like computers, laptops, monitors, printers, or desks, have truly reached the end of their lifespan. Electronics chosen are eco certified, energy-saving, and furniture and storage purchases may be second-hand.

  • Office Resources and Stationery: We buy paper and paper products made from recycled materials, FSC certified, and renewable resources, e.g. printer paper, notebooks, and other stationery. We often buy from Staples, who have over 2,000 eco responsible products and a Sustainable Earth product line. We make most purchases at local stores to support the local economy.

  • Traveling: We walk, cycle, or take public transit to meetings and events whenever possible, or car-pool with colleagues.

  • Bottled Water: We drink tap water and take our refillable water bottles to-go. This practise saves approximately 1,460 1-litre PET plastic bottles per year (per person), including 4,380 litres of additional water for the bottle production and packaging process. At meetings and events we attend, organise and/or host, we encourage the use of fresh tap water and reusable glasses or pitchers.

  • Recycling/The 3Rs: We encourage 5 Rs: rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, and recycle. That means replacing computers and technology only when broken or ineffective, double-sided printing and photo-copying whenever feasible, and reusing or repurposing anything possible to limit our resource consumption.

Our founder and business manager, Martina Rowley, has been a Board member with local and city-wide Toronto environmental community and non-profit organizations for many years, some of which she co-founded. She is an active member of the Town of Orangeville’s council committee, Sustainable Orangeville, writes a monthly green column The Green Piece for the local newspaper The Citizen and is the creator and coordinator of the Orangeville Urban Harvest Program to rescue local, fresh produce.

 

SOCIAL COMMITMENT

First and foremost, we conduct ourselves ethically in our business and with our clients’ businesses. Always.

We hire local support staff and outsource tasks we don’t do to other Canadian businesses, preferably within the GTA to support our local business friends, and the local economy.

We participate in local community or municipal civic engagement, and contribute to making and keeping our neighbourhoods and city or towns a good and fair place to live in.

We participate in meetings with peer groups to share our business knowledge with other small business owners, attend and contribute to public consultation meetings on local planning and environmental issues and are known to start or lead neighbourhood initiatives. These have included running social Meetup groups, environmental community groups, and hands-on engagement with street beautification projects, foraging and sharing wild fruit from municipal parks and trails, and general advocacy for better and more sustainable practices. Some of our team members are also active in the health and wellness industry, serving as volunteer on national and provincial Boards.

ACTIVE SUPPORTER OF: