Business News
Transcontinental Presents Its First Sustainability Report Based On The Global Reporting Initiative Standard
Tuesday 23. March 2010 - At its annual meeting of shareholders on February 18th, Transcontinental, in its role as a leader in environmental protection and as a company that strives to serve the communities in which it operates, officially tabled its Sustainability Report 2009 Committing ourselves to performance. In it Transcontinental actively commits "to sustainable development by integrating social, financial and environmental considerations into its day-to-day business operations and long-range planning". The report is available on the company website.
“In the past, our commitment was part of our effort as a good corporate citizen to combine business success with social responsibility,” said President and Chief Executive Officer François Olivier. “We did it our way: by mobilizing our employees and working with our partners. So it is a natural step for Transcontinental to now integrate sustainable development in a manner that is consistent with and broadens our environmental commitment.”
This first sustainability report was based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standard, an international reference for methodology. In accordance with the GRI approach, Transcontinental identified a series of indicators which the Corporation will monitor regularly, with reports on future progress. “You cant improve what you dont measure,” said Jean Denault, Transcontinentals Vice President, Procurement and Technology and Chair of the Sustainable Development Steering Committee. “The 2009 report will be used as a benchmark to track our results and establish guidelines for our actions, with the transparency and rigour provided by the GRI standard.” The report has also been verified by the GRI organization.
In the coming year, the Steering Committee which is composed of employees from all operating sectorswill guide the internal process of defining the objectives, performance targets and timeframes required for the next stages in the GRI reporting procedure.
A dynamic and ongoing commitment
The very first thing the report does is set out Transcontinentals commitment to sustainable development. As indicated by past achievements, namely its Paper Purchasing Policy that favours environmentally preferable papers, the Corporations commitment encourages the mobilization and accountability of its partners, as well as innovation, concrete and tangible actions and the sharing and communication of results. It is around these four themes, essential to a successful process, that Transcontinentals path to sustainable development will be built.
Engagement and ownership: Mobilize employees at all levels of the organization, and our suppliers, customers and partners.
Innovation is the key driver, internally and externally: Supporting and rewarding innovation as key component of the strategy.
Connecting words to actions: Setting targets and key performance indicators to measure progress.
Shared journey: Communicating challenges and progress at each step of the way.
Lastly, preparation of the Sustainability Report 2009 made it possible to identify initiatives and projects central to responsible management of the organization which, without being called sustainable at the time they were implemented, are consistent with the spirit of sustainable development.
Greenhouse gas emissions: reduction of 11% in 2009 and implementation of a global energy management program to reduce emissions by 15% by 2012 compared to the level in 2008.
Paper Purchasing Policy: increase in the use of Gold and Gold Plus papers, the highest ranked papers in the environmental classification developed by Transcontinental, which represent 48% of the paper purchased in 2009, compared to 22% in 2008.
Chain-of-Custody: triple forest product chain-of-custody certification (FSC/SFI/PEFC) in 42 Transcontinental printing plants.
Recycling programs: recovery of 700 tonnes of paper in the Montreal subway system and contribution of $480,000 to provincial and municipal recycling programs.
Health, Safety and Wellness: decrease in the accident frequency rate, from 1.30 in 2008 to 1.08 in 2009.
Corporate philanthropy: investment of about $5.7 million in social and humanitarian causes in 2009, in the form of donations and sponsorships.
LEED certification: LEED Silver certification for Transcontinental Northern California, the plant built in Fremont, California to print the San Francisco Chronicle.
The report also recognizes the contribution of Transcontinental employees. It identifies some 25 awards and prizes won by our business units or employees at every level of the organization.