Maclean's magazine has named ENMAX Corporation (ENMAX) among Canada’s top 30 Greenest Employers for 2009 in a special issue on newsstands today. The designation recognizes employers that lead the nation in creating environmental awareness in their organizations.
"We’re honoured to be recognized for our efforts at educating and engaging employees in environmental initiatives,” says Gary Holden, ENMAX President and CEO. “We’ve worked hard to develop a culture that identifies the importance of acting in a responsible way for the sake of the water we drink and the air we breathe".
ENMAX was named as a green employer for several reasons including a pilot project currently underway with employees to test alternative energy products in their own homes. These products include solar panels to generate electricity and hot water, as well as micro turbines to harness wind power. The technologies allow employees to minimize their reliance on traditional energy sources while using more renewable options. Following the trial period, these renewable energy products will be made available to the public.
ENMAX also encourages employees to sign an Eco Pledge to reduce their individual impact on the environment. Everything from turning computers off at the end of the workday, making efforts to reduce paper consumption, or not idling vehicles all count towards making a difference. Several employees have taken the pledge to another level, identifying more ways to reduce, reuse and recycle. Over half of all employees have already signed the pledge, a big step in reaching the goal of 95 per cent by end of April 2009.
Eco Pledge participant, Linda Prosser, notes that sometimes the greatest positive impact to the environment can be made with the simplest solutions. “Changing our 42-inch rolls of paper to 36-inch rolls reduced bags of wasted paper trimmings. Along with a few other efforts, we’ve saved over 22,000 sq. feet or 15 per cent of our department’s total paper usage.”
Recently, ENMAX went a step further in engaging their employees in the environment by sending Alicia DuBois, Compliance counsel, to Antarctica as part of an expedition with leading environmentalist Robert Swan, O.B.E.. The trek focused on environmental challenges and solutions that affect all areas of the world, including Earth’s most remote and feral continent. DuBois traveled alongside employees from other energy companies around the world, scholars, and experts in climate change. Her experience and new-found knowledge will in turn be shared with co-workers, ENMAX executives, and the community.
In addition to employee programs, ENMAX also offers renewable energy options such as wind power to customers, and continues to build its portfolio of renewable sources for electricity generation.
For more information go to: http://www.eluta.ca/green-at-enmax
ENMAX Corporation, through subsidiaries and predecessors, has provided Albertans with safe and reliable electricity for more than 100 years. ENMAX provides electricity, natural gas and value-added services to more than 600,000 residential, commercial and industrial metered customer locations in Alberta. ENMAX Energy Corporation, a subsidiary of ENMAX Corporation, is Alberta’s leading competitive electricity retailer. Through subsidiaries, ENMAX Energy is one of Alberta’s largest investors in renewable energy and was the first Canadian electricity retailer to offer customers the option to support wind generated energy. As well, ENMAX Corporation, through its subsidiary ENMAX Envision, provides fiber optic networks for high speed data and internet communications. Visit our website at enmax.com.