Inspiring employees and community organizations to walk the talk on sustainability has netted Richmond Hill-based IT firm Compugen a nomination for a new award celebrating businesses that are driving the green economy.
Compugen is one of five finalists for the Green Economy Builder Award, which will be presented at a Toronto event Nov. 5, established by the national not-for-profit organization Green Economy Canada.
Local Windfall Ecology Centre nominated the company for not only walking the talk on sustainability but inspiring and encouraging its employees and other organizations in its community to do the same.
“Businesses are starting to accept that we have a global climate change problem and executives are starting to be measured by their action,” says Steve Glover, president of Compugen Finance, in a news release.
“Compugen and Compugen Finance are urgently taking leadership in sustainability by reducing CO2 emissions, with a goal of becoming carbon neutral. Our customers, staff, business partners and the public expect positive change in the near term and we are rising to the challenge.”
As a member of ClimateWise Business Network, York Region’s Green Economy Hub, Compugen has demonstrated its commitment to sustainability by reducing energy use from lighting by 40 per cent, installing EV charging stations in their parking lot, and encouraging employees to telework to reduce emissions from employee commuting.
Brent Kopperson, executive director of Aurora-based Windfall Ecology Centre, which operates the ClimateWise Business Network, said Compugen and Compugen Finance are active members in the ClimateWise Business Network.
“We nominated them for the Green Economy Builder Award due to their ambitious emissions reduction plan. In addition, we want to highlight their innovative Green4Good CarbonBank program that encourages businesses to trade old IT assets for carbon offsets.”
Compugen is one of 250 businesses in the Green Economy Canada network working to set and achieve sustainability targets through the support of a local Green Economy Hub. There are currently six other hubs across Ontario such as the ClimateWise Business Network, supported by Green Economy Canada.
“Climate change is the defining challenge of our time. Being a part of the solution is not only the right thing to do, but it represents a tremendous economic opportunity for businesses and for Canada. Organizations like Compugen understand that,” Priyanka Lloyd, executive director of Green Economy Canada, said in a news release.
“We hope that sharing Compugen’s story will inspire other organizations to seize the benefits of going green while safeguarding our planet for generations to come.”
This is the first time Green Economy Canada is giving out an award to recognize the accomplishments of a business or institution across its network of hubs. In addition to Compugen, Heeman’s (London), The Delphi Group (Ottawa), the Township of Sables-Spanish Rivers (northeastern Ontario), and St. Lawrence College (Kingston) have been chosen as finalists.
The winner will be selected by a panel of judges from a variety of sectors, and announced at the Connect 2019 event. In addition to the award, the event will celebrate the progress of businesses and Green Economy Hubs in accelerating Canada’s transition to a low carbon economy, and will feature a special segment with Dianne Saxe and Priyanka Lloyd. The event is open to the public and full program details can be found here.
