Statistics have proven that 50% of the global carbon footprint is a result of the construction industry and the buildings that have been created. In Vancouver alone, more than 20% of our landfill is made up of construction site waste.
We are committed to sustainability in the construction industry
Climate Smart Certified
As part of our accreditation, FairTradeworks conducts a greenhouse gas inventory on an annual basis. Our most recent results show that despite our company’s growth, our numbers have not changed from last year results.
Our Carbon Footprint
Our biggest source of emissions comes from transporting people. Our Advisors and in-house trades travel from sites all over the Lower Mainland. We have switched from diesel trucks to Toyota Priuses for better gas efficiency.
Our Challenge
Currently, our biggest challenge is measuring waste on construction sites. Our Advisors are aware of the waste that ends up in our landfills. We try our best to educate clients on green solutions for their renovation or new build. We do our best to reuse or recycle materials where and when we can.
Now making promises about corporate environmental sustainability is easier than living up to it. We believe that the construction industry has not yet achieved a high level of environmental consciousness, but we’re working on it. It requires a culture change, and that’s always the hardest thing to do.
By formalizing FairTradeWorks‘ commitment here and on our corporate walls, we are making a statement to our employees and customers that environmental sustainability is important to our company. Every time a process step raises an issue, our environmental commitment will be top of mind — and that may lead to the next big GREEN idea. Though the changes may be small each day, they can move the construction industry just enough to see the really big possibilities.
Below is a list some things we’ve done and some of the things we’re hoping to do but haven’t achieved yet in our Green World. We think it’s important to show you not only what we have accomplished but where we’re headed as well. We recognize that we must always be improving and learning.
We’ve dedicated an entire section to environmental sustainability in our employee and corporate policy manual.
We’ve built basic principles into New Hire Training and are planning an on-line training module for all employees.
Our corporate Principles of Environmental Sustainability are posted in our offices, vehicles and manuals and we hope to include more Green Guests in our FairTradeWorks social media platforms to continually provide guidance in the areas of waste reduction, energy consumption, reporting, etc.
Our goal is to add a Green Award to our tool belt.
We have a section dedicated to our environmental performance in our customer services survey. This is intended to not only monitor the performance of our employees and partnering trades, but also to generate new ideas and monitor the impact we are having on homeowners and their consciousness.