Recognized by employees as one of Canada's most environmentally conscious employers

TORONTO, April 28 /CNW/ - Scotiabank is proud to be named for the second consecutive year as one of THE GREEN 30 by Maclean's Magazine. THE GREEN 30 is a list of Canadian companies whose employees believe their employers best incorporate environmental stewardship into their business models and corporate cultures.

"Finding ways to reduce our environmental impact is top of mind for Scotiabank and its employees and an integral part of our global Bright Future program," said Sylvia Chrominska, Group Head, Global Human Resources and Communications, Scotiabank. "Across all levels of the Bank employees have been helping build environmental awareness into our everyday operations. We are very proud of this recognition, both because the environment is important to all of us at Scotiabank and because it comes from our employees." 

The list of 30 companies was independently compiled by AONHewitt Associates, gathered from their Best Employers study. As with the Best Employers and Best Small & Medium Employers studies, earning a spot on THE GREEN 30 list was based on the opinion of each employer's workforce. Employees at over 250 Canadian organizations were surveyed regarding their employer's commitment to environmental stewardship. The list recognizes companies where both employers and employees are engaged in efforts to mitigate environmental damage, reduce pollution, cut down on waste, promote green behaviours, and foster sustainable, healthy growth.

In 2010 Scotiabank in Canada achieved many environmental milestones, most notably the introduction of the Bank's Canadian flagship environmental program, EcoLiving. With the EcoLiving website (www.ecoliving.scotiabank.com) as the centerpiece, the objective of EcoLiving is to help Canadians, including employees, discover how they can make greener choices for their homes, reduce their energy bills and take advantage of government rebates.

Two components of the EcoLiving program have since been launched. In October, the EcoLiving Awards honouring businesses and students for excellence in enabling residential energy efficiency were introduced. The first award recipients will be announced June 2, 2011. The EcoLiving magazine, which augments the website with seasonally specific articles on greening options for the home, was introduced in November 2010.  The second edition of the EcoLiving magazine will be published in June and available at Scotiabank branches across Canada.

Other 2010 environmental highlights included:

• Through Scotiabank's Environmental Paper Policy, which was implemented in 2008, Scotiabank employees have continued to reduce their consumption of bond copy paper reaching a new total reduction of 24 per cent by the end of 2010.
• Scotiabank's peer recognition program - Applause - was enhanced to offer employees a way to recognize coworkers for their environmentally friendly actions at work. Since the program launched in November, 2010, more than 1700 EcoApplauses have been sent.
• Scotiabank recently launched EcoEnergy Financing Options for small business owners and home owners across Canada, for small-scale energy projects such as solar panels. Financing options for agriculture and commercial customers for renewable energy projects are also available.

"We are honoured to be named to THE GREEN 30," said Kaz Flinn, Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility, Scotiabank. "Our employees have been very engaged in helping us achieve our environmental goals and I would like to thank them for their enthusiastic commitment.  We have more initiatives on the horizon and we look forward to meeting new goals that will help protect our environment." 

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is committed to supporting the communities in which we live and work, both in Canada and abroad, through our global philanthropic program, 'Bright Future'.  Recognized as a leader internationally and among Canadian corporations for our charitable donations and philanthropic activities, Scotiabank has provided on average approximately $44 million annually to community causes around the world over each of the last five years. Visit us at www.scotiabank.com.