RBC joined millions of people and organizations around the world to support Earth Day on April 22. “RBC is committed to reducing our environmental footprint, and Earth Day is a great way to raise awareness and remind us that we all have a role to play as stewards of the environment,” said Sandra Odendahl, director of Corporate Sustainability at RBC.

To celebrate Earth Day 2012, RBC launched a number of activities across the organization to raise awareness and provide staff with opportunities to get involved and make a difference. Below are a few examples:

RBC Environment Challenge

Over 6,700 staff participated in our enterprise-wide RBC Environment Challenge. This four week employee engagement program gave staff the opportunity to earn “green points” by undertaking activities at work that have an environmental benefit or by committing to learn more about RBC’s array of green initiatives. A few of the Challenge highlights included:

• 98% of participants committed to properly sorting recycling materials and not mixing recyclables with regular garbage;
• 93% of participants committed to printing double-sided;
• 80% of participants committed to walking, biking, car pooling or taking public transportation to work;
• 65% of participants committed to switching to paperless statements.

 

The Challenge was accompanied by an interactive website where staff could track their green points, post comments, create teams and access additional environmental information.

RBC and the Environment e-Learning Course

We also launched an employee environmental e-learning course. Employees could learn more about global environmental issues, the business case for environmental sustainability, the RBC Environmental Blueprint and how they could support RBC’s environmental objectives. Over 2,200 employees completed the RBC and the Environment e-learning course as of the end of May 2012.

 

RBC and the Environment e-learning course included professional narration, video and imagery to enhance the user’s experience.

Personal Electronic Waste Collection Campaign

RBC partnered with Global Electric Electronic Processing (GEEP) to offer a three-day electronic waste collection campaign at 10 major office towers in Canada, home to more than 10,000 employees. Employees had the opportunity to bring a wide variety of electronic items for responsible disposal including home computers, monitors, laptops, printers, faxes, copiers, phones, answering machines, video and audio equipment and televisions. The campaign collected over 6,800 kilograms of electronic items that were either refurbished and sold in other markets or dismantled and recycled with emphasis on the responsible disposal of any hazardous materials.

 

GEEP representatives and members of the RBC Green IT Committee at one of the collection points where employees could drop-off personal electronic items for responsible disposal.