Surrey, BC – On Tuesday, September 20th, the Surrey Board of Trade will present three winners with a Surrey Environment and Business Award at the 16th annual event.
The winners were chosen based on their demonstration of exceptional dedication to environmental leadership and issues. This may take the form of hands-on work through recycling, promoting environmental awareness or education, pursuing ground-breaking ecological research, innovative environmental technology and partnerships with the community to promote the environment.
The 2022 winners are (descriptions below):
Small Business: Surrey Digital Printing
Medium Business: Weir Minerals
Large Business: Walmart Canada
The lunch event will also feature BC’s Minister of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship and Minister Responsible for Fisheries, the Honourable Josie Osborne as keynote speaker. Minister Osborne will discuss her goals for land and marine environments, while advancing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, environmental sustainability, and economic growth. She will describe her philosophy on integrated land and natural resource management, and the salmon farming industry.
Date: Tuesday, September 20
Location: Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel (15269 104th Ave. Surrey, B.C.)
Time: Lunch and Registration 11:30 am – 12:00 pm; Program: 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Tickets: For members – $65 each; $650 for a table of 10 or $750 corporate table of 10
For non-members – $75 each; $750 table of 10; $900 corporate table of 10
Tickets can be purchased at businessinsurrey.com or by calling 604.581.7130.
Co-Presenting Sponsors: Fortis BC and Vancouver Fraser Port Authority
Supporting Sponsors: Cargill and CN
Award Sponsors: BCAA, Exp Services Inc., and Vancity
Media Sponsor: Surrey NOW-Leader
ABOUT THE WINNERS
Small Business Award – Surrey Digital Printing
Surrey Digital Printing offers reprographic and blueprint services using the latest technologies and state-of-the-art printing equipment. Part of their vision is supporting and enhancing their community’s development through environmental and resource sustainability, and waste reduction is a crucial piece of this initiative. They formed a Sustainability Committee to review the daily processes and ensure that each employee understands their role in achieving the company’s sustainability goals.
By integrating print-on-demand services and new technology, they reduced an estimated 80% of run waste from traditional printing methods. Introducing a hybrid flatbed UV printer allowed them to conserve energy and minimize the amount of materials consumption by approximately 50%; an example of this huge reduction is the adhesive vinyl rolls which translates to about 50,000 sq. ft. of vinyl annually.
Surrey Digital also supports Social Print Paper by promoting and using paper-based products made from sugar cane residuals. They are also part of Xerox Green World Alliance Recycle Program and HP’s Planet Partners Program. Indeed, Surrey Digital embodies its vision of helping its community while growing its business.
Medium Business Award – Weir Minerals Canada
Weir Minerals engineers solutions that improve safety, efficiency and sustainability – helping to provide the essential resources needed by a growing world. The whole purpose of Weir’s business is to recycle pumps, pipes, valves and other types of steel equipment by adding a sacrificial layer of rubber to protect the underlying steel and extend the life of steel components.
Weir adopts innovative improvements in its processes to enhance the environment, health and safety of its people, clients, and the community. It managed to eliminate the use of toluene, a seven-carbon aromatic hydrocarbon compound that is a minor component (∼5%) of all gasoline, in its process – a first in this industry. It implements fixed and portable filtration systems to remove volatile organic compounds (VOC) from the workspace. It uses waste heat from the autoclave to heat its Surrey facility and the high efficiency filters minimize the loss of rubber particulates to the environment.
Weir has created a competition between their facilities to achieve top performance on safety and the environment. Its Surrey facility has been consistently one of the best facilities owned by Weir. It has won a total of 54 awards for excellence in General Safety, Environment and Production Safety – a testament that sustainability and environment are at the core of Weir’s business strategy.
Large Business Award – Walmart Canada
Walmart Canada takes environmental responsibility seriously and works on three main goals – to operate with 100% renewable energy, create zero waste, and sell products that sustain their resources and the environment. With its Surrey Distribution Centre, a 300,000-square-foot facility, Walmart reduced its carbon footprint by requiring fewer long-haul trips from Alberta. The Distribution Centre is on track to becoming a zero-waste facility as it is built vertically, using about half of the land mass required for a traditional equivalent facility. It uses LED lighting and intelligent controls to reduce energy consumption by 70%. Incorporating Witron’s cutting-edge technology allows Walmart to complete as many as 150,000 orders per day for its 45 locations across BC.
Walmart does not only work towards its operations but also helps create a shared value for its stakeholders. Over 750 suppliers have followed its lead and signed for Project Gigaton, an industry-wide effort to reduce a gigaton of emissions from the global supply chain by 2030. Walmart Canada plans to use 100% renewable energy to power its operations by 2035 and its fleet using 100 percent alternative power by 2028. Walmart’s other notable programs are the elimination of single-use plastic bags across all stores in BC, which is equivalent to 680 million plastic bags annually. It has donated over 30 million pounds of safe, surplus food to local food banks to avoid food waste. It plans to use 50% recycled material for its apparel and textiles in-house brand by 2025 and, finally, targets 100% use of recyclable, reusable and compostable packaging in all Walmart locations.
For further information, please contact Anita Huberman, President & CEO, Surrey Board of Trade, at anita@businessinsurrey.com or at 604.634.0342.
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