Good work goes a long way for our earth
Posted May 17, 2006 – 12:24 pm in: Food Services, Groceries, News
Press Release:
Planet Organic Market’s Eco Karma Committee Helps Our Environment
EDMONTON, May 16 /CNW/ - Planet Organic Health Corp. - (TSX Venture Exchange - POH), Canada’s leading natural and organic supermarket chain, is helping the earth through its Eco Karma Committee, an employee-based committee dedicated to improving the environment and corporate citizenship. As part of Planet Organic’s Good Works program, the Eco Karma Committee was formed to lead the way in creating a healthier, more earth-friendly Planet Organic Market. “Our purpose was to upgrade Planet Organic Market’s eco- commitment,” says Pat Tufts, chairperson of the committee and Store Manager in Calgary. “We’ve made a lot of progress over the past year and now we’re making a positive difference.”
Since the committee was developed, Planet Organic Markets has built partnerships with the Sierra Club of Canada, a grassroots non-profit agency dedicated to protecting the integrity of our global ecosystems. Planet Organic Markets now donates a portion of profits to The Sierra Club of Canada in an effort to expand environmental initiatives throughout the country.
“We also wanted to help children in third world countries,” said Pat Tufts. “We chose the Foster Parents Plan of Canada because it’s a child- centred development organization improving the lives of children, their families and communities in 45 developing countries since 1937.” For each Planet Organic Market across Canada, three children from Foster Parents Plan are sponsored by the company. So far, there are 15 children sponsored, and with two more locations opening soon, six more children will join the list. Planet Organic Markets also encourages its customers to sponsor other children through Foster Parents Plan.
In addition, the Eco Karma Committee has teamed up with the Pembina Institute; harnessing the power of the wind into electricity. Planet Organic purchases wind power energy for more than 50 computers, including all cashiers’ tills. “We know that clean, renewable sources of energy have direct health benefits and are worth investing in,” says Pat Tufts. “That’s why we buy electricity from the Pembina Institute, a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to sustainable energy solutions.” The bulk purchase for 24- Megawatt hours of wind energy is equivalent to 24 tonnes of CO2 emissions. This is equal to taking 20 average cars off the road for an entire year.
Another Eco Karma Committee goal is to find environmentally superior solutions in cleaning products used to clean the supermarkets, eco-friendly deli containers, recycling stations, in-house recycling, and food donations. “We’re testing out new pagoda containers, which are made from managed trees and can be composted,” claims Pat. “We’re even using New Leaf Good newspaper for our newsletters made from 100% recycled, 40% post-consumer waste, processed chlorine-free.”
Planet Organic Markets is in the process of creating an Eco Karma Booklet for each supermarket. The booklet will educate staff how they can create a healthier environment. Visit www.planetorganic.ca to learn more about Planet Organic Markets.
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3 Comments
I hate to detract from all the worthy things Plantet Organic Markets is doing, but it must be noted that they are not buying wind power but only wind power certificates.
Although the extra cash may help developers, it does not change any emissions. The certificates are generated when the wind energy enters the grid, that is, any benefit from wind power happens whether or not the certificates are sold. The buyer of the certificates is also still buying the same electricity as before. Thus no change is being made through “wind power certificates.”
Thanks Rosa, I wasn’t aware of that.
The same blog where I first read about the difference between buying actual energy and mere certificates also has a satire you might appreciate: grocers greens tags: http://kirbymtn.blogspot.com/2006/04/greens-tags.html