November 2008 – EXCEL Partnership Congratulates Teknion as they Win Waste Minimization Awards Top Prize
Teknion Corporation has earned a Platinum award in the business category during the annual Ontario Waste Minimization Awards sponsored by the Recycling Council of Ontario. The company had been awarded a gold prize last year.

"As one of our few Platinum winners, Teknion demonstrates that protecting the environment is integral to good business practices," says Jo-Anne St. Godard, Executive Director of the Recycling Council of Ontario. "Teknion has adopted sustainable practices throughout the organization and has translated that into taking action in all aspects of their business. Clearly they understand the economic values of environmental protection and resource conservation."

Teknion designs, manufactures and markets office systems and office furniture products. These include conference tables, desks and stacking chairs for high-density applications such as cafeterias and classrooms. The company also manufactures modular cabinets for administrative offices and lounge tables for bistro areas.

"Receiving this waste reduction award would not have been possible without the strong commitment to sustainability demonstrated by everyone at Teknion’s manufacturing sites in Ontario, in conjunction with concerted efforts at our facilities across Canada," says Scott Deugo, Teknion’s Senior Vice President of Design, Marketing and Sustainable Development. "Teknion’s corporate culture has continued to embrace our environmental programs - an evolution that reflects more about who we are rather than just what we do."

The Recycling Council of Ontario is a not-for-profit organization committed to minimizing society’s impact on the environment by eliminating waste. Its mission is to inform and educate all members of society about the generation of waste, the avoidance of waste, the more efficient use of resources and the benefits and/or consequences of these activities. Since its inception in 1978, RCO has actively assisted municipalities, corporations, other organizations and individuals in reducing their waste.

The Ontario Waste Minimization Awards were presented October 21 in Toronto as part of Waste Reduction Week in Canada (October 19-25).

August 2008 – The EXCEL Partnership Welcomes Bell Canada as a New Member
We are proud to welcome Bell Canada as the newest member of the EXCEL Partnership. Bell is Canada's largest communications company, providing consumers with solutions to all their communications needs, including telephone services, wireless communications, high-speed Internet, digital television and voice over IP. Bell's efforts towards sustainability performance has been recognized by a number of organizations including the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), FTSE4Good Global Index, the Jantzi Social Index and the Carbon Disclosure Project, they also subscribe to the United Nations' Global Compact. Bell's 2007 Corporate Responsibility report was recently released which highlights many of their sustainability issues, strategies and successes.

John Wiebe, President & CEO of the GLOBE Foundation welcomes Bell to the Partnership noting that "the addition of Bell to EXCEL brings Canada's sustainability leader in the telecommunications sector into a Partnership made up of corporate stand-outs from across Canadian industry. Members in EXCEL learn from each other through Roundtables and monthly management briefs how to further their corporate performance on environment and social issues."

Marc Duchesne, Director of Corporate Responsibility and Environment at Bell will be their lead representative in EXCEL. Marc leads the team responsible for Bell's sustainability strategy and states that "Bell's membership in EXCEL will help enhance the company's sustainability performance by taking part in this learning partnership made up of Canada's top companies who are looking to better integrate environmental and social considerations as a value driver within their businesses."

Bell joins 12 other Canadian companies in EXCEL, who along with the Globe Foundation and the Delphi Group, believe in the power of peer to peer learning on sustainability to foster improved business performance.

April 2008 – EXCEL member EPCOR Honoured as one of Canada's Most Earth-Friendly Employers
The EXCEL Partnership congratulates member EPCOR for having been honoured as one of the Canada's most environmentally responsible places to work, according to the 2008 list of Canada's Most Earth-Friendly Employers. The list was announced to coincide with Earth Day by the editors of the annual Canada's Top 100 Employers project.

EPCOR was chosen for providing excellent career opportunities to people who are interested in working on environmentally responsible energy projects, such as the company's new methane and wind-power generation facilities.

"These employers are setting the standard for integrating environmental values into their organizational cultures," said Richard Yerema, Managing Editor of the Canada's Top 100 Employers project. "Employees increasingly look at how their employers address the issue of environmental stewardship - and these organizations are attracting people who identify with these values." The new competition grew out of two remarkable speeches given by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former US Vice-President Al Gore at the annual conference on the Canada's Top 100 Employers project in 2006 and 2007. >>> read more...

February 2008 - EXCEL Partnership Releases New Report -
EXCEL Sustainable CEO Publication – A Collection of Speeches From EXCEL Leaders
The 2007 Sustainable CEO forum was held in Calgary on November 6th, in the very beautiful and inspiring Artists of the World Gallery. The theme for the speeches was Value Creation. EXCEL asked the speakers to answer the question: How is a sustainability perspective used in your company to create value? Speakers at the forum provided a great range of perspectives, all from different sectors of the Canadian economy. >>> read more...

Teknion wins the 2007 GLOBE Award for Corporate Competitiveness
Sponsored by the GLOBE Foundation of Canada and The Globe and Mail, the 2007 GLOBE Awards for Environmental Excellence were presented to the winning organizations at the Closing Gala Luncheon for the EECO 2007 Environment and Energy Conference in Toronto. The Corporate Competitiveness Award is offered to a corporation with a proven record of environmental stewardship, and that has materially contributed to economic competitiveness through a commitment to environmental excellence. Teknions proven sustainability excellence includes a track record of environmental stewardship, CEO leadership that has provided vision and support for corporate environment policies, sustainability or social responsibility, and a synergy between the board of directors and managers with respect to environment, sustainability and social policies. >>> read more...

EXCEL Partnership has a new member
We welcome RBC Financial Group as a new member of EXCEL. With approximately 70,000 full- and part-time employees who serve more than 14 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in North America and 34 countries around the world, Royal Bank of Canada is Canadas largest bank as measured by assets and market capitalization, and one of North Americas leading diversified financial services companies. RBC has a long history of corporate responsibility, and it is considered as one of the worlds top 100 sustainable companies, according to the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World.

Congratulations Alcan!
Innovest Strategic Value Advisors released its Global 100 list of the most sustainable corporations in the world at the World Economic Forum in Davos. This year, 5 Canadian companies made the list, including Alcan Inc. G100 includes companies from 16 countries in sectors ranging from Oil and Gas to Wireless Telecommunication Services that were evaluated according to how effectively they manage environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities, relative to their industry peers. >>> read more...

The EXCEL Partnership: A Next Decade Vision for Canadian Corporate Sustainability
The Partnership recently launched a CEO Forum on Sustainability Series. The first Forum was held in Toronto late last year, featuring three leading CEOs: Philippe Arto of St. Lawrence Cement, Bob Elton of BC Hydro and David Feldberg of Teknion. Each dealt with different aspects of the Next Decade Vision for Canadian Corporate Sustainability. >>> read more...

EXCEL newest member
We welcome Teck Cominco, as a new member of the EXCEL Partnership. Teck Cominco Limited, is a diversified mining company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company is a world leader in the production of mining zinc, copper, lead, gold and metallurgical coal from both open-pit and underground operations. Teck Cominco is committed to sound and responsible business practices in every aspect of its activities. The companys dedication to corporate responsibility is embodied in the Charter of Corporate Responsibility and in the Code of Business Practices Environment, Health and Safety. Teck Cominco is included on the Jantzi Social Index a socially screened, market capitalization- weighted common stock index that consists of 60 Canadian companies that pass a set of broadly based social and environmental screens.

Another EXCEL member company tops sustainability reporting awards
Dofasco, Canada's largest steel producer, received the 2006 Commendation for Continued Excellence in Integrated Reporting award this month in an international competition hosted by the Boston-based Ceres coalition and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). The winning report outlines how Dofasco consider sustainability as a core part of its business strategy and that the company's social and environmental performance are just as important as the company's fiscal performance. >>> read more...

EXCEL member companies show environmental leadership at Montreal climate change conference
The EXCEL Partnership contributed in making the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 11) in Montreal, November 28th to December 9th, 2005, carbon neutral. EXCEL companies OPG, EPCOR, DuPont, BC Hydro and special guest Nova Scotia Power provided GHG reduction credits to offset over 25,000 tonnes of GHG emissions. These credits will be retired on a public GHG registry. >>> read more...

EXCEL Partnership releases a new report that investigates capital risk and corporate sustainability
"A Sustainability Lens for Capital Decisions: A Corporate Sustainability Approach to Reduce Business Risks" report profiles the rationale for using a sustainability lens for improving due diligence and corporate profitability. It outlines how sustainability is inextricably linked to business risk and capital decisions. >>> read more...