Pomerleau Named One of Canada’s Greenest Employers for the First Time

Since we formalized our Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy in 2022, we have been implementing concrete solutions to achieve the goals we outlined in our ESG reports. Achieving these milestones requires collaboration and buy-in from our employees, partners and clients from coast-to-coast, who prioritize the environmental protection of our sites and surrounding communities, and to those that strive to make our offices more sustainable every day. Their commitment is the reason why we have been named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for the first time. 

The special designation made by the Canada’s Top 100 Employers Project, recognizes employers that lead the nation in creating a culture of environmental awareness in their organizations. Winning employers have developed sustainability initiatives – and are attracting people to their organizations because of their environmental leadership.  

Employers are evaluated by the editors of Canada's Top 100 Employers in terms of:  

1. The unique environmental initiatives and programs they have developed. 

2. The extent to which they have been successful in reducing the organization's own environmental footprint.  

3. The degree to which their employees are involved in these programs and whether they contribute any unique skills. 

4. The extent to which these initiatives have become linked to the employer's public identity, attracting new employees and clients to the organization. 

The comprehensive ESG targets we communicated in our two reports are intended to act as a guideline for our practices. To accelerate the transition to a low-carbon world, we seek to build more sustainable projects by integrating environmental and sustainable actions into everything we do. 

Last year, at the third annual climate conference organized by the Canadian Climate Institute, we committed to the Government of Canada’s Net Zero Challenge, which requires that signees pledge and enact concrete plans to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Our team of specialists will help us reach this goal by implementing credible and effective actions on-site. The passion and commitment of our team members contributes significantly to the success of our environmental initiatives, turning our shared vision for a greener world into a reality. 

To reach net-zero emissions by 2050, we have equipped our employees with the necessary tools to think and work sustainably. Since January of 2023, employees have had access to a monetary compensation of up to $2,000 to facilitate the acquisition of an electric or hybrid vehicle. The program facilitates the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by work-related travel of employees.  

This past winter, we launched the Heat Better Challenge, a challenge designed to mobilize our site teams to reduce GHG emissions generated from temporary heating on-site. Using control units and a mobile application to remotely control their heating equipment, participating site teams have successfully reduced more than 1000 tons of CO₂e, roughly equivalent to removing 200 vehicles from our road for a year. The Heat Better Challenge and our program to encourage employees to switch to electric vehicles both contribute to our objective of reducing our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 40% by 2030.  

In 2023, we made significant progress in ensuring that the residual materials generated on our sites are reused and recycled, by diverting 83% of residual materials from landfills. During the 2023 Pomerleau Challenge, we successfully recovered and donated more than 45 tons of wood used to build the structures for the activities. The wood was donated to Bishop’s University and Rêve nourricier and repurposed into urban agricultural projects and outdoor furniture. This action was followed by a $35,000 donation to Tree Canada. 

Starting this year, we are asking our employees to commit to one ESG objective each year. With each commitment, we form a stronger collective that together, can bring forth change.