Pacific Blue Cross named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers
Monday, Apr 19, 2021Recognizing the amazing work of our team
For the past several years, Pacific Blue Cross has made tremendous strides to reduce its carbon footprint and work towards a greener future. This year, our hard work is being recognized with a national award.
Pacific Blue Cross has been named as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers, which recognizes employers that lead the nation in creating a culture of environmental awareness in their organizations. Read our profile in the Globe and Mail.
Pacific Blue Cross environmental initiatives
Pacific Blue Cross and its Green Team – a Pacific Blue Cross committee focused on environmental efforts – were praised for their work in raising consciousness among employees about environmental responsibility, not just at work but also at home and in the community.
Some of the major environmental initiatives undertaken in recent years include installing light sensors in all meeting rooms and offices and moving almost entirely from incandescent to LED lighting. Garbage bins were also removed from individual offices and relocated to centralized, comprehensive waste and recycling stations to promote waste reduction.
Our transition to online claims is one of our most significant environmental accomplishments. The digitization initiative has been underway for several years; today, 88% of member claims and 93% of health care provider claims now being submitted electronically as opposed to mailing or faxing paper.
“Digital claims submission equated to roughly four million pages of paper, 500 trees, and about 300 tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent waste saved in 2019 alone,” says Leza Muir, Vice-President and Chief Operating Office, Pacific Blue Cross. “We’ve decreased paper usage by 59% since 2012 (our baseline year). It’s absolutely huge.”
Soon, with working from home continuing to be a reality, Pacific Blue Cross will be looking to extend its energy reduction plan beyond office walls to help staff do the same in their own homes.
Pacific Blue Cross has also been awarded the Gold BOMA Building Environmental Status since 2016.