VANCITY Improving the Quality of Life Where It Lives

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1 VANCITY Improving the Quality of Life Where It Lives Vancity is Canada s largest credit union. Formed in 1946, today it has $14.5 billion in assets, more than 410,000 members, and 61 branches throughout Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Victoria, and Squamish, British Columbia. Vancity and its subsidiary companies are guided by a commitment to corporate social responsibility and to improving the quality of life in the communities where they live and work. ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES For many years, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has played a major part in the operations of Vancity. In 2000, the credit union developed The Statement of Values and Commitments in order to take CSR one step further. Created with broad employee input and signed off on by the Board, the statement identifies the values of integrity, innovation and responsibility, and commits itself to strengthening Vancity s long-term business while contributing to the well-being of its members, staff, communities, and the environment Within the Board of Directors, Vancity has a Community Leadership Committee. The committee is responsible for developing and overseeing the implementation of the Vancity Group Community Leadership Strategy. The strategy focuses on four key areas of priority for members: acting on climate change and environmental commitments, facing poverty (providing access to services to marginalized individuals), supporting the social economy, and being accountable. IMPLEMENTATION Activity: Financial services Members: 410,000 individuals Corporate head office: Vancouver, British Columbia Website: At Vancity, the entire Board of Directors is involved in the Community Leadership Strategy but it is its Community Leadership Committee that deals with the day-to day activities including carbon neutral issues. Vancity staff participates in environmental training and a few members of the Board are part of the environmental movement. Employees are motivated on these issues through incentives, such as contests and campaigns, to raise awareness and change behaviour. Vancity is a part of the United Nations Environmental Program s Financial Initiative and the Canadian Greenhouse Gas Registry. In the process of becoming carbon neutral, Vancity partnered with The David Suzuki Foundation, The Pembina Institute, The Natural Step, Ecotrust Canada, The University of British Columbia, and Offsetters.ca.

2 ACTIVITIES Vancity believes in encouraging all members of the community individuals, neighbourhoods, non-profit organizations, businesses, and governments to work together to take action on climate change. This belief influences how it does business and with whom. It also influences purchasing decisions, where it locates, how it builds branches, how it consumes energy, and the kinds of products and services it offers. The Climate Change Solutions program The Climate Change Solutions program is focused on curbing climate change by taking action as an organization where we live, and supporting Vancity members and the community to do the same. Vancity does this by: reducing the organizational environmental impact by cutting emissions from energy use, paper use, and employee travel; helping members to reduce their impact by offering them unique products; supporting community groups who are also taking action and by investing in community and industry leaders working towards solutions (e.g. green building grants, investment in micro-hydro projects and green buildings); and advocating for the development and advancement of public policy solutions to climate change. Green Banking Vancity offers banking products and services that make it easier for members to make choices that reduce their environmental and carbon footprints 1. EnviroVisa A minimum of 5% of Vancity Visa profits are donated to an envirofund supporting local environmental projects such as restoring watershed and marine habitats in Boundary Bay, funding the Purple Martin recovery program in the Georgia Basin area, and building a boardwalk to conserve Burns Bog. Cardholders vote to choose the issues the envirofund will support. Since 1990, the envirofund has provided more than $2.0 million in grants to local community projects addressing environmental issues. 2. Bright Ideas Home Renovation Loan This loan rewards members choice for energy-efficiency by offering renovation financing at a rate of prime plus 1% for up to 10 years. To qualify, members need to make renovations recommended by an ecoenergy Retrofit evaluation of their home and they must achieve at least a five-point improvement in the home s energy efficiency rating. 3. Vancity Circadian Mutual Funds These funds invest in companies that use progressive social, environmental, and corporate governance practices in managing their businesses. Vancity believe it s the balanced, forward-thinking companies that will ultimately perform the best. 4. Business Banking A number of business products are available for: energy efficiency assessments and support for business and not-for-profit members that are greening their facilities; energy efficiency in businesses and not-for-profits; micro-loans for eco-technology businesses; financing for green-energy alternatives through Vancity Capital Corporation; and Vancity 1

3 eco-efficiency loans for any business trying to reduce its environmental footprint. 5. Pure Home Insurance This product offers members energy-efficient, environmentally friendly upgrades and includes up to $15,000 of supplemental coverage to upgrade homes with more environmentally sound alternatives for windows, heating systems, flooring, paints, Energy Star-rated appliances and more. 6. Other Environmental Products Eco Efficiency Business Loans are available to housing co-operatives, property-managed stratas, businesses, and not-for-profit organizations for financing energy savings upgrades to members buildings or properties. Clean Air Auto Loans reward members who choose to buy fuel-efficient cars that emit less carbon into the atmosphere with preferential loan rates. Shared Success gives 30% of Vancity s net profits back to members and their communities every year. Shared Success helps a variety of local organizations that improve social, economic, and environmental conditions. Shared Growth Term Deposits invests members money in projects that improve the social and environmental well-being of local communities while members earn a guaranteed competitive interest rate. Dockside Green By 2015, the Dockside Green real estate co-development, in Victoria, will be comprised of one million square feet of mixed-use buildings with a focus on ecological, social, and economic responsibility the triple bottom line philosophy that guides everything Vancity does. The project features numerous one-of-a-kind components that are aligned with this philosophy, many of which are firsts in North America and even in the world. Dockside Green has been awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification, the highest rating possible in the global standard for developing and measuring highperformance green sustainable buildings. And within Platinum certification, Dockside achieved the highest rating in the world. Dockside Green will be carbon positive from an energy perspective as a result of its many innovative ecological initiatives. Other eco-friendly highlights include onsite treatment of all sewage as well as the construction of a biomass gasification plant to turn scrap wood into heat energy. Rigorous environmental targets are in place and evaluated on an ongoing basis that is shared with the community through an annual sustainability report. Change Everything Website ChangeEverything.ca is an online site for people who want to change themselves, their communities, or their world. It is a place where ideas are bounced around, questions asked, resources shared, and connections made. It is a forum where people are setting intentions within the context of a supportive community that is helping them to make things happen on the ground. Internal Environmental Initiatives Vancity is the first financial institution to become carbon neutral based on offsetting its carbon footprint from direct and indirect energy use, as well as business travel, employee commuting, and paper use. Vancity 2

4 1. Reducing Energy Use Energy efficient retrofits LED branch signage Energy efficient lighting Motion sensors on lights Powering down computers Solar hot water heating Labels on lights 2. Staff Transportation and Travel The vast majority of Vancity s emissions from travel are from employee commuting. Some of the ways the credit union is working towards reducing these include: Locating close to transit Arranging for discounted employee transit passes Supporting carpooling Proving Smart Cars and cruiser bikes for employees to get to meetings and appointments Providing showers, lockers, and secure bike storage Offering a Guaranteed Ride Home Program Supporting the Commuter Challenge for alternative transportation Conducting a staff transportation survey 3. Reducing Paper Use 100% post-consumer waste paper Double-sided printing Opt-out of statements epost Online banking 4. Reducing Waste Extensive recycling program Tiny trash bins Reusable mugs Cradle-to-grave thinking in our purchasing Waste audits 5. Cut the Carbon Challenge Vancity received funding from BC Hydro to build an online tool that employees can use to track the emissions they re saving from their climate-friendly behaviour at work. Each month, employees are challenged to adopt one additional good habit. Staff see not only how much carbon they re saving but also how much is collectively saved by all Vancity staff. 6. GreenFeat GreenFeat is an annual campaign that encourages staff to adopt climate-friendly actions in the workplace. The tactics vary each year based on the emission reduction needs of the organization. One year, staff members were asked to pledge to take action to support Vancity s carbon neutral goal and then offered a chance to win a climate-friendly prize when they were caught taking an emissions saving action. Another year, staff from the credit union s branches competed against each other to reduce. Although the tactics vary, the goal of the campaign is always the same: to shrink Vancity s carbon footprint. Vancity 3

5 7. LEED Certified Buildings The Vancity North Shore branch is Power Smart Certified to LEED specifications. This building is energy efficient through energy efficient lighting, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning upgrades, and building envelope improvements. These efforts are estimated to have reduced the energy saved per employee by close to 50%, prevented 1700 tonnes of CO 2 from entering the atmosphere, and saved Vancity a cumulative $1.7 million in energy costs. REPORTING & ACCOUNTABILITY The Board s Community Leadership Committee oversees Vancity s accountability reporting, which ensures that the Statement of Values and Commitments is a focal point of the credit union s operations and its accountability. Every two years, since 1997, it has produced an externally verified accountability report. Although two-thirds of its members are concerned about the issue of accountability and transparency in business, Vancity says that the key reason it produces the report is to help it improve on its own processes. Critical findings uncovered along the way are implemented in its business practices. The report is available on Vancity s website. LESSONS LEARNED 1. Educate staff and employees about climate change to make them aware of how they can make a difference. This will make it easier to get momentum and buy-in for the drive to be carbon netural. Cross organizational training would have been a valuable tool to help develop this program. It would have been beneficial to have had an online course to ensure everyone had a basic level of knowledge. 2. Communication is key in developing awareness. GOING FORWARD Vancity has a rich history of serving as a catalyst for change. While proud of what it s achieved over the past six decades, it believes there s even more it can do to support its members and communities. Vancity s success has never been measured exclusively in dollars and cents but by a triple bottom line that includes environmental and social performance as well. The new vision for the Vancity is redefining wealth, creating a definition of wealth in which profit is not the end point but rather the beginning; it s a definition that includes social justice, environmental sustainability, and community well-being. Prepared by Karen Bains Edited September 2009 Vancity 4