Burnaby, British Columbia, April 07, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LifeLabs is pleased to announce it has been recognized by the Burnaby Business Excellence Awards for adopting strategies and activities that reduce energy and materials consumption and eliminate waste and pollution.
The BBEAs is a joint program of the City of Burnaby and the Burnaby Board of Trade. It represents an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the contributions of local businesses to our community and economy.
Recently, LifeLabs also earned its fourth consecutive recognition for Environmental Excellence by Practice Greenhealth this year.
“LifeLabs sees the importance of establishing and maintaining environmentally sound processes,” says Jennifer Cudlipp, LifeLabs’ Chief Operating Officer (COO) & Senior Vice President, British Columbia. “We strive for continuous improvements in our services. This requires us to be innovative in all aspects of our business, including protecting our environment as we strive to become more sustainable.”
Every year, LifeLabs conducts more than 120 million laboratory tests. Almost every process in diagnostic testing relies on clean water to ensure high quality test results. Returning clean, safe and usable water is an important part of our commitment to our communities and our environment. Our Laboratory Operations, Facilities, and Environmental Sustainability teams collaborated with AOI (Advanced Ozone Integration) water treatment experts in 2020 to replace the ozone water treatment system at our Burnaby Reference Lab (BRL). This unique system we developed breaks down the sodium azide and removes contaminants from the water before it is returned to the public system.
At LifeLabs, we know the health of our planet is closely linked to the health of our patients, customers and communities. We are showing our commitment by:
Releasing our first Environmental Policy and by reporting out to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) for the last three years.
- Batteries and Electronics Recycling Program: employees are encouraged to bring in household batteries, cell phones and small electronic devices to be recycled and sent to our corporate e-waste partner.
- Landfill Waste Diversion: we have programs that divert all plastics, cardboard and organics as well as specialty programs such as shredding, Styrofoam and toner. Our materials and logistics department reuse supply boxes to send orders to our doctors and other facilities to eliminate the purchase and waste of new boxes. Additionally, they reuse cooler bags and ice packs, reuse styrofoam containers, use fuel-efficient vehicles, optimize travel routes to minimize travel time.
- Reducing CO2 Emissions: completed greenhouse gas inventory and implemented a fleet of 121 hybrid vehicles in operation to minimize the carbon footprint of our logistics teams and mobile lab services team.
- Reducing energy consumption: we have performed energy audits at our major labs, including the Burnaby lab, and completed energy savings projects, including lighting and HVAC upgrades, system automation improvements.
- Sustainable Procurement: we have integrated sustainability requirements into our procurement and RFP processes.
- Resource Management: we are the first healthcare organization to use ozone technology to treat wastewater.
To learn more about LifeLabs’ commitment to sustainability and reduction in environmental impacts, visit our website.
About LifeLabs
LifeLabs is Canada’s leader in laboratory diagnostic information and health connectivity solutions, leveraging innovative and personalized digital tools that empower customers to live their best life. Our dedicated and talented team of 6,000 employees supports 20 million lab visits and conducts over 100 million laboratory tests annually.
LifeLabs is 100% Canadian-owned by OMERS Infrastructure, the infrastructure investment manager of one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plans. Learn more at www.lifelabs.com
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