Canadian group Emterra headquartered in Burlington, Ontario, is regarded as one of the major players in Canadian tire recycling industry. Besides, the group also leads the way in the waste resource recovery and recycling industry – and this year it is the only organization in the sector which has been selected for the award usually granted to the most forward-thinking and innovative companies. In 2020, Emterra received the award for the fifth time!

This year, Emterra Group has been recognized on Canada’s Greenest Employers list. According to a news release from Emterra, the company is the only waste and recycling company included on the list this year.

“At Emterra Group, we have a saying, ‘think innovatively, transform waste into resources.’ For more than 40 years we have been reshaping the way consumers, businesses and municipalities manage waste,” says Emmie Leung, founder and CEO of Emterra Group. “We work every day to be a positive example of environmental stewardship for our employees, our customers, our communities and the environment.”

During the selection, applicants for the award are compared with other employers in their industry and the winning employers are selected by editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers.

Then, winning employers are evaluated using four main criteria: unique environmental initiatives or programs they have developed; whether they have been successful in reducing their own environmental footprint; whether their employees are involved in these programs and contribute unique skills; and whether their environmental initiatives have become linked to the employer’s public identity, attracting new employees or customers.

“Values and understanding shift with each generation,” says Richard Yerema, managing editor of Canada’s Top 100 Employers Project. “Environmental sustainability was once considered contrary to running a successful enterprise. However, within a generation we have witnessed a complete reversal—a focus on long term sustainability is not only necessary for the health of any organization but for society as a whole.”

“Employees expect that their employers live up to their values, and at Emterra, we hold our sustainability value in the highest regard,” says Taura Caroscio, Emterra group director of human resources. “We are proud to be named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers and, as we look to recruit top talent to our organization, we believe this gives us a competitive advantage. Employees want to find a purpose in their jobs and to know the work they do makes a difference in their community and beyond. Winning this designation year over year solidifies our commitment to the environment and builds on our reputation as an employer of choice.”

As part of the national competition, the award’s selection committee chose Emterra Group based on the group’s several best practices related to the environment. Among them are:

  1. Emterra’s formal Community Care national charitable program that partners with local organizations to design and implement innovative charitable giving programs that heighten awareness around waste reduction, entices consumers and businesses to recycle more and links community health to sustainability;
  2. The launch of a new division, Ryse Solutions Inc., which works with producers, retailers and packaging suppliers to help them design products and packaging for recyclability and create recycling programs for materials including tires, waste electronics, packaging and batteries; and
  3. The creation and partnership with the Circular Polymers Group, which collaboratively run industry-leading plastics recycling facilities across North America.

To learn more about the company, please navigate to Emterra’s website.