TORONTO--(Marketwire - April 22, 2010) - Softchoice Corporation (TSX:SO), a leading North American provider of IT solutions and services, is delighted to announce the release of a new style of Corporate Sustainability Report (CSR). Produced in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) - the world's most widely used sustainability reporting framework - this year's report details Softchoice's sustainability journey with the intention of providing practical implementation tips and insights to its readers. From developing a supplier green audit, to outlining best practices for starting a green team, Softchoice's 2009 CSR not only highlights the year's accomplishments, it also provides valuable templates and tools to assist any organization looking to embark on a sustainability strategy of their own.
"We're a knowledge-based organization, and we want to do our part to foster sustainable business practices," says Melissa Alvares, Sustainability Programs Manager at Softchoice. "When we began our green journey we struggled to find practical resources and tools. Our goal with this report is to help other companies by sharing our story and some of the practices we've developed along the way."
The Softchoice 2009 CSR addresses common green opportunities for organizations of all sizes and industries, and includes valuable resources such as:
Supplier Green Audit: a comprehensive survey tool given to supply chain
partners to evaluate their environmental best practices.
Fundraising in-a-Box: instructions and best practices for running office
fundraising events.
Green Team Fundamentals: resources on how to identify, select, organize
and develop a dedicated green team, and the green activities it can
drive.
Employee Commuting Program: the details and business case for
Softchoice's Green Commute program developed to give employees
alternatives to driving single occupancy vehicles.
Energy-Efficiency Best Practices: simple business cases for switching to
energy efficient light bulbs and investing in software to automatically
shut down computers.
"The more we share, the more we and our planet stand to benefit," says David MacDonald, President and CEO of Softchoice. "It is thanks to this spirit of collaboration that we have been able to make the progress we have. I look forward to continuing to expand this conversation with our employees, partners and customers in the months and years to come."
The report was produced in accordance Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), considered the gold standard for sustainability reporting. Among the 170 organizations that published a Corporate Sustainability Report within the GRI guidelines in 2009, approximately 80% are large, Fortune 500 companies. Since Softchoice is among a small group of mid-size organizations that produces an annual GRI report, the hope is that the Company's progress can inspire others to also take the first step towards being more sustainable.
