Sea to Sky Removal grew out of our vision for a better world. Our company was founded on the principal that business can do good, drive change, and ultimately help save the world. We saw a problem, construction waste, and decided that we could change it.
We understand that saving the world is about much more than diverting construction waste. It requires a cultural shift, one that requires companies to get loud about their performance, we need conspicuous impact if we are going to drive meaningful change.
That’s why we are committed to measuring our impact and sharing our progress through diversion.
In 2017, we hauled 1,340,340 pounds of material and diverted 811,000 pounds from the landfill.
In 2018 we grew and with that diverted more materials from landfills around Metro Vancouver and the Sea to Sky Corridor. As a company we moved 1,796,360 pounds of material and we were able to keep 1,152,790 pounds of it out of the landfill.
The volume of the material we kept out of the landfills for both 2017 and 2018 was 1,963,790 pounds! That is the equivalent of 178 of our trucks (1 truck = 11,023 pounds) filled with recyclables and reusable materials that was diverted from our local landfills.
We meticulously hand sort through piles of construction waste including garbage bags to maximize the amount of recyclables and reusable materials diverted from the landfill. Our award winning recycling stations we have implemented on construction sites pre-sort recyclables and ensure and clean and organized waste section on a construction site.
We recognize that government and nonprofits alone cannot solve society’s most challenging problems. It’s going to take a community of leaders from across the world who work together to drive a global movement of using the power of business as a force for good, resulting in a positive impact for their employees, communities, and the environment.
We’re proud to be a Certified B Corporation®, a designation awarded to “businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.” (bcorporation.net) We have joined the ranks of Ben and Jerry’s, Danone and Patagonia.
"We are so excited to welcome Sea to Sky Removal to the Canadian B Corp Community. At a time when preserving the environment has reached a critical point, it is inspiring to see a company address the need to overhaul an industry in a very impactful way." Michelle Reid, B Lab Canada
Here are five reasons why we decided to become B Corp Certified:
1) Shared Beliefs
B Lab, the non-profit group that holds B Corps accountable, shares our belief that businesses should exist to do more than just turn a profit. We believe that businesses should be used as a force for social good. At Sea to Sky Removal, we know business principles could be used appropriately as a very powerful tool to address social inequities.
2) Community
Today, There are over 2,700 Certified B Corporations from more than 130 industries in 60+ countries with 1 unifying goal – to redefine success in business. B Lab aggregates learnings, shares case studies, provides professional development and creates opportunities for CEOs to convene and engage in meaningful conversations. We’re excited for the potential that these conversations and relationships hold.
3) Public accountability
The performance standards B Corps meet are comprehensive, transparent and verified. They measure a company’s impact on all its stakeholders (e.g. workers, suppliers, community, customers and the environment). As a company focused on waste management in the construction industry, we wanted to hold ourselves to the highest available standard of public accountability. Unlike traditional corporations, Certified B Corporations are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions not only on their shareholders, but also on their stakeholders (e.g., workers, suppliers, community, consumers, and the environment).
4) Ability to put mission first
We didn’t get in the business of removing construction waste because we wanted to make a profit. We saw a gap in what companies were able to do and a need to better take care of the planet, and we build a business around solving these two problems. Profit is a means of delivering on our purpose, rather than the end goal in itself. In situations where a company could turn a bigger profit because of its fiduciary obligation to their investors, we can put mission first as a benefit corporation. This truly allows us to think about what is in the best interest of our local landfills and fragile environment.
5) Attracting the right people
Being a B Corporation allows us to make a very public declaration that we care about making an impact beyond profit alone and that we’ve subscribed to a very powerful worldwide movement of using profits and growth as a means to a greater end. This shows our clients, stakeholders, and our employees (both current and future) that we are more than just numbers. We are committed to something bigger. This designation will make it easy for clients and other stakeholders to identify our views on business, and easily determine whether or not those values align with their own.
Greta Thunburg, the 16 year old Swedish climate activist, has asked the global community to panic. We panicked and Sea to Sky Removal is the result. We’re not hoping someone will do the work for us. We have rolled up our sleeves, gotten our hands dirty and companies are getting sorted, one pound of waste at a time.
Diverting waste from construction sites is our bread and butter but transformation is the business we’re in.
About B Corporations
Certified B Corporations are leaders of a global movement of people using business as a force for good. They meet the highest standards of overall social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability and aspire to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. There are more than 2,700 Certified B Corporations in over 130 industries and 60 countries with 1 unifying goal – to redefine success in business.
Want to learn more about the B Corp Certification? Visit https://bcorporation.net for details.
