Aon Hewitt’s 2014 Green 30” Study Highlights Canada’s Environmentally and Socially Responsible Organizations -- as Decided by Employees

Date: May 92014

Published by: Aon Hewitt via Marketwired (press release)

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - May 09, 2014) - Aon Hewitt, the global talent, retirement and health solutions business of Aon plc (NYSE: AON), today released its annual Green 30” list, which identifies Canadian organizations whose employees are most positive about their employer’s record on environmental stewardship and social responsibility. In Aon Hewitt’s industry-leading research, employee perceptions of a company’s environmental and social record has emerged as an important driver of employee engagement -- a key metric in organizational performance and staff retention.

This year’s Green 30 -- the 4th annual edition -- was developed by assessing employee perceptions of environmental and social responsibility in their workplaces, and drew on survey data submitted as part of Aon Hewitt’s Best Employers in Canada and Best Small and Medium Employers in Canada 2014 studies, in which almost 300 Canadian public- and private-sector organizations participated. The 2014 Green 30 includes a wide range of organizations in terms of size and sector, from entrepreneurial firms in travel (G Adventures) and e-commerce (iQmetrix) to large corporations in financial services (The Co-operators Group) and IT (Cisco Systems).

Our research consistently shows that environmental and social responsibility is a Top 5 high-impact driver for organizations seeking to sustain high levels of employee engagement,” says Neil Crawford, Aon Hewitt’s leader of the Best Employers in Canada study. Perceptions of environmental/​social performance are a risk area that organizations need to understand and manage to protect against declines in employee engagement.”

On average, 95% of employees in Green 30 organizations were positive about their employer’s environmental and social responsibility record, compared with 79% of employees in the average Canadian organization in Aon Hewitt’s employee research database. In a typical Green 30 organization, 93% of employees believe that their employer is fair, respectful and honest with their customers or clients, compared with a Canadian average of 82%. Employees in Green 30 organizations are also more likely to believe their employer has an excellent reputation in the local community -- an average of 90%, versus the Canadian average of 75%.

The payoff of these positive perceptions are clear: employees of organizations on the 2014 Green 30 cite a greater degree of pride in their organizations than employees of other organizations do -- 90%, compared with the Canadian average of 77%.

The 2014 Green 30” list appears in the TBD issue of Profit magazine and the May 19 issue of Maclean’s magazine.

The 2014 Aon Hewitt Green 30”:
Arrow Professional Services Inc.; Benefits by Design Inc. (BBD); Brigil; BuildDirect; C.S.T. Consultants Inc.; Chubb Insurance Company of Canada; Cisco Systems; Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Pension Plan; Farm Credit Canada; G Adventures; Gibraltar Solutions Inc.; Habanero Consulting Group; Intuit Canada; iQmetrix; Island Savings; Klick Health; La Capitale Groupe financier; LoyaltyOne Inc.; Mennonite Savings and Credit Union; National Leasing; O.C. Tanner Recognition Company Limited; OPTIMUS | SBR Inc.; Scott Construction; Stikeman Elliott LLP; The Berkeley; The Co-operators Group (including Co-operators General Insurance Company, Co-operators Life Insurance Company, The Sovereign General Insurance Company, CUMIS, and TIC Travel Insurance Coordinators Ltd.); The Municipal Infrastructure Group; Vancity Credit Union; Vista Projects; Windsor Family Credit Union.