by Trico | Apr 22, 2011 | Canadian Social Enterprises, Green ventures
Looking to extend your Earth Day celebrations past today (April 22)? You should check out the wares on sale at Calgary’s EcoStore. Operated by Green Calgary, this environmentally-focused social enterprise carries an array of green items for use in your home, office, and/or garden. Whether you’re looking to buy worms for your vermicomposter, or a rain barrel for your garden, EcoStore has you covered. In addition to taking care of your green needs, EcoStore helps out the community by reinvesting their profits into environmental initiatives. They also look after Mother Earth by ensuring the products they carry meet the following standards: Reduces your environmental footprint Reusable and/or recyclable High post-consumer recycled content Natural and non-toxic ingredients Little to no packaging Sourced as locally as possible Ethically manufactured Quality products that work To find out more about the EcoStore, check out their website at http://www.greencalgary.org/ and follow them on Twitter at @greencalgary. Happy Earth Day! Ps. If you have a favourite Canadian social enterprise that you want to share with us, we would love to hear from you in the comments...
by Trico | Apr 22, 2011 | Canadian Social Enterprises, Green ventures
On Earth Day most blogs will tell you to turn the tap off when you brush your teeth and stop driving your non-hybrid car to work. But not ours! We would rather let you know about innovative Canadian social enterprises that are both green and socially responsible…so here are three examples for you: Green your deliveries while supporting survivors of mental illness: A-Way Express Courier Service (http://www.awaycourier.ca/) Located in Toronto, A-Way Express is a package and document courier service that is founded and staffed by survivors of mental illness. As their website explains, “Yes, the patients are running the institution, and they have been running it successfully for over 23 years, building a base of more than 1,700 customers.” So why is A-Way Express considered to be green? Well, that would be because this social enterprise courier service is carbon neutral. They use public transportation to make all of their deliveries, which means their business doesn’t negatively impact carbon dioxide levels. I’ll bet you don’t know of another courier service that can boast this claim! Green your home while helping low-income households: City Green Solutions (http://www.citygreen.ca/) Operating throughout British Columbia, City Green Solutions provides tools, resources, and services and to improve the energy efficiency of homes and buildings. City Green Solutions’ profits are reinvested into energy savings programs for the affordable housing sector, and energy efficiency education. Some of the many services City Green Solutions offer include: – Home energy assessments – Access to grants for energy efficient home improvements – Thermal imaging – Custom energy efficiency outreach campaigns – New home energy efficiency services Green your renovation while helping to fund affordable housing initiatives: ReStore (http://www.habitat.ca/en/community/restores)...
