Halifax Businesses Find Green Alternatives

By Mike MacKenzie Going Green was a focus in business news last week. In case you missed it, here's how three local businesses have found eco-friendly alternatives to traditional operations.  Farnell Packaging Ltd. is a company that produces plastic packaging for a number of food-production facilities in our region. Although dealing with material that is inherently disposable, the Dartmouth-based business has made a point of looking for ways to reduce waste, recycle old materials and reuse them for other purposes. Farnell’s dedication to the environment dates as far back as the 1970s, when management first started encouraging employees to separate paper from other waste materials. Now the company is winning awards for designing sustainable packaging, including recognition from the Packaging Association of Canada. Read more about Farnell and its commitment to reduce, re-use and re-cycle. Wilson Fuel Co. Ltd. made waves this week when they announced plans to explore the idea of installing electric car charging sites at locations within Greater Halifax. The company, which owns and operates gas stations throughout Atlantic Canada, is meeting with Nova Scotia Power to discuss the feasibility of the idea and to examine whether Halifax is ready to consider an electric alternative. Dave Collins, Vice President of Wilsons Fuel says that the stations under consideration would charge an electric vehicle in approximately 30 minutes, so the company is also looking at installing stations at businesses where people tend to spend at least that much time. Learn how electric car charging stations may be coming to a location near you. Ambassatours Gray Line also received international recognition this week for its efforts to go idle-free. The Halifax-based bus company recently implemented a program to encourage bus drivers to cut their idling time down to an average of five minutes a day, a standard that was tracked and measured using GPS technology. Sean Buckland, manager of charter sales, says the program was so successful because of the buy-in of Ambassatours’ own drivers, many of whom have children and see the value in leaving a healthy environment for the next generation. According to the Children’s Clean Air Network, the program managed to reduce the company’s two-year fuel and maintenance costs by $60,000 and its carbon dioxide emissions by an amount equal to the weight of six motorcoaches. Read more about idle-free efforts at Ambassatours. So in case you missed it, you’re now in the know.  For more Halifax business news visit http://goo.gl/Fzs8p.   Author: Mike MacKenzie Mike is the Communications and Marketing Assistant with Greater Halifax Partnership, currently working as a Bachelor of Public Relations co-op student. A lover of all things communications and strategy related, Mike is often known to spend his free time analyzing the latest-and-greatest PR/advertising campaigns. As a relative newbie to the Halifax scene, he can also be seen strolling the streets of downtown looking for the next cool thing that the city has to offer. ...

By Mike MacKenzie

Going Green was a focus in business news last week. In case you missed it, here’s how three local businesses have found eco-friendly alternatives to traditional operations. 

Farnell Packaging Ltd. is a company that produces plastic packaging for a number of food-production facilities in our region. Although dealing with material that is inherently disposable, the Dartmouth-based business has made a point of looking for ways to reduce waste, recycle old materials and reuse them for other purposes. Farnell’s dedication to the environment dates as far back as the 1970s, when management first started encouraging employees to separate paper from other waste materials. Now the company is winning awards for designing sustainable packaging, including recognition from the Packaging Association of Canada. Read more about Farnell and its commitment to reduce, re-use and re-cycle.

Wilson Fuel Co. Ltd. made waves this week when they announced plans to explore the idea of installing electric car charging sites at locations within Greater Halifax. The company, which owns and operates gas stations throughout Atlantic Canada, is meeting with Nova Scotia Power to discuss the feasibility of the idea and to examine whether Halifax is ready to consider an electric alternative. Dave Collins, Vice President of Wilsons Fuel says that the stations under consideration would charge an electric vehicle in approximately 30 minutes, so the company is also looking at installing stations at businesses where people tend to spend at least that much time. Learn how electric car charging stations may be coming to a location near you.

Ambassatours Gray Line also received international recognition this week for its efforts to go idle-free. The Halifax-based bus company recently implemented a program to encourage bus drivers to cut their idling time down to an average of five minutes a day, a standard that was tracked and measured using GPS technology. Sean Buckland, manager of charter sales, says the program was so successful because of the buy-in of Ambassatours’ own drivers, many of whom have children and see the value in leaving a healthy environment for the next generation. According to the Children’s Clean Air Network, the program managed to reduce the company’s two-year fuel and maintenance costs by $60,000 and its carbon dioxide emissions by an amount equal to the weight of six motorcoaches. Read more about idle-free efforts at Ambassatours.

So in case you missed it, you’re now in the know.  For more Halifax business news visit http://goo.gl/Fzs8p.

 

Author: Mike MacKenzie

Mike is the Communications and Marketing Assistant with Greater Halifax Partnership, currently working as a Bachelor of Public Relations co-op student. A lover of all things communications and strategy related, Mike is often known to spend his free time analyzing the latest-and-greatest PR/advertising campaigns. As a relative newbie to the Halifax scene, he can also be seen strolling the streets of downtown looking for the next cool thing that the city has to offer.

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