At Paramount Pallet, we recognize that being sustainable goes beyond environmental responsibility and encompasses multiple aspects, including social and corporate governance. Our sustainability efforts are focused on supporting our workforce, ensuring worker safety, and being responsible practitioners.
At Paramount Pallet, we have taken significant steps towards environmental sustainability by minimizing waste production to the greatest extent practicable and committing to using recycled materials in our operations. Our Laval, Quebec plant is a testament to this commitment as landfill waste consists only of lunchroom trash and office refuse. The team continues to focus on repurposing and recycling all materials processed at their location.
We are proud to manage a diverse range of products and ensure that all materials are repurposed or recycled in some way. Our shredder machine is capable of sorting wood and nails, which we then sell to other companies that repurpose them into useful products such as melamine. In addition, we recycle all of our cardboard, plastic pallets, and barrels to ensure that nothing goes to waste.
Our team established small focus groups for each product that we work with. These groups are dedicated to finding ways to recycle specific products and ensure that we contribute as little as possible to landfills. As a part of this initiative, we’re particularly proud to share that we have partnered with a company that turns our wood waste into office furniture. The focus groups have truly allowed us to be creative in how we make sure to handle our own waste and turn it into something that will be beneficial to consumers and the planet.
We believe that sustainability and social responsibility go hand in hand, and we’re proud to support our community through training programs and employee engagement activities.
Our language teaching initiative provides French courses to our team members who are refugees. This program allows these employees – who do not speak French or English – to learn a new language while also completing their everyday work at our facilities. This program has allowed them to learn French while working, and some have even learned English as a third language. We are thrilled that 7 out of the 15 people hired through this program are still with Paramount Pallet today, and that we were able to contribute to their success by helping them achieve their professional goals.
It is very important to get involved in causes that fight against poverty and social exclusion. Our accelerated workforce program assists people who may have a difficult time with getting a job. We partnered with Palette FGL, a non-profitable organization, The individuals in this program typically work with us to manufacture new pallets, or repair damaged ones, and will stay with FGL for six months or until they are ready to move into another job at Paramount, or any other company. This program has been in place for more than 15 years and we’re proud to help provide employment opportunities for those who need it the most.
Our approach to sustainability comes down to three main elements: people, planet, and purpose. We have seen these commitments pay off through a recent collaboration with a customer who is a major retailer. In addition to considering price, this customer visited our facility to see our commitment to sustainable business practices and employee wellbeing in action. Several key factors contributed to our successful partnership: our zero-waste goal, having an accident-free workplace for four years, and our language teaching initiative. Today’s companies are committed to a sustainable approach throughout all aspects of their business. They want to see their supply chain partners do right by their workforce and the environment, too.
Our sustainability efforts at Paramount Pallet have a direct impact on our customers in multiple ways. When we are able to retain skilled members of our workforce for longer periods of time, it allows our customers to interact with experienced employees who are more productive and efficient in their work. This translates to better customer care and cost savings for our customers, as they benefit from the expertise of our well-trained workforce.
70% of most companies' environmental impact is within their supply chain system. We aim to pay it forward to our customers every time they work with us by being proactive environmental stewards. When we reduce our carbon footprint, our customers directly benefit. This aligns with our commitment to promoting responsible environmental practices throughout the supply chain industry. We have seen firsthand that our sustainability initiatives have helped us to build strong relationships with our customers, and we’re dedicated to continuing our efforts.