WWF-Canada and Loblaw are turning down the heat across Canada
Today, Loblaw corporate and participating franchise stores across the country will turn down store thermostats by three degrees Celsius for WWF-Canada’s Sweater Day. The initiative is designed to demonstrate how simple changes in behaviour at work and at home can help save our planet. Loblaw expects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 5.6 tonnes in just one day.
At Loblaw corporate and participating franchise stores, customers will see colleagues and franchise employees wearing “fun” sweaters and Sweater Day signage in stores to acknowledge the lower temperature and highlight Loblaw’s commitment to help Canadians live lighter on the planet. Turning down the thermostat by a couple of degrees may not seem very noticeable; however, a small change can make a big difference in the fight on fighting climate change.
Residential heating produces about 44 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year1. If every Canadian turned down their thermostat by two degrees in the winter, 2.2 megatonnes of carbon dioxide per year could be saved a year – the equivalent of taking about 350,000 cars off of the road.
“WWF-Canada is excited to be working with Loblaw who is not only setting the bar for environmental leadership at the corporate level but also encouraging their customers to adopt environmentally conscious behaviours,” says Gerald Butts, President and CEO, WWF-Canada.
Sweater Day is just one small step in a bigger partnership between WWF-Canada and Loblaw. The Green CommUnity Program, supported by Loblaw, is one of WWF-Canada’s many efforts to engage Canadians to take planet-friendly actions every day. The program aims to inspire one million Canadians to make greener habits part of their daily routines, such as using reusable bags, eating local food, and turning down the heat.
“At Loblaw we are committed to reducing the environmental impact of our products and operations and driving industry innovation for responsible approaches to business,” says Bob Chant, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Loblaw Companies Limited. “Today our corporate and participating franchise stores are reducing energy consumption in the hopes of inspiring Canadians to do the same.”
WWF-Canada works with Canadians online, offline, in urban or rural communities, recognizes those individuals who are leading by example and celebrates collective action to motivate others. The next campaign is launching in June and will encourage Canadians to lighten their footprint by leaving the car at home. Learn more at www.wwf.ca or www.facebook.com/wwfcanada.
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