TORONTO, ON Thursday, December 8, 2016: The Toronto Zoo is excited to have been named top prize winner in the 2016 People Power Challenge (PPC). The 2016 PPC was coordinated by Toronto and Region Conservation Authority's Partners In Green Project and is an employee engagement program that gives businesses an exciting way to engage staff and drive sustainability results while competing against other organizations. The PPC is an important conservation tool as it helps companies and employees generate innovative ideas to reduce costs and improve environmental performance, both at home and in the work place.
Taking top prize in the Large Enterprise Category and being seen as a leader in green practices was a priority for the Zoo. All sustainability projects, activities and actions were tracked from April to September and Zoo employees could earn points by collecting ideas and pledges from staff for environmental action, encouraging employees to download and engage with the mobile app, implementing sustainability projects and participating in local sustainability events and activities. The Zoo has been participating in the PPC since its inception in 2015 and when awarded runner-up status in the Large Enterprise Category.
Toronto Zoo's final 2016 PPC score was 2,872,863 points, which to place into perspective, is almost one million points greater than the runner up Bentall-Kennedy with 1.9 million. Top prize was $6,500 which the Zoo will use to install a rain harvesting system for irrigating plants in the Horticulture Branch's greenhouses.
"It is great to see all staff that work at the Zoo coming together to make sustainability a part of our everyday culture at the Zoo," said Kyla Greenham, Curator of Conservation and Environment, Toronto Zoo. "It is fantastic to be able to reward them with top prize for all their effort and enthusiasm. The collaboration and competitive nature of the 2016 PPC not only brought Zoo staff together, but opened many partnerships and connections with our PPC competitors so that we can work as a community to reduce our collective impact on climate change and the environment."
Listed below are highlights from Toronto Zoo's PPC 2016:
- 53 people downloaded the Nudge Rewards App
- 77,630 points earned with the App
- 647 suggestions submitted to Green Eco-Zoo Team
- 37 suggestions already implemented
- 3600 pledges made by staff/volunteers
- 219 Tweets @TorontoZooPPC #PPC2016
- 3 Charitable Events
- 17 Joint Initiatives with PPC Competitors
- 5 Sustainability Educational Resources generated
- 45 projects completed and reported.
- 6 Senior Leader Conservation Communications
- 7 Lunch & Learns
- Most Valuable Player Prizes to 4 Staff members for their interactions with the App
Please CLICK HERE for more information on the 2016 People Power Challenge.
