Woodbine Entertainment Group

Woodbine Entertainment Group ­
Corporate Governance - Sustainability
CASE STUDY
ABOUT Woodbine Entertainment Group
Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) is the
largest and one of the most innovative horse racing
operators in Canada, with a range of operations
in racing, gaming and entertainment and its two
racetrack brands Mohawk and Woodbine. WEG
directly employs approximately 2,300 full and part
time employees with an annual payroll of almost
$87 million. The Company’s operations directly
and indirectly impact the employment of nearly
55,000 jobs in the horse racing industry, Ontario’s
second-largest agricultural sector.
WEG’s Woodbine Racetrack at 555 Rexdale Blvd.
Location
Address: 555 Rexdale Blvd., Rexdale, Ontario
Phone: 416-675-7223
Website: www.woodbineentertainment.com
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE – SUSTAINABILITY GOALS
Although recognized for its horse-racing operations, WEG is on the fast track to reducing
its environmental footprint and setting high standards for the entertainment industry.
“Environmental stewardship is a key corporate business strategy,” says Jane Holmes, VicePresident of Corporate Affairs. “WEG is committed to incorporating into its long term strategic
planning comprehensive green initiatives, procurement practices and innovative technologies,
with a focus on long-term sustainability.”
This commitment is reflected throughout WEG’s corporate practices and has driven a number
of projects as well as the creation of a Sustainability Development Steering Committee and an
SD Action Team. The Steering Committee is comprised of six senior managers whose role is to
champion WEG’s sustainability programs. The Action Team is made up of employees representing
every department and is divided into four subcommittees that provide input on WEG’s target
areas. WEG set a list of ambitious sustainability targets based on the Action Team’s input, and in
2010 WEG met or exceeded all of these targets.
2010 Goal: To be 10 per cent leaner for a savings of $700,000+
•
Reduce WEG’s energy and water consumption base load by 10 per cent at all locations
•
Reinforce WEG’s commitment to environmental sustainability through its purchasing
decisions
•
Reduce WEG’s overall waste by 2 per cent
•
Increase WEG’s total diversion rate to 90+ per cent
•
Reduce fleet by 10 per cent through the introduction of more bicycles and small off-road
utility vehicles for staff use on WEG property
CASE STUDY
ECO-EFFICIENCY AT WOODBINE – DRIVING ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
A founding business partner in Partners in Project Green, WEG unites its not-for-profit status
with a drive to improve the horse racing industry. This not-for-profit status allows WEG to
reinvest its cash flow in upgrading its facilities and entertainment products. In recent years,
the organization recognized that maximizing financial performance includes implementing
environmental programs that minimize inefficiencies, reduce operational costs, and increase
safety. In fact, safety is at the foundation of many of WEG’s efforts, since increased safety leads
to increased productivity for WEG employees, jockeys and horses. Employee safety prompted
Woodbine to work with Johnson Diversey to create green cleaning practices and saved the
company $750,000 on its marmoleum restoration, a project that prevented 30,000 pounds of
linoleum from being sent to landfill.
SETTING THE PACE WITH PROJECTS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Energy Management
In 2007, WEG completed a three-year, $5 million energy retrofit project that was designed and
implemented by Direct Energy Business Services. This multi-faceted project included a lighting
retrofit; a steam boiler conversion; and the installation of enterprise level software solutions,
building automation systems, a SMARDT chiller, a domestic hot water boiler, automated air
handling units, and occupancy sensors.
Installed for $1.5 million, the boiler plant retrofit helped save $335,000 annually and has a fiveyear payback. The project was done on a challenging nightly schedule. Working with Direct
Energy, Woodbine was able to successfully complete the project with no negative impact to its
tenants.
With a two-year payback, Woodbine’s building automation control system has reduced summer
energy consumption over 10 per cent for an annual saving of $75,000, while WEG’s lighting
projects help it save $15,000 per year. Total incentives for these initiatives equaled $92,241 thanks
to Enbridge Gas, Toronto Hydro Energy Services, and the Building Owners and Managers
Association (BOMA).
Other energy-saving initiatives focused on reducing natural gas and electricity consumption and
the resulting greenhouse gas emissions. Initiatives included:
•
Expansion and optimization of building automation system (BAS) at Mohawk and Woodbine
Racetracks, which resulted in natural gas savings of 423,730 m3/year.
•
Replacement of inefficient centrifugal liquid cooled chiller with an oil-free air cooled chiller,
which resulted in electricity savings of 286,031 kWh/year and a reduction in natural gas
consumption of 17,581 m3/year.
•
LED retrofit of major lighting systems at Woodbine, for example: LED retrofit of Woodbine’s
main entrance sign reduced power consumption by 70,518 kWh/year, and an LED retrofit of
Woodbine’s dining and meeting rooms reduced power consumption by 350,306 kWh/year.
•
Overall commitment to use environmentally friendly and non-ozone-depleting R134a
refrigerant in the water cooling system.
CASE STUDY
Waste Reduction
Regular waste audits have resulted in a commitment to recycle nearly everything at the track:
office supplies, metal, wood, used tires, used straw, manure, plastic, and even betting tickets. All
areas are accounted for under WEG’s recycling program, including its offices, restaurants, gaming
facilities, backstretches and barns. For instance, the facility sends its old computer equipment to
Sim’s Recycling, batteries to Raw Materials, donates old cell phones and used printer cartridges to
the “Think Food” charity, uses 25,200 m3 of used wood shavings for compost and soil enrichment,
and sends manure from the 2,300-plus horses stabled on its property to fertilize local mushroom
farms.
WEG’s operations include a large food and beverage
component that result in over 200 tonnes of organic
waste being recycled every year. This program has
had the biggest impact on the net waste diversion
for WEG, both in operation costs and disposal
expenses. Annually, approximately 1,200 tonnes of
materials are diverted from landfills to recycling
streams, including:
•
Kitchen organic waste: 100 per cent recycled
•
Cooking oil and greases: 100 per cent recycled
•
Cardboard: 100 per cent recycled
•
Glass bottles: 100 per cent recycled
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Waste paper from printing: 100 per cent recycled
•
Metal: 90 per cent recycled
•
Fluorescent bulbs: 80 per cent recycled
In 2011, WEG launched their program On Track to
Zero Waste to Landfill. Present for the launch were
(left to right): The Honourable John Wilkinson,
Ontario’s Minister of Environment; Jane Holmes,
Vice President of Corporate Affairs for WEG; and
Nick Eaves, President and CEO of WEG.
Water Conservation
Installed in 2008, Woodbine’s state-of-the-art Polytrack racing surface reduces water consumption
by 66.2 million litres each year. The synthetic all-weather track’s top layer is composed of silica
sand, fibre, and recycled materials and works with a vertical drainage structure. The entire mixture
is covered with a wax coating that allows water to flow through the top layer to the system below
and reduces the need for constant maintenance. The Polytrack’s lower maintenance requirements
have led to a 40 per cent reduction
in diesel fuel use and have greatly
reduced WEG’s overall greenhouse gas
emissions.
CASE STUDY
Polytrack surface at the annual Queen’s Plate
Infield stormwater ponds at Woodbine Racetrack
Under the jurisdiction of the Toronto
and Region Conservation Authority,
the Woodbine facility houses five
stormwater ponds that collect water,
which is then used to irrigate the
racetracks. These ponds recycle
approximately 43.2 million litres of
water annually, which greatly reduces
Woodbine’s demand on the municipal
water system. Since 2008, WEG has
reduced water consumption at the
Woodbine property by 30 per cent,
achieving a cost avoidance of $476,387.
Trends indicate that WEG is well on its
way to achieving a further 14 per cent
reduction in 2011, or a further 50 per
cent cost savings.
Sustainable Procurement
Woodbine Entertainment Group has established an extensive set of guidelines and procedures that
will help steer the organization towards making substantially greener purchasing decisions. By
introducing a Sustainable Purchasing and Procurement Policy, WEG has committed to utilizing
environmentally sustainable goods and services in its operations.
A priority of WEG is to seek products that have reduced environmental impact because of the way
that they are made, used, transported, stored, packaged and disposed of offsite. When determining
whether a product is environmentally preferable, environmental attributes that the organization
considers include: durability, as opposed to single use or disposable items; biodegradability;
recyclable content; raw materials sourced in an environmentally sound manner; product produced
by companies with good track records; compostable; low toxicity; carcinogenic free; shipped with
minimal packing; and local sourcing.
Before partnering with suppliers, WEG’s Purchasing Department asks prospective suppliers key
questions to see if they match the organization’s criteria regarding product performance, cost,
safety, and availability. WEG favours suppliers with product certifications such as EcoLogo,
packaging that can be composted or returned to the supplier, and products that are energy
efficient.
Community Involvement
“While environmental stewardship is reflected throughout our business operations, our
sustainability program also focuses on corporate and social responsibility with our community
partnerships and economic sustainability,” says Holmes. Woodbine Entertainment Group is
the only not-for-profit corporation that is a member of Imagine Canada, a national program
that promotes public and corporate
giving, volunteering, and support to
the community. The benchmark for
contributions is 1 per cent of pre-tax
profit to be donated to charity; WEG
exceeds this requirement and donates
3 per cent of its net revenues to charity
and makes significant in-kind donations
of services and products.
CASE STUDY
Partners in Project Green
WEG is a founding partner in Partners
in Project Green and sits on three
Mohawk Racetrack staff and their children at the 2011
Project Teams, including the Building
Nassagaweya Clean Up
Performance Team, Resource Reutilization
Team, and Green Job Team. WEG has a
large overall impact with Partners in Project Green, and its financial support of the Green Jobs
Team has been integral to the development of new socio-economic opportunities in the Pearson
Eco-Business Zone. The Green Jobs Team has brought together post-secondary institutions, local
businesses and public agencies to develop new job opportunities for youth. One program that has
resulted from this is the Cool Rexdale initiative, a program to help young people in Rexdale begin
careers in eco-roofing by connecting them to roofing apprenticeships and eco-roof installations in
the Pearson Eco-Business Zone.
Lessons Learned and Bottom Line Results
Woodbine Entertainment Group considers its sustainability efforts to be a continuous process.
This process includes getting input from employees on the “front lines” through the SD Action
Team, taking advantage of government incentives, and promoting safety throughout its entire
organization. In addition, the WEG team has learned not to be daunted by the number of options,
but to look at its overall sustainability on a project-by-project basis. Involving employees and
prioritizing research into directed areas makes implementation more manageable for the team
and helps achieve the corporate sustainability goals. Overall, WEG’s efforts not only help the
corporation manage rising operational costs, but also make it stand out as a forward-thinking,
sustainable business in the highly competitive entertainment industry.
WEG has received a number of awards for its environmental efforts:
•
WEG earned the 2010 Ontario Waste Minimization Platinum Award from the Recycling
Council of Ontario in partnership with The Ministry of the Environment. This award
recognizes leadership, innovation and excellence in waste reduction and waste diversion. It is
the third consecutive year that WEG has received this distinction in the Facilities Management
category, having earned an RCO Silver Award in 2008 and an RCO Gold Award in 2009.
•
In 2010, Woodbine Entertainment Group was honoured with a prestigious Century
International Quality ERA Gold Award for QC100 Total Quality Management. This global
recognition by business leaders from 49 countries reflects a systematic, integrated and
organizational way-of-life directed at continuous improvement. The QC100 Total Quality
Management model is a quality-centred, customer focused, fact-based, team-driven, seniormanagement-led process to achieve an organization’s strategic imperative through continuous
improvement.
CASE STUDY
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WEG was recognized by the Green Toronto Awards for environmental excellence.
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WEG earned the 2008 Certificate of Recognition for the Corporation’s Leadership and Energy
Conservation, awarded by Peter Love, Ontario’s Chief Conservation Officer.
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WEG received the Building Owners and Managers Association’s Power Partner Recognition
Award for its contribution and commitment to energy conservation and environmental
stewardship.
•
WEG was the first organization in Canada to earn the Johnson Diversey’s 2008 Sustainable
Facility Care Award for its use of green cleaning products.
•
WEG was named in the top 44 corporations in North America on Buildings Magazine’s Who’s
Who list for 2008.
DRIVING FUTURE CHANGE
WEG has a number of exciting sustainability projects underway in 2011, including:
•
Convert diesel generators at Woodbine Racetrack to 80 per cent natural gas to reduce carbon
emissions and save approximately $1.2 million.
•
Replace 1,760 televisions used across all WEG locations to LED models to reduce energy
consumption by 325,000 kWh annually and save $32,500 per year.
•
Complete a BioGas Feasibility Study to determine how to turn over 37,000 tonnes of manure
and organic waste produced on-track into electricity.
•
Complete a Solar Feasibility Study to investigate the potential of utilizing existing grandstand
and barn roofs for energy; applied under the Ontario Power Authority’s Feed-In Tariff (FIT)
program for the installation of a 4 MW solar plant for Woodbine’s barn area.
Reduce Carbon Emissions by 50% by 2013
Over the last two years, WEG has made a significant investment in its infrastructure to
increase the longevity of its equipment and systems and to reduce replacement and disposal
costs. Redundant equipment is reused in new projects and new equipment is only purchased if
significant efficiencies can be gained.
WEG is investigating the use of alternative energy sources to realize its commitment of reducing
energy consumption from traditional sources. Some of the initiatives that are underway in order
to achieve this goal are:
•
Reducing and modifying fleet (e.g., security vans have been replaced with diesel powered
Kubota utility vehicles)
•
Installation of a computerized fuel system to strictly monitor fuel consumption of WEG’s fleet
vehicles
•
Security patrols of parking lots at Woodbine and Mohawk are done by bicycle patrol
•
Continue to investigate and implement renewable energy sources
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Reducing lighting consumption (e.g., Woodbine’s 983 lighting poles at 2,000 watts each will be
replaced by new technology reducing the wattage to 1,000 watts per pole)
•
Undergoing a partial lighting retrofit to replace incandescent MR16 lighting with LEDs
•
Reviewing the effectiveness of the cool roof installed on Woodbine’s grandstand
CASE STUDY
“WEG is committed to investigating and testing innovative solutions, and to implementing proven
technologies to realize its corporate sustainability objectives,” says John Marhong, Director,
Infrastructure and Energy Efficiencies. WEG will continue to identify and implement industry
leading environmental programs that not only lower operating costs, reduce energy and water
consumption and improve waste diversion, but also reduce the carbon footprint at all its facilities.