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Creating a
More Comfortable
Tomorrow

The world is facing an increasing range of challenges from climate change, poverty and hunger, and calls for greater equity.

We are committed to operating safely in an environmentally and socially responsible manner and to partnering with our Team Members, customers and community partners to Create a More Comfortable Tomorrow.

We recognize that we have a responsibility as an industry leading home service company to continue moving the needle on sustainability, workplace safety, diversity, inclusivity and prudent governance.

Sean O’Brien
President & CEO
Reliance Home Comfort
Our ESG Blueprint
At Reliance, we are committed to remaining an industry leader, “Creating A More Comfortable Tomorrow” for our team members, our customers and the communities where we live and work.

Our ESG Blueprint is centered around the three pillars of Environmental, Social and Governance and has been designed to guide our decisions and actions with our ESG commitments.

Our ESG Blueprint

At Reliance, we are committed to remaining an industry leader, “Creating A More Comfortable Tomorrow” for our team members, our customers and the communities where we live and work.

Our ESG Blueprint is centered around the three pillars of Environmental, Social and Governance and has been designed to guide our decisions and actions with our ESG commitments.

Our 3 Areas of Focus

Environmental Commitment
  1. Research and develop a clean energy service vehicle strategy
  2. Establish waste reduction and recycling targets for our branches
  3. Align with our environmental policy
  4. Offer green & energy efficient products
Social Commitment
  1. Ensure a safe workplace for our Team Members
  2. Empower our Team Member to develop and grow
  3. Celebrate diversity, inclusion and the power of individuality
Governance Commitment
  1. Conduct business in an open, honest, equitable and ethical manner
  2. Establish transparency in communications, corporate policies and accounting disclosure practices
  3. Ensure our suppliers align with our ESG Policy and standards

Our ESG Team

Led by our Chief Financial Officer, our ESG Team is a multi-disciplinary group responsible for all of Reliance’s environmental sustainability, stakeholder engagement and regulatory compliance activities. They:
Led by our Chief Financial Officer, our ESG Team is a multi-disciplinary group responsible for all of Reliance’s environmental sustainability, stakeholder engagement and regulatory compliance activities. They:
  • Propose objectives and targets in relation to sustainability and climate change issues
  • Develop, drive and monitor the progress of all our ESG activities, targets and metrics
  • Manage and address our key risks and opportunities in terms of sustainability and climate change
  • Own the analysis and metrics across our business to measure and report on our ESG actions
  • Lead the stakeholder engagement process
  • Transparently communicate Reliance’s ESG performance and progress to our Executive, Operating, Commercial and Sustainability Committee, Board, team members and stakeholders

Our ESG Team

Led by our Chief Financial Officer, our ESG Team is a multi-disciplinary group responsible for all of Reliance’s environmental sustainability, stakeholder engagement and regulatory compliance activities. They:
  • Propose objectives and targets in relation to sustainability and climate change issues
  • Develop, drive and monitor the progress of all our ESG activities, targets and metrics
  • Manage and address our key risks and opportunities in terms of sustainability and climate change
  • Own the analysis and metrics across our business to measure and report on our ESG actions
  • Lead the stakeholder engagement process
  • Transparently communicate Reliance’s ESG performance and progress to our Executive, Operating, Commercial and Sustainability Committee, Board, team members and stakeholders

Reliance’s Alignment with UN Sustainability Goals

Our goal is to do everything we can in the areas where we are best equipped to truly effect change. Learn about how our goals align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Reliance’s Alignment with UN Sustainability Goals

Our goal is to do everything we can in the areas where we are best equipped to truly effect change. Learn about how our goals align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

2021 Highlights

Select a category and tap to view detail

10,000

10,000

trees planted to offset internal and customer paper consumption

10%

10%

reduction in fleet idling and converted 10 hybrid vehicles

6,951 MT

6,951 MT

of materials recycled across our branches

5,470

5,470

parts harvested and diverted from landfill

52%

52%

of our product adds were from green and energy efficient products

$865,000

$865,000

donated to United Way and its supported agencies

$209,000

$209,000

in equipment and services donated to Habitat for Humanity

Launched

Launched LIFT

a team member-led group to support, inspire, and empower our female team members

Partnered with

Partnered with

partner-logo

$785,169

$785,169

spent on Personal Protective Equipment

Recognized

Recognized

by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) for our commitment to workplace health and safety partner-logo

Acknowledged

Acknowledged

by Waterstone Canada as one of Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures corp-logo

ESG Policy

ESG Policy

implemented and shared with team members, new and existing suppliers

4 of 9

4 of 9

Executive Leaders are women or visible minorities
workforce icon

30%

30%

of our workforce is comprised of ethnic representation

10,000

10,000

trees planted to offset internal and customer paper consumption

10%

10%

reduction in fleet idling and converted 10 hybrid vehicles

6,951 MT

6,951 MT

of materials recycled across our branches

5,470

5,470

parts harvested and diverted from landfill

52%

52%

of our product adds were from green and energy efficient products

Recognized

Recognized

by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) for our commitment to workplace health and safety partner-logo

Acknowledged

Acknowledged

by Waterstone Canada as one of Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures corp-logo

ESG Policy

ESG Policy

implemented and shared with new and existing suppliers

3 of 9

3 of 9

Executive Leaders are women or visible minorities

30%

30%

of our workforce is made up of underrepresented communities (URCs)

Environmental

We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment and promoting sustainable practices that are mindful of climate change, including carbon emissions and waste reductions, as well as the procurement and sale of energy-efficient products and services.
  • We partnered with One Tree Planted and planted 10,000 trees to offset 100% of our internal paper consumption and paper usage for customer billing.
  • We recycled 6,951 metric tonnes of materials across all our branches in 2021 and harvested 5,470 working parts off obsolete equipment prior to their disposal.
  • We introduced a new award that recognizes, celebrates and encourages environmental excellence to create a better world for our team members, customers, and future generations.

Community Involvement in Action

Reliance firmly believes in the power of relationships, teams and communities. That is why, across the country, our team members stay active in the communities where they live and work to make a difference in people’s lives.

corp-logo

Through Reliance’s annual United Way fundraising campaign, Denim Days program, other community activities between our team members and Reliance’s company matching program, we donated $865,000 to United Way in 2021.

corp-logo

We have long been a proud partner with Habitat for Humanity. Reliance is in the business of helping customers make their home comfortable all year round, so we understand first-hand how important Habitat for Humanity’s work is.

Our community support extends across a number of other organizations, including the Canadian Cancer Society, Canadian Red Cross, CP24 CHUM Christmas Wish, Toy Mountain, Special Olympics, and more.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Reliance is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable and inclusive (DE&I) organization that mirrors the communities in which we operate.

A major initiative in our journey to build an even more diverse and inclusive workforce, was the launch of Lean In For Tomorrow (LIFT), an internal group to support, empower and inspire women to achieve their full potential.

We also partner with and invested in a number of organizations including:
  • Pride at Work Canada to recognize the skills of the LGBTQ2+ workforce
  • Black Business and Professional Association to explore opportunities to work with young professionals from communities that face systemic disadvantages

We continued to support the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) Phone it Forward initiative. This program helps CNIB participants experience the independence and accessibility that a modern, refurbished smartphone has to offer. Reliance proudly donated 83 used mobile devices to people with sight impairment.

Workplace Health & Safety

Workplace health and safety is an issue Reliance takes extremely seriously — for our team members and contractors as well as for our customers. Our guiding principle of Work Safe, Be Healthy, affirms our ongoing commitment and we continue to evaluate, invest in and improve our safety protocols through a variety of new tools, training and initiatives that touch on every Reliance activity, product and service.

We are proud to be recognized by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) for our dedication to workplace health and safety — and we are particularly focused on reducing our team members’ injury frequency and motor vehicle accidents.

Our commitment to workplace Health and Safety continued to pay dividends in 2021:
Preventable motor vehicle accidents involving Reliance team members declined by 59%.

Our hazard assessment tool contributed to a 73% decrease in injuries related to lack of hazard awareness

Over 5,200 manager field audits were completed to ensure safe workspaces across all our branches.

We saw a 72% reduction in strain and sprain-related incidents – in part, thanks to introducing in-person and virtual training sessions for team members.

Our Health and Safety Team trained more than 60 team members in emergency first aid.

Annual Health & Safety Day

Reliance had three company-wide Health & Safety days in 2021. These engaging days ignite meaningful conversation around work safety, wellness and health, safe driving practices, and seasonal hazards.

Prioritizing Team Member Well-being

We have partnered with LifeWorks to simplify the complexity in supporting the mental, financial, physical, and social well-being of our people. We offer modern and mobile programs to team members for personalized support, inside and outside the office, along with weekly wellness tips from our Wellness Team.

Our Response to COVID-19

During this time, our focus was on our customers feeling at ease during appointments in their homes and our team members to feel healthy and safe as they performed their work. Key activities included, but not limited to:
  • Updated our “Right Call” customer service protocols to include customers “Call Ahead” COVID-19 pre-screening and social distancing measures.
  • Acquired significant Personal Protective Equipment.
  • Provided frequent communication and webinars.

Setting Goals That Move Us Boldly Forward

Our overarching ambition is to do everything we can in the areas where we are best equipped to truly effect positive change – in the short term, as well as for generations to come.

Setting Goals That Move Us Boldly Forward

Our overarching ambition is to do everything we can in the areas where we are best equipped to truly effect positive change – in the short term, as well as for generations to come.

Reliance is integrating a Level 2 EV Charging Station product line for residential homes and communities.

Inclusive and sustained economic growth through our outreach committees and programs at Reliance.

Team Members have access to hours of online training modules, seminars, and videos through our internal Dayforce software 24/7.

Our ESG efforts will always be a work-in-progress as we evolve to meet the ever-changing needs of our organization and the world we live in.

70%

Increase our recycling ratio to 70%

30%

Increase our revenue from green and energy-efficient products to 30%

35%

Increase our ethnic representation in our workforce to 35%

10%

Increase our community involvement and/or social giving donations by 10% annually

10%

Reduce our injuries and preventable motor vehicle accidents by 10% annually

70%



Increase our recycling ratio to 70%

30%



Increase our revenue from green and energy-efficient products to 30%

35%



Increase our ethnic representation in our workforce to 35%

10%



Increase our community involvement and/or social giving donations by 10% annually

10%



Reduce our injuries and preventable motor vehicle accidents by 10% annually

Data & Reports

Policies (Coming Soon)
GRI Content Index (Coming Soon)

Connect With Us

Your feedback is a key element of our reporting process.
It helps us to address the issues that matter most to our stakeholders.

Brayden Laurin

ESG Manager
blaurin@reliancecomfort.com