“We do our purchasing in an environmentally friendly way,” says Tize. “That goes for both office cleaning supplies and those used to clean the buses. Admittedly, that’s easier than greening our bus operations, though we are actively looking at alternative technologies. We also have a no-idle policy for any vehicle on the road.”
Blaise Sack, business development and marketing manager for West Coast, says the company’s green policies have elicited a “great response” from young, new staff. “Our company is interested in being completely green,” says Sack. “That commitment on our part is attracting employees. In today’s society, grads want to be involved in something green. It’s a great market to tap into, and we find the green attitude is almost running the company. I can tell you that it makes a big difference to me and so many of our employees that this is a company that wants to do its part to clean up the environment,” he says. “After every tour, we ask, ‘What can we change? What could we do better?’”
Blaise Sack |
“With smaller buses, we get better gas mileage,” he says. “A smaller bus can also be loaded more optimally. If the vehicle has 30 seats, even if some are empty, that’s better mileage than running a big bus. We figure we use the same amount of fuel per two passengers as if two people were using a Prius. We are committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2011, using an offsetting company. We give them money that they invest in emission-saving projects — for example, a community centre that puts in a geothermal heating plant. Carbon is reduced elsewhere, financed by us.”
That said, West Coast Sightseeing runs not just bus tours but, through a sister company (Vancouver Urban Adventures), offers walking and biking tours that have seen this brand-new venture take off in its first year of operation. Sack says that young employees are obviously excited by the chance to work for a company that does its best to eliminate environmental concerns. Getting people out of buses and on foot or bicycle is an obviously healthy way to keep the atmosphere clean and clear.
“It’s a seasonal business,” says Tize. “We have about 50 employees at the peak of the summer season. Every spring we hire about 30 to 35 employees, and every fall we let them go. But lots of the same people are back every year, and we’re sure a big part of the reason they return is our commitment to being environmentally friendly. It just makes sense to take that into account today, and we know that our employees and everyone else benefits."
This company has a track record that demonstrates that being green will both attract new employees and keep them. Says Tize: “Any company that makes an effort to be environmentally sensitive will attract young employees today; the average length of time our employees have been with us is eight years, even accounting for the seasonal nature of the work. We have at least six veteran guides, one of whom has been with us 21 years. It’s a fun job, and they have fun entertaining guests.”
If you add in the fact West Coast Sightseeing is committed to being carbon neutral by 2011, there are many reasons this company is "in the green."
