One Year Update

Updated Results

We continue to pursue LEED© certification, and have included sustainability principles in the design.  We are confident we will achieve at least a silver designation, but are going for gold!  Final validation and confirmation of certification will come once the bakery has been commissioned and operated for a period of time, and we expect to achieve our formal certification notice by the end of 2011.  Meanwhile, the bakery will reap the benefits of energy and water conservation elements, among some of the key aspects of LEED©, as soon as it starts operation.

Six Month Update

OBJECTIVE:

Maple Leaf Foods and Canada Bread’s manufacturing network is continually being reviewed for operational efficiency opportunities to reduce waste from all areas, be it energy, water, product waste. The objective of this sustainability commitment is to embed sustainability into the design of new manufacturing facilities.

CHALLENGE:

Maple Leaf Foods bakery business unit, Canada Bread, will be consolidating three small, older bakeries in the greater Toronto area into one new bakery in Hamilton, Ontario. Construction began on this new bakery in May 2010. Once completed, at 375,000 square feet, it will be Canada’s largest commercial bakery. It provides an ideal opportunity to embed sustainability into the early stages of design, and in doing so we expect to achieve LEED© certification once the bakery construction is complete, operations have started and verification has been done by accredited LEED© auditors. Once achieved, Canada Bread’s Hamilton bakery will be one of a very few industrial facilities in Canada to be LEED© certified.

RESULT:

Learning about the requirements of LEED© and its application to industrial facilities has definitely challenged us to find innovative approaches in our design. However, we are confident that we will be able to meet or exceed the water and energy efficiencies, sustainable site management processes, material selections and indoor air quality expectations needed to achieve certification in 2011 when we start up operations at the bakery.