Sustaining the Environment One Initiative at a Time

While all Baylis Medical employees are dedicated to the development of devices that work to improve lives around the world, they also have strong environmental consciousness. Wanting to reduce the negative impact of waste on the environment, teams and individual employees are leading initiatives to help make Baylis more environmentally responsible.


Re-use
Last year, Baylis opened the state-of-the-art Baylis Medical Innovation Centre in Mississauga, Ontario. Renovations had to take place ahead of the building’s grand opening, and before they could begin, the furniture inherited with the building had to go somewhere. Ashley Chapman, Clinical Education Associate at Baylis, found a way to give the furniture a second life by donating them to a local hospital.

“The furniture was still in great condition and we didn’t want it to end up in a landfill,” says Ashley. “After doing some research, I found a hospital in a neighbouring community which could use the furniture. The Baylis leadership team gave the green light for the donation right away. We were told that because of the donation, the hospital could focus on upgrading medical equipment instead of office furniture.”

Ashley’s efforts to re-use the furniture has done more than prevent the furniture from sitting in a landfill—it has helped the hospital reallocate the finances towards patients care.


Reduce
Light-emitting diodes (LED) consume less electricity and produce less heat than their incandescent and fluorescent counterparts.[1] To benefit from the energy efficiency of LED lighting and to help reduce Baylis’s carbon footprint, LED lighting was implemented into the construction design of the newest two out of the three buildings Baylis occupies in Mississauga.

Changing the lighting to LED in Baylis’ third building proved to be a little more challenging for Baylis’ Facilities team, which is responsible for the sustainment, modification and expansion of infrastructure in our offices and manufacturing sites.

“Because this building was already established, and houses part of our manufacturing space, we knew we faced a challenge,” says Huseyin Sagbilge, Facility Operations Supervisor at Baylis. “Our Production team does important work; they create the devices that help physicians and patients. Installing new lighting would involve temporarily shutting down our manufacturing. We did not want to disrupt this process.”

Instead, the Facilities team took advantage of an opportune time to make the change to more environmentally conscious lighting—time that required the Facilities team to work around the scheduled manufacturing hours.

“To reduce any disruptions our colleagues may face with our projects, such as excessive noise or closed-off work areas, we put in a lot of work behind the scenes,” says Huseyin. “As long as our work benefits our colleagues, processes and the environment, we’re happy to work around business hours to complete the project.”

With this initiative well underway, the Facilities team is already looking to take on a new project to help reduce the amount of waste produced across Baylis’ Mississauga offices.


Recycle
Decaying food in landfills creates methane—a greenhouse gas that is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide.[2] Last year, Ashley Chapman worked with the Operations team to pilot a Green Bin Program in one of the Baylis facilities. Similar to the Green Bin Program offered by the City of Toronto, it works to turn organic material into compost that can be used in gardens and parks.[3]

With the program’s success, the company implemented it company-wide, with Saiyyada Rizvi, Baylis’ Employee Experience Specialist, leading the charge.

“What can and cannot be included in compost bins differs between regions, and it’s easy to become confused,” she says. “To ensure the success of the program, we have launched an internal education and awareness campaign to further help employees understand exactly what goes into each bin.”

Compost bins can now be found in all cafeterias, kitchenettes and lavatories across Baylis’ three Mississauga buildings. Detailed signage has been placed directly above the bins to help make it easier for employees to determine where to place discarded matter.

“This program is designed to encourage everyone at Baylis to think twice before simply throwing something into the trash bin,” says Saiyyada. “Baylis employees are already environmentally conscious. Providing the right awareness will ensure that this initiative truly makes an impact on the community."

Dedicated to helping sustain the environment, many of the green initiatives adopted by Baylis began as suggestions made by staff members. Teams immediately volunteer to turn suggestions into action, embodying Baylis’ Core Value of Corporate Social Responsibility.

Although there is still much work to do to ensure the sustainability of our planet, Baylis is committed to continue implementing initiatives that reduce its ecological footprint, to help achieve a balanced environment.


PRM-00462 EN J-1,2,3 V-1 © Baylis Medical Company Inc., 2019. The Baylis Medical logo is a trademark or registered trademark of Baylis Medical Company Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.