Molson in the Community

Bart Alexander, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer, Molson Coors Brewing Company volunteering with Molson Canadian Red Leaf Project at Brick Works in Toronto, ON.

What would you call a day when you got up early, planted some trees with friends and co-workers and then celebrated with an ice cold Molson Canadian beer?  For me it was awesome, a day bringing together the best of Canada for this visitor from Denver, Colorado.  In fact, the day was sponsored by the Molson Canadian Red Leaf Project in partnership with Evergreen.  The Red Leaf Project launched in 2011, planting over 100,000 trees  to help make our awesome land (in Canada), even better.  Almost 1000 Canadians volunteered at 10 park projects last year, and this summer, the brand will increase its impact by tenfold – 100 projects!

As Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer for Molson Coors, I know that we make both positive and negative impacts on people and the earth.   We call that “Our Beer Print” – just like a beer leaves a mark on the table or coaster, we leave our mark.  Much is positive – such as the good times we spend together over beers, the jobs we create, and the contributions we make to our communities.  Some is negative – like alcohol abuse or discharges and accidents in our breweries.

We are dedicated as a company and as a collection of people to do all we can to grow our positive beer print and shrink our negative beer print.   This means we commit to be an ethical and well governed company, that sells quality products marketed responsibly, committed to environmental sustainability, investing in our people and the communities where we live and work, and taking our best practices to our suppliers and retailers.  It also means that we can help connect people to make a difference – just like we’re doing with the Molson Canadian Red Leaf Project.

We know that our people appreciate our progress, ranking us as one of the top places to work in Canada.  And we believe that beer drinkers care as well, as demonstrated by the participation in Red Leaf Project.  We look forward to seeing that participation grow in 2012.

We’re devoted to improving Our Beer Print in Canada and every market in the world where we brew and sell our products.  So, next time you enjoy one of our brews, be it Canadian or an Coors Light or Rickards, taste our passion to refresh you and the world.

Cheers to you and your responsible choices!

To register/learn more, visit Molson Canadian on facebook

Vancouver – Kits Beach

A busy couple weeks of  Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanups with Molson Canadian Red Leaf Project are coming to an end with our last event in St. John’s NFLD tomorrow!

Across the country we hosted 12 cleanups where Molson Coors employees and consumers joined together at their local shoreline to spend a couple hours making our land even more awesome!  Thanks to all the volunteers!  Some photos from the Halifax, Moncton and Vancouver cleanups below.

Molson Coors crew in Halifax

Gorgeous s Point Pleasant – Halifax

Molson Coors Crew in Moncton

Cleaning up Aboiteau Beach, Moncton

Kits Beach, Vancouver

September continues on and it’s a busy one at Molson Coors as we host 12 Molson Canadian Red Leaf Projects across Canada in partnership with the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.

Thank you to all volunteers who took a few hours of their weekend and got their hands a bit dirty.   Reports and photos are coming in this week from each event…details from Toronto and Calgary first. Cheers.

Woodbine Beach Park, Toronto

Approximately 300 volunteers gathered to clean up the shoreline and surrounding area of Woodbine Beach Park.  We collected 677 kilograms of garbage! The hardworking Molson Canadian Red Leaf volunteers did some “good” and then received some “awesome” with tickets to the Casby awards!

Elbow River, Calgary

40 volunteers gathered to clean the Elbow River Pathway in Calgary. Over 35 bags of garbage were collected by Molson employees and Red Leaf Project Volunteers.

Our first Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup (GCSC) took place last Wednesday in Toronto, ON at Marie Curtis Park. Approximately 60 Molson Coors employees rolled up their sleeves and spent two hours cleaning up the park which includes a beach area right on Lake Ontario.  After getting our hands dirty and collecting some interesting items, the team celebrated “doing some good” with some “awesome” = cold beers

This was the first of many shoreline cleanups coming up this month as part of Molson Coors Water Stewardship Month and a continuation of the Molson Canadian Red Leaf Project, a national sponsor of the GCSC.

We hope you’ll join us for a Red Leaf Project/Shoreline Cleanup! Check our website to find the location nearest you.   Not one in your area?  Click here to join or organize your own in your community.  Cheers!

Cleaning up the park!

L-R: Gerald Butts, CEO WWF Canada with Tonia Hammer, Community Relations and Dave Perkins, CEO and President, Molson Coors Canada

Joanna Barrington and Hadley Archer, WWF Canada

Cheers!

After a summer of successful community greening initiatives, the Molson Canadian Red Leaf Project is continuing through the month of September (Water Stewardship Month at Molson Coors Brewing Company).  Red Leaf Project is a national sponsor of the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup (GCSC), a conservation initiative that promotes understanding of shoreline litter issues by engaging Canadians to rehabilitate shoreline areas. This fall we will be hosting shoreline cleanups across Canada as part of Molson Canadian’s ongoing commitment to give back to the land through tree planting, community park projects and shoreline cleanup efforts.

We hope you’ll get your hands a bit dirty and join us for a shoreline cleanup…and then stay for a cold beer! Cheers.

See below for the locations, and remember, if there isn’t one near you, click here to join or organize your own in your community. Hope to see you there!

Molson Canadian Red Leaf Project made it’s way back to Ontario in August.  First stop was Trinity Bellwoods Park and then Humber Bay Park in Toronto.

These were the final two Red Leaf Project events planned this year…. but then many volunteers and our facebook fans told us that they want more!  So keep an eye out this September for more Red Leaf Project events in partnership with the Great Canadian Shoreline Clean up.

Thank you for supporting this program Canada, and for doing your part to help make this awesome land even better   Cheers!

Trinity Bellwoods Park Volunteers restored and cleaned up the park, distributing mulch to an area of dry, compacted soil.  This improves the quality of the soil, provides fertilizer for trees, helps to retain moisture and prevents weeds from growing.

They also removed two garbage bags of litter and 50 yard waste bags of the invasive plant species Burdock, which out-competes native plants for sunlight and water, and grows thistles.

Humber Bay Park Evergreen and the Molson Canadian Red Leaf Project wrapped up an awesome summer of park restoration projects at Humber Bay Park West. Volunteers removed invasive plant species, and distributed mulch to newly planted Sumac trees to help improve the soil quality, prevent weeds from growing and retain moisture after rainfall.  Being a park on the shore of Lake Ontario, the area is subject to harsh winds and intense weather conditions all year round, resulting in dry, poor quality soil.

In total the group removed 4 garbage bags of litter, 9 yard waste bags of invasive species Purple Vetch and Thistles, and applied 20 cubic metres of mulch to over 400 native trees.

Last weekend the Molson Canadian Red Leaf Project was in Edmonton, AB at Kinnaird Ravine. Volunteers came out to help naturalize the ravine, planting approximately 800 native trees and shrubs including Trembling Aspen, Wolf Willow, and Saskatoon Berry.

The team did a great job and are now headed to Big Valley Jamboree this weekend!

Thanks to Global TV and City TV for joining us onsite too.

Up next…Red Leaf is coming back to Ontario with 2 events in Toronto. See you in August! Cheers.