National donations help local food banks assist vulnerable community residents

Burlington, ON – December 10, 2024 – Bunzl Canada is pleased to announce its 2024 Week of Giving, in partnership with Food Banks Canada, to provide essential personal care, hygiene and safety products to foodbanks across the country.

The annual event is even more critical this year in supporting local food banks as they struggle to meet the combined challenges of increasing costs, decreasing donations and a massive increase in demand.

This week, Bunzl Canada’s Cleaning & Hygiene and R3 Redistribution businesses delivered 8 pallets of non-food essentials including toilet and tissue products, hand soap and sanitizer and household cleaning supplies to Food Banks Canada distribution centres across Canada. While these products are critical to keeping families healthy during the winter cold and flu season, for many Canadians in need, the expense of these items can be a choice between health and personal hygiene or putting food on the table.

“Sadly, in 2024 many Canadians continue to struggle to make ends meet. More and more are relying on the incredible work done by their local food banks, and the generosity of people in their communities who donate,” said John Howlett, President of Bunzl Canada. “The annual Bunzl Week of Giving is part of our BUNZL FOR BETTER initiative, a reflection of our culture, our values and our dedication to giving back to our communities – values that we know are a common thread among our employees and our customers.”

Bunzl Canada is an enthusiastic participant in a wide range of other community events across the country. This year, the company continued its partnership with Food Banks Canada through financial and food donations, and collaborated with its vendor partners Cascades, Sunset, Kruger, Essity (Tork), and Kimberly-Clark Professional to donate more than 67,000 rolls of toilet tissue and other paper products in support of National Toilet Paper Day.

“Bunzl Canada is made up of local businesses with longstanding roots in their communities,” said Margo Hunnisett, Vice President of Marketing and Communications. “This event highlights our commitment to maintaining those local relationships and supporting the health of our communities across the country.”

Burlington, ON – May 8^th,2024 – Bunzl Canada today announced the results of the inaugural Bunzl for Better branded sustainability campaign, held throughout the month of April.

The industry-leading distributor of essential operating supplies introduced Bunzl for Better to formalize and expand its efforts to support and strengthen communities and the environment in Canada. It will encompass a range of activities and initiatives designed to positively contribute to environmental and community sustainability, including the company’s annual “Week of Giving”.

“Supporting our communities and reducing the impact we have on our planet is a key focus for our organization,” said Bunzl Canada President, John Howlett. “Bunzl for Better is a wonderful way to pull all of our initiatives together and engage our employees, our customers and our vendors in working together towards a better tomorrow.”

Bunzl for Better was launched in conjunction with Earth Month on April 1^st and included three inaugural initiatives. The first was a month-long, employee-driven effort encouraging employees to live more sustainably through acts that reduce emissions, limit waste, and improve the quality of our environment. Employees submitted their sustainable acts, which ranged from planting gardens to organizing recycling drives, and were rewarded with Bunzl for Better t-shirts and personalized donations through OneTreePlanted.

The second initiative was an e-commerce promotion where Bunzl Canada donated to OneTreePlanted for each qualifying order.

The third was a clothing drive organized by the Canadian headquarters in Burlington, ON to divert textile waste from landfills while supporting local families in need.

Through these initiatives, Bunzl Canada planted over 2200 trees in Canadian forests to aid in vital reforestation efforts. The clothing drive diverted over 500 lbs. of textile waste from landfills and donated them to the Compassion Society of Halton – a local charity that connects people with clothing, food and community resources when they need them the most.

Bunzl for Better continues to build the culture of sustainability and community empowerment that’s so important to Bunzl and its valued customers. Jenny Lawson, Director of Human Resources said, “I see so many benefits to this initiative. Along with its value of sustainability, community empowerment and supporting our diversity and inclusion efforts, employees have an opportunity to work together towards a unified goal. This kind of engagement is key to our attraction and retention of top talent.”

For more information about Bunzl Canada and Bunzl for Better visit bunzlcanada.ca/sustainability.

Innovative WandaNEXT^TM digital platform transforms residence cleaning and hygiene.

Burlington, ON – May 14, 2024 – Bunzl Canada today announced expansion of the WandaNEXT^TM digital cleaning management software across Queen’s University residences in Kingston, Ontario.

Queen’s University has provided a world-class learning and on-campus experience for over 180 years, and ensuring the highest standards of facility cleaning and hygiene is critical to achieving that. As the first university in Canada to achieve the CIMS-GB with Honours advanced By GBAC certification in both its facilities and residences, Queen’s continues to seek opportunities to raise the bar on cleaning and hygiene.

Verifying and validating completed cleaning tasks posed a challenge for Queen’s, as cleaning teams relied on outdated paper processes to guide and record cleaning activities. This made it difficult to quickly identify and address areas for improvement, staff training requirements, and any student concerns.

To overcome these challenges, Queen’s University worked with Bunzl Cleaning & Hygiene to implement the WandaNEXT^TM Digital Cleaning Management software. WandaNEXT^TM provides cleaning scheduling, task management and service alerts in an easy-to-use mobile app, empowering Queen’s cleaning professionals to log completed tasks and quickly respond to cleaning requests submitted by students through posted QR codes. The platform was implemented in five residences as the first phase of the implementation.

“Since adopting WandaNEXT^TM, our ability to respond to cleaning requests has improved dramatically,” said Matt Savoie, Director of Facilities & Infrastructure, Housing & Ancillary Services at Queen’s University. “That provides a tangible sense of security and satisfaction for our students.”

The adoption of WandaNEXT^TM in residential spaces didn’t only benefit the students. The real-time documentation of when spaces were being cleaned also gave Queen’s cleaning teams confidence that their cleaning efforts were recognized and verifiable.

“Proof of presence has empowered our team to feel comfortable and confident in the cleaning program we’re carrying out,” said Kyley Devine, Caretaker in Residence Facilities at Queen’s University. “If we receive complaints or inquiries, we have the data to verify when spaces were cleaned, and what tasks were completed.”

Following the success of WandaNEXT^TM in five of their residences, Queen’s University plans to expand the program to 13 additional facilities.

“We’re very proud to work with Queen’s to continue the rollout of WandaNEXT^TM,” said Brock Tully, Sr. Vice President, Bunzl Cleaning & Hygiene. “This advanced digital platform has been specifically designed for organizations seeking to increase efficiency, achieve greater sustainability, and set new standards in facility cleaning and hygiene.”

To learn more about how WandaNEXT^TM can transform cleaning and hygiene in your facility, contact Bunzl Cleaning & Hygiene or click here!

View the Queen’s University video case study here: WandaNEXT Case Study | Queen’s University Residences