We’re big fans of sustainability here at Diva because we know that every individual action we take adds up to a bigger collective impact. But we also know that there’s always room for improvement.  

Over the years we’ve made quite a few changes to how we do things to ensure we’re doing all we can to reduce our eco footprint.   

1. EcoDivas 

Our Diva team is full of passionate people who do what they can to make this world a better place. In December 2017, we officially created our EcoDivas Committee – a dedicated group of staff who work together to brainstorm and execute environmental initiatives around the office. Part of our EcoDiva Committee’s job is to make sure we keep finding ways to minimize our carbon footprint. The EcoDivas Committee has so far helped Diva become members of Sustainable Waterloo Region, become bullfrogpowered and a certified B Corporation. That’s not all though. They host lunch and learns, engaging events for staff and attend community events.  

2. Green Energy 

Our partnership with Bullfrog Power helps us take a big step to reduce the carbon emissions footprint of our business, by providing us with green electricity and green natural gas for our company to replace the higher-impact energy sources the average business consumes. 

In addition to our partnership with Bullfrog Power, we are also members of Sustainable Waterloo Region (SWR). Membership includes access to reporting tools, campaigns and events. Each year we participate in the Carbon Cleanse, a series of sustainability challenges following four weekly themes: heating, electricity, waste and commuting. Each participating member collects points by participating in pre-designed challenges. In our first year of participation, Diva won Rookie of the Year, in our second year we got third place and second place in 2020. 

3. In-House Waste Management Systems 

When EcoDivas first started they focused on practical ways our staff could support our green initiatives, like re-vamping the waste management system in our shared kitchen.  

Unfortunately, our head office location is not within the regional route for green bin waste pick-up. Due to this, the only immediate solution was to do it ourselves.  

To make things easier, EcoDivas put together a Green Bin Dump Run step–by–step plan and staff volunteer list who takes our green waste to the city dump each month. This has been a huge help in reducing our in-house waste. 

Additionally, EcoDivas regularly reminds staff members of our waste management system with helpful posters and instructions on what’s recyclable, what’s considered green waste and what needs to be thrown in the trash. We also quiz staff at quarterly Town Hall meetings (don’t worry it’s fun and we always have prizes).  

4. Eco-friendly Washrooms 

A few years ago, the Diva head office underwent some major renovations. LED lighting with timers were installed in all our washrooms, automatic hand washing/drying systems were installed (eliminating paper towels) and so were water-conscious toilets.  

5. Transportation 

Although Diva doesn’t have a fleet, we do promote our staff to utilize more sustainable methods for their commute.  

Many of our staff are local, some even within close enough distance they can bike to work. With the help of our EcoDivas, a bike rack was installed in our parking lot, offering staff a safe place to store their eco-friendly form of transportation. We encourage our staff to carpool when they can. Whether Diva team members live in the same neighbourhood, or ride together to events and trade shows, we do what we can to cut back on emissions when traveling for work. 

Last year we officially launched our Remote Work Program, offering our Diva Team members the opportunity to work from home one day a week, cutting out their commute on those days. 

6. DivaCup Packaging 

If you’ve been using the DivaCup for a few years, you may have noticed we switched up how our packaging looks. We said goodbye to the daisy and said hello to a more contemporary look. Our packaging designer even made the transparent window on our packaging smaller, so it’s now fully recyclable! 

While the design is clearly different, what you might not know is that we also switched how our packaging is manufactured. We switched to water and vegetable-based inks for all our DivaCup boxes, including the inserts. Vegetable based inks are more eco-friendly compared to petroleum-based inks (which is what’s most used) because it comes from a renewable source and is easier to remove in the recycling process. 

7. Manufacturing 

We choose to work with companies who also care about the environment.  

Our DivaCup packaging manufacturer became Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) certified in 2019. This is a big deal. Protecting water quality, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, species at risk and forests, the SFI program is committed to improving the practice of forestry in North America. You can read more about it here (https://www.sfiprogram.org/forestmanagementstandard/).  

What does this mean for Diva? Well, our cartons are now SFI certified, too. Our packaging manufacturer separates paperboard waste by type to be recycled, recycles or reuses straps, pallets, inks and coatings, and to reduce their carbon footprint, they had LED lights installs in both their manufacturing and office locations. 

Our silicone manufacturer has also made some changes. They implemented a more robust silicone-recycling process, so that any scrap silicone created during the equipment set up and manufacturing process are recycled. The silicone is cracked back and made into silicone oil that is reused in a variety of processes and products, including medical. 

We’re proud to work with companies that also care about the environment.  

8. Shipping  

Diva chooses to work with environmentally responsible shipping companies. Our new ecommerce store uses fellow B Corp, ShipperBee to deliver our products within Canada. ShipperBee is the first of its kind, end-to-end delivery system that employs everyday people who are already in transit to deliver parcels. By collaborating with drivers who are already on the road, ShipperBee can help reduce carbon emissions by 70% per parcel! 

We work with several other companies for our shipping needs in Canada, US and international, and all of them strive to be as sustainable as possible. It is important to us as an eco-conscious company that we only work with shipping companies that care about the environment as much as we do. 

9. Partners and Memberships 

We proudly partner and financially invest in the work being done by Women’s Voice for the Earth (WVE) and the Women’s Environmental Network (WEN). These organizations fight to ensure transparency around manufacturing processes and ingredient disclosure in consumer goods. Recently we joined the Random Acts of Green member community. This collaborative group of businesses and individuals understand that this planet is our shared home and we all have a part to play in protecting it. Within our local community, we’re active members of Sustainable Waterloo Region, always looking for ways to lead and learn about more sustainable ways of doing business. 

A Continuous Journey 

Our passion and commitment to the environment is a continuous journey. We’re always looking for new and improved ways to do things at Diva that will have a positive impact on our planet. This work has not gone unrecognized, as earlier this year we found out our EcoDivas won a Communitas Award for Honoring Excellence in the Community Service and Social Responsibility category and Diva was named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers of 2020.