Rubicon Organics: 83% Of Workforce From Diverse Groups, Women Earn 33% More Than Men, Cuts Carbon Footprint By 48% YoY

Rubicon Organics RBTCW has released its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, which demonstrates significant progress by the company in reducing its environmental footprint.

The cannabis company, known for its organic certified products, is one of the few in the industry to publish a comprehensive sustainability report, reflecting the growing importance of climate action across sectors.

Carbon Footprint Slashed By 48%

The 2023 ESG Report showcases Rubicon's success in cutting its carbon emissions by 48%, down to 2,064 tons. This reduction is largely attributed to a major energy shift through a BC Hydro site upgrade, enabling Rubicon to use cleaner, renewable energy sources.

"We believe we are establishing industry benchmarks and building a robust and resilient cannabis industry in Canada," said Rubicon's CEO Margaret Brodie.

The report also highlights improvements in waste management, with a 66% landfill waste diversion rate achieved through recycling, composting, and biofuel repurposing initiatives. These activities also helped reduce the cannabis carbon footprint generated during 2023.

Read Also: Cannabis Sustainability: Why It Matters and How to Achieve It With Practical Inexpensive Measures

Cannabis Footprint And ESG Reports

Although infrequent, reporting sustainability achievements like Rubicon's is becoming more common. As industries face mounting pressure to address climate change and corporate responsibility, the trend is for customers to value the efforts made by companies to diminish the environmental impacts of their activity.

While still relatively rare in the cannabis sector, the trend is gaining momentum globally.

Insights from the scientific paper "A Narrative Review on Environmental Impacts of Cannabis Cultivation" by environmentalists Zhonghua Zheng, Kelsey Fiddes and Liangcheng Yang help frame Rubicon's progress. The review noted that cannabis cultivation is notoriously resource-intensive, with significant water use and greenhouse gas emissions tied to indoor growing operations.

Related to this, Rubicon's reductions in natural gas usage are vital to the mitigation of the environmental impact of indoor cannabis production.

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Diversity-Minded Company

Beyond carbon reduction, Rubicon had a 6% increase in employee count, ending 2023 with 178 workers. The company hired 65 new employees.

For the second year in a row, Rubicon reduced its employee turnover, down to 32% from 43% in 2022. The company maintained its focus on diversity, with 83% of the workforce belonging to underrepresented groups.

On the equity front, the gender wage gap favored women, with female employees earning 33% more than men, while the company’s CEO pay ratio decreased to 14.4:1 from 28.5:1 in 2022.

If you’re curious about the report, which is the 4th put out by the company, you can download it here.

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