Sea to Sky Removal Becomes Certified B Corporation®

Sea to Sky Removal grew out of our vision for a better world. Our company was founded on the principal that business can do good, drive change, and ultimately help save the world. We saw a problem, construction waste, and decided that we could change it. 

We understand that saving the world is about much more than diverting construction waste. It requires a cultural shift, one that requires companies to get loud about their performance, we need conspicuous impact if we are going to drive meaningful change. 

That’s why we are committed to measuring our impact and sharing our progress through diversion.

In 2017, we hauled 1,340,340 pounds of material and diverted 811,000 pounds from the landfill. 

In 2018 we grew and with that diverted more materials from landfills around Metro Vancouver and the Sea to Sky Corridor. As a company we moved 1,796,360 pounds of material and we were able to keep 1,152,790 pounds of it out of the landfill. 

The volume of the material we kept out of the landfills for both 2017 and 2018 was 1,963,790 pounds! That is the equivalent of 178 of our trucks (1 truck = 11,023 pounds) filled with recyclables and reusable materials that was diverted from our local landfills.

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We meticulously hand sort through piles of construction waste including garbage bags to maximize the amount of recyclables and reusable materials diverted from the landfill. Our award winning recycling stations we have implemented on construction sites pre-sort recyclables and ensure and clean and organized waste section on a construction site. 

We recognize that government and nonprofits alone cannot solve society’s most challenging problems. It’s going to take a community of leaders from across the world who work together to drive a global movement of using the power of business as a force for good, resulting in a positive impact for their employees, communities, and the environment. 

We’re proud to be a Certified B Corporation®, a designation awarded to “businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.” (bcorporation.net) We have joined the ranks of Ben and Jerry’s, Danone and Patagonia.

"We are so excited to welcome Sea to Sky Removal to the Canadian B Corp Community. At a time when preserving the environment has reached a critical point, it is inspiring to see a company address the need to overhaul an industry in a very impactful way." Michelle Reid, B Lab Canada

Here are five reasons why we decided to become B Corp Certified:

1)    Shared Beliefs

 B Lab, the non-profit group that holds B Corps accountable, shares our belief that businesses should exist to do more than just turn a profit. We believe that businesses should be used as a force for social good. At Sea to Sky Removal, we know business principles could be used appropriately as a very powerful tool to address social inequities.

2)    Community

Today, There are over 2,700 Certified B Corporations from more than 130 industries in 60+ countries with 1 unifying goal – to redefine success in business. B Lab aggregates learnings, shares case studies, provides professional development and creates opportunities for CEOs to convene and engage in meaningful conversations. We’re excited for the potential that these conversations and relationships hold.  

3)    Public accountability

The performance standards B Corps meet are comprehensive, transparent and verified. They measure a company’s impact on all its stakeholders (e.g. workers, suppliers, community, customers and the environment). As a company focused on waste management in the construction industry, we wanted to hold ourselves to the highest available standard of public accountability. Unlike traditional corporations, Certified B Corporations are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions not only on their shareholders, but also on their stakeholders (e.g., workers, suppliers, community, consumers, and the environment).

4)    Ability to put mission first

We didn’t get in the business of removing construction waste because we wanted to make a profit. We saw a gap in what companies were able to do and a need to better take care of the planet, and we build a business around solving these two problems. Profit is a means of delivering on our purpose, rather than the end goal in itself. In situations where a company could turn a bigger profit because of its fiduciary obligation to their investors, we can put mission first as a benefit corporation. This truly allows us to think about what is in the best interest of our local landfills and fragile environment.

5)    Attracting the right people

Being a B Corporation allows us to make a very public declaration that we care about making an impact beyond profit alone and that we’ve subscribed to a very powerful worldwide movement of using profits and growth as a means to a greater end. This shows our clients, stakeholders, and our employees (both current and future) that we are more than just numbers. We are committed to something bigger. This designation will make it easy for clients and other stakeholders to identify our views on business, and easily determine whether or not those values align with their own.

Greta Thunburg, the 16 year old Swedish climate activist, has asked the global community to panic. We panicked and Sea to Sky Removal is the result. We’re not hoping someone will do the work for us. We have rolled up our sleeves, gotten our hands dirty and companies are getting sorted, one pound of waste at a time. 

Diverting waste from construction sites is our bread and butter but transformation is the business we’re in.

About B Corporations

Certified B Corporations are leaders of a global movement of people using business as a force for good. They meet the highest standards of overall social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability and aspire to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. There are more than 2,700 Certified B Corporations in over 130 industries and 60 countries with 1 unifying goal – to redefine success in business.

Want to learn more about the B Corp Certification?  Visit https://bcorporation.net for details.

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Sea to Sky Removal Partners with The Future of Howe Sound Society

We recently partnered up with The Future of Howe Sound Society who is committed to the conservation and stewardship of Howe Sound for the benefit of current and future generations. They recently coordinated a large scale clean up of marine debris throughout the Howe Sound. Stewards filled up many truck loads of debris following the punishing winter storm events this winter. Local residents took to the water and the shorelines with boats, bags and nets, many on their own and in teams via Howe Sound Clean Up Report

A pile of marine debris; tires embedded with styrofoam, metal and wood, pressure treated wood, metal and plastic.

A pile of marine debris; tires embedded with styrofoam, metal and wood, pressure treated wood, metal and plastic.

Another pile of marine Debris; more tires embedded with styrofoam, metal, bags of plastics, rope and tarps.

Another pile of marine Debris; more tires embedded with styrofoam, metal, bags of plastics, rope and tarps.

At Sea to Sky Removal, we believe it is our responsibility to support organizations that rehabilitate wild animals who have experienced habitat disruption, climate change education for children, and lastly, organizations remediating and protecting coastal ecosystems. Helping this amazing organization dispose these items responsibly was a perfect fit.

As per our Volunteer Service Policy we have implemented company-wide volunteer days which are paid. We mandated that twelve hours per year, per worker, will be dedicated to our team volunteer activities in support of causes that affects our community and our planet.

The 2 two loads we hauled away included soft plastics, hard plastic, buckets of metal, LOTS of styrofoam (some clean and some dirty) as well as general garbage which included; dirty foam, pressure treated wood staircases, old tarps.

Lastly, 13 tires were embedded in styrofoam, metal and wood were successfully recycled but the process of making a "tire raft or float" should be considered illegal as styrofoam breaks up in the ocean and this is basically polluting it. 

Polystyrene foam presents unique management issues because of its lightweight nature, floatability, and likelihood to be blown from disposal sites even when disposed of properly. When polystyrene hits the the ocean, it breaks down into smaller, non- biodegradable pieces that are ingested by marine life and other wildlife thus harming or killing them via Sea Sick Fish

As a result of the impacts on marine pollution and adverse effect to marine wildlife, several coastal cities across the United States, have banned the use of polystyrene food packaging altogether. We feel British Columbia and the rest of Canada should follow suit.

Tire recycling, keeping as much as we can out of our local landfills one load at a time.

Tire recycling, keeping as much as we can out of our local landfills one load at a time.

SEA TO SKY REMOVAL HAULS WASTE FROM CONDO RENOVATIONS

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Are you in the midst of planning for a condo renovation or working on one as we speak? We can help! Our crew has loads of experience with these projects and it always seems to be that they usually don't have room for a bin.

We can work with you on planning your construction waste management from the minute you start budgeting to the end when your start focusing on your finishes. With our experience, we feel our award-winning recycling stations would help streamline your waste as they help sort the recyclables from the actual garbage and it's very easy system to manage.

If you are going to demo, how about deconstructing it vs. breaking everything up? Our blog post on deconstruction is full of excellent information which will help with your project.



When you choose to work with us, we are available 24 hours 7 days a week. We are more than happy to work with your schedule to get the job successfully completed for you. 



In regards to setting up an environmentally focussed construction waste area, we can consult and train your crew on how to make sure all waste is properly sorted as well as educate your team on what type of materials go where. 

Read our blog post on how to keep your construction site clean and green.

Keep in mind that we can load from anywhere especially from a loading bay where there is space to deliver the waste to our trucks.

Lastly don’t forget to book the elevator for at least a couple of hours and lay down protection so floors don’t get messy from all the materials leaving the area. 

We worked with our friends JHR Contracting on many condo renovations around Metro Vancouver and here is what Jason had to say about our service: 

I have used Sea to Sky Removal on several job sites over the last couple years, they have always been quite accommodating with my schedule and they always leave the site clean and organized upon leaving. I also like the fact that they take the time to separate any and all recyclables before disposal. I highly recommend Sea to Sky! Jason Heindle-Raho, JHR Contracting