GRI Index 2017

GRI Standard Disclosure 2017 Response
GRI 100: UNIVERSAL STANDARDS SERIES
GRI 102: General Disclosures 2017
ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE
102-1  Name of the organization LifeLabs LP
102-2  Activities, brands, products, and services About Us
102-3  Location of headquarters Contact Us: Offices and Main Labs
102-4  Location of operations Proudly serving British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan
102-5  Ownership and legal form About Us
102-6  Markets served LifeLabs is proudly serving British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan. We served over 500,000 patients through our homecare and mobile visits in 2017 and is serving over 500 long-term care facilities with over 450K visits per year. We have partnerships and reference testing for over 80 hospitals and 36,000 health care providers supported.
102-7  Scale of the organization 382 centres providing service across Canada
16 LifeLabs laboratories
Perform over 112 million laboratory tests in 2017
54,616 patient visits per day (ON – 32,699, BC – 19,900)
Licensed to perform 59 genetics tests
102-8  Information on employees and other workers

About Us

Total number of employees by employment contract (permanent and temporary):

By gender

  • Female: permanent = 4,322, temporary = 88
  • Male: permanent = 1,171, temporary = 17

By region

  • Permanent: AB = 39, BC = 1,1813, ON = 3,626, SK = 15
  • Temporary: AB = 4, BC = 10, ON = 91, SK = 0

Total number of employees by employment type (full-time and part-time) by gender:

By gender

  • Female: full-time = 2,175,  part-time=  1,995, casual = 170, temporary = 88
  • Male:  full-time = 649, part-time = 468, casual = 54, temporary= 17
102-9  Supply chain

LifeLabs has a complex supply chain involving relationships with numerous suppliers in areas such as laboratory equipment, consumables, business services, goods for our operations and more.  We leverage the expertise of our Quality, Safety and Environmental departments on all major procurements for assessments of risks in these areas.

102-10  Significant changes to the organization  and its supply chain

LifeLabs experienced tremendous growth and change over the past years, however in 2017 there were no significant changes to the organization and its supply chain.

102-13  Membership of associations

LifeLabs is a member of a number of associations at the provincial and national level. Below are some examples of associations we engaged with in 2017: 

  • Canadian Society of Medical Laboratory Sciences
  • BC Business Council
  • Greater Vancouver Board of Trade
  • Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce
  • Ontario Association of Medical Laboratories
  • Toronto Board of Trade
  • Burnaby Board of Trade
STRATEGY
102-14  Statement from senior decision-maker CEO Letter
ETHICS AND INTEGRITY
102-16  Values, principles, standards, and norms of behavior

LifeLabs is committed to building a culture based on our core values that are grounded in integrity, mutual respect and trust.  The Code of Conduct has also been developed to lend support to our vision of “Building a Healthier Canada” and to help guide us in living our values of “Caring, One Team, Agile and Customer Driven” – every day, everywhere in the business.  This Code is a guide to assist everyone at LifeLabs in making the right business decisions. It sets out principles that govern the way we carry on business, provides clarity about expectations at LifeLabs, and identifies other LifeLabs resources and policies that you can use to support decision making.

102-17  Mechanisms for advice and concerns  about ethics

In April 2018, LifeLabs announced the launch of the Whistleblower program.  This program is intended to encourage employees to raise serious concerns they may have around issues of compliance with Code of Conduct, applicable laws, rules, regulations and our policies where those concerns have not been adequately addressed through regular channels employees can make an anonymous report by telephone, through a dedicated website, or by mail, via our third party provider, ClearView Connects.

GOVERNANCE
102-18  Governance structure About Us: Leadership
102-19  Delegating authority

Responsibility for reporting on sustainability has been delegated to the Director of Community & Environmental Sustainability.

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
102-40  List of stakeholder groups

Engaging and collaborating with our stakeholders is a key input to the development of our material topics and Sustainability Strategy at LifeLabs.  We are committed to working toward amplifying our disclosure on stakeholder engagement in our future reports.

102-41  Collective bargaining agreements

21.8% of our employees were covered by collective bargaining agreements as of December 31, 2017.  We are committed to working toward amplifying our disclosure on employees covered by collective bargaining in our future reports.

  • Non-union employees: 4,380 (78.2%)
  • Union employees: 1,218 (21.8%)
102-42  Identifying and selecting stakeholders

We do not have a formal process for stakeholder engagement; however, we are in the process of developing a plan to work toward amplifying our disclosure on stakeholder engagement in our future reports.

REPORTING PRACTICE
102-48  Restatements of information

Every effort is made to ensure that we report accurate data, and our processes are designed to support this.  In cases where we become aware of updates to data from previous years, we consider providing updated data if the changes result in a discrepancy that is material to our reporting.

102-50  Reporting period

This report covers data and progress from the calendar year 2017, unless otherwise stated, from our operations.

102-51  Date of most recent report

2016 Community Report
The prior report from 2016 was published in April 2017 and can be found on our corporate website.

102-52  Reporting cycle

We plan to continue to report on an annual basis.

102-53  Contact point for questions regarding the report Contact Us
102-54  Claims of reporting in accordance with the GRI Standards Our 2017 Report to our Community has been prepared in reference to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and includes a GRI Content Index focused on topics that the organization is actively engaged in supporting. As we grow our sustainability initiatives, so too will the depth of our reporting.
102-55  GRI content index GRI Content Index
GRI 200 ECONOMIC STANDARD SERIES  
ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE  
GRI 201: Economic Performance 2017  
201-4  Financial Assistance received from government

LifeLabs does not receive financial assistance from the government.

GRI 202: Market Presence 2017  
202-1  Ratios of standard entry level wage  by gender compared to local minimum wage

Wages at LifeLabs are not defined based on gender and comply with all provincial legislation related to pay. Our pay is established based on our internal job evaluation system, which groups similar roles based on the skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions, and the external market for each position.  This system ensures that pay decisions are free from any deliberate or systemic gender bias.

202-2  Proportion of senior management hired from the local community

For roles which are regionally or provincially focused, LifeLabs hires qualified candidates from the local community.  For roles with company-wide (national) accountability, the most qualified candidate is selected.  In most cases, the candidate is not asked to relocate.

INDIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACTS
GRI 203: Indirect Economic Impacts 2017
203-1 Infrastructure Investments and services supported

Healthier Communities:

This was a baseline year for measuring infrastructure investments and services supported. Our contributions for 2017 consisted of commercial, emergency relief, and in-kind engagements. We are currently building systems to track our in-kind service offering and are committed to work toward amplifying our disclosure on these investments.

  • Employee Giving Program: $32,188.75
  • Community Investment BC: $51,312.50
  • Community Investment ON: $51,206.70
PROCUREMENT PRACTICES
GRI 204: Procurement Practices 2017
204-1  Proportion of spending on local  suppliers LifeLabs does have a formal policy indicating a preference for local vendors or suppliers.  In 2017, 80% of our purchases were from Canadian suppliers.
ANTI-CORRUPTION
GRI 205: Anti-corruption 2017
205-2  Communication and training about anti- corruption policies and procedures

The LifeLabs Code of Conduct, Conflict of Interest Policy and Whistleblower Policy applies to all LifeLabs officers and employees. It also extends to other parties acting on behalf of LifeLabs such as consultants, the Board of Directors, or other representatives of LifeLabs.  A review of LifeLabs Code of Conduct, Conflict of Interest Policy and Whistleblower Policy is included in the orientation plan for all new employees.

GRI 300 ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS SERIES
ENERGY
GRI 302: Energy 2017
302-1  Energy consumption within the  organization

Healthier Environment

13,647,842 kWh of electricity was consumed in 2017 at LifeLabs’ four main laboratories (Burnaby, Surrey, Toronto, Mississauga).*

367,330 m3 of natural gas was consumed in 2017 at LifeLabs’ four main laboratories (Burnaby, Surrey, Toronto, Mississauga).*

*Original data collected in 2017 has since been updated due to changes in data collection methodologies.

302-5  Reductions in energy required Healthier Environment: Resource Management
Water
GRI 303: Water 2017
303-1  Water withdrawal by source

In the laboratory sector, water management is an important issue because testing processes and equipment require large volumes of water.  In 2017, our main laboratories (Burnaby, Surrey, Toronto, Mississauga) withdrew 82,868 m3 of water from municipal sources.  This value assumes that water in = water out, and that no water is consumed in our laboratory operations.  We are unable to capture water usage at other locations using our existing systems, as we do not currently have a water management program in place.*

*Original data collected in 2017 has since updated for consistency and due to changes in data collection methodologies.

EMISSIONS
GRI 305: Emissions 2017  
305-1  Direct (Scope 1) GHG emissions

 This was a baseline year for measuring CO2e emissions.* CO2 emissions are based on the most current and up to date emission factors and may change annually.

  • Road (courier) mileage: 24,329,419 km
  • Road (courier) CO2 emissions: 4,957 tonnes
  • Water CO2 emissions: 29 tonnes
  • Electricity CO2 emissions: 339 tonnes
  • Fuel (NG) CO2 emissions: 692 tonnes

*Original data collected in 2017 has since updated for consistency and due to changes in data collection methodologies. CO2 emissions are based on the most current and up to date emission factors and may change annually.

305-3  Other indirect (Scope 3) GHG emissions

 This was a baseline year for measuring CO2e emissions.  Scope 3 business travel sources include air travel. CO2 emissions are based on the most current and up to date emission factors and may change annually.

  • Air mileage: 4,455,478 km*
  • Air CO2 emissions: 412 tonnes*
  • Non-hazardous waste CO2 emissions: -492.5 tonnes
  • Hazardous waste CO2 emissions: 1792.5 tonnes
  • Total waste CO2 emissions (hazardous & non-hazardous): 1300.0 tonnes

*Air mileage data has been updated since 2017 due to transcription errors.

EFFLUENTS AND WASTE
GRI 306: Effluents and Waste 2017
306-1 Water discharge by quality and destination

LifeLabs discharged 82,868 m3 of water from the main four laboratories (Burnaby, Surrey, Toronto, Mississauga) to municipal sanitary sewer in conformity with local legislation and permits, where required. In many LifeLabs laboratories, process water is collected in tanks and cleaned in on-site treatment facilities. If collected and treated on site, water is tested as per local permits or best practice before being discharged.*

* Original data collected in 2017 has since updated for consistency and due to changes in data collection methodologies.

306-2 Waste by type and disposal method

Healthier Environment: Recycling and Waste
By the Numbers

‘This was a baseline year for measuring waste by type and disposal method.*

  • Recycle: 562,890kg
  • Compost: 26,790kg
  • Landfill: 265,850kg
  • Biohazardous: 791,740kg
  • Chemical: 106,655kg

Data is based off our four main laboratories (Burnaby, Surrey, Toronto, Mississauga). Recyclable waste includes paper, corrugated cardboard, electronics, and single-stream recycling.

* Original data collected in 2017 has since updated for consistency and due to changes in data collection methodologies.

306-3  Significant spills

LifeLabs did not observe any reportable spills in 2017 that resulted in a release to the environment.

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE
GRI 307: Environmental Compliance 2017
307-1  Non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations

LifeLabs commits to fully complying with all applicable environmental regulations at the federal, provincial and municipal levels.  We did not receive any fines or orders for environmental non-compliance in 2017.

SUPPLIER ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
GRI 308: Supplier Environmental Assessment 2017
308-1  New suppliers that were screened using environmental criteria

LifeLabs does not report specific numbers or percentages related to environmental screening, however our procurement processes do include specific environmental criteria against which all major equipment and consumable purchases are assessed.

GRI 400 SOCIAL STANDARDS SERIES  
LABOR/MANAGEMENT RELATIONS
GRI 402: Labor/Management Relations 2017
402-1  Minimum notice periods regarding operational changes

LifeLabs complies with relevant local and national laws and any applicable contractual requirements regarding providing notice of significant operational changes.

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
GRI 403: Occupational Health and Safety 2017
403-1  Workers representation in formal joint management-worker health and safety committees

LifeLabs supports a culture of safety, encouraging employees at all levels of the organization to participate in an open dialogue and constructive feedback on safety.  One hundred percent (100%) of employees nationally are represented by a Health & Safety representative or Joint Health & Safety Committee

403-2  Types of injury and rates of injury, occupational diseases, lost days, and absenteeism, and number of work-related fatalities.

By The Numbers

The injury rate for 2017 was 2.93.* There were no work-related fatalities.

Top 3 injuries: needlestick injury (33%), ergonomic incidents (30%), contact with objects (7%).

* Previously reported injury rate in 2017 has changed due to improving the methodology for the determination of the hours of work, in addition to changes within our reporting years.

TRAINING AND EDUCATION
GRI 404: Training and Education 2017
404-1  Average hours of training per year per employee

LifeLabs is unable to pull data on annual average training hours per employee with the current systems, however we have recently upgraded our systems and are committed to work toward amplifying our disclosure on programs for upgrading employee skills and transition assistance programs. For 2017, we can report a total of 182,444 training hours across our employee population. This number includes New Hire Orientation, the Privacy Program, Employee Health and Safety, Client Services programs, Leadership programs, soft skills training, and other trainings across the organization.

404-2  Programs for upgrading employee skills and transition assistance programs

LifeLabs uses Performance Management as a process that involves setting business goals and personal development plans (as appropriate), monitoring progress / on-going coaching and feedback and the annual performance review.

404-3  Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and career development reviews.

LifeLabs strives to provide an environment where all employees understand the impact of their contributions towards the organization’s vision and goals, and are provided with the opportunity for ongoing development. This is accomplished through the annual performance review program which all LifeLabs employees participate in.

Percentage of employees at year-end, who received a regular performance/career development review by gender and employee category*:

  • Female: 3,980, 90.2%
  • Male: 1,073, 90.3%
  • Full-time: 2,653, 94.5%
  • Part-time: 2,208, 89.6%
  • Casual: 174, 77.7%
  • Temporary:  18, 17.5%

*Employees would not receive a review if they are: on leave during the year and not worked for 3 months, a new hire, a temp, a union employee.

DIVERSITY AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
GRI 405: Diversity and Equal Opportunity 2017
405-1  Diversity of governance bodies and employees

Percentage of individuals within the organization’s governance bodies (ELT) by number & percentage:

  • Female: 5, 50%
  • Male:  5, 50%

Number & percentage of employees in a leadership role (director level and above):

  • Female: 32, 59%
  • Male: 22, 41%

Number & percentage of employees by gender:

  • Female: 4,410, 79%
  • Male: 1,188, 21%
HUMAN RIGHTS ASSESSMENT
GRI 412: Human Rights Assessment 2017
412-2  Employee training on human rights policies or procedures.

LifeLabs is unable to pull this data with the current systems, however we have recently upgraded our systems and are committed to work toward amplifying our disclosure on employee training on human rights policies and procedures.

LOCAL COMMUNITIES
GRI 413: Local Communities 2017
413-1 Operations with local community engagement, impact assessments, and development programs

Healthier Communities 

SUPPLIER SOCIAL ASSESSMENT
GRI 414: Supplier Social Assessment 2017
414-1 New suppliers that were screened using social criteria LifeLabs does not report specific numbers or percentages related to social screening, however our procurement processes do include specific social criteria against which suppliers are assessed.
CUSTOMER HEALTH AND SAFETY
GRI 416 Customer Health and safety 2017
416-2  Incidents of non-compliance concerning the health and safety impacts of products and services.

In 2017, we did not pay any fines or receive any orders related to non-compliance with laws and regulations concerning the health and safety impacts of our services.

MARKETING AND LABELING
GRI 417: Marketing and Labeling
417-1 Requirements for product and service information and labeling

LifeLabs offers services and does not manufacture or distribute products.  Therefore this is not relevant to our organization.

SOCIOECONOMIC COMPLIANCE
GRI 419: Socioeconomic Compliance 2017
419-1  Non compliance with laws and regulations in the social and economic area

In 2017, we did not pay any fines related to non-compliance with laws and regulations in the social and economic area.