GRI Index 2019

GRI Standard Disclosure 2019 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 Proudly serving communities in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Saskatchewan, LifeLabs has experience in serving long-term care facilities every year, in addition to serving patients daily through our homecare and mobile visits. We have developed partnerships and reference testing for hospitals, and support thousand of health care providers.
102-7 Scale of the organization 389 centres providing service across Canada
16 LifeLabs laboratories
Performed over 120 million laboratory tests in 2019
58, 604 patient visits per day (ON – 32, 370, BC – 21, 600, SK – 2615)
Licensed to perform 68 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 = 4,680, temporary = 97
  • Male: permanent = 1,326, temporary = 26

By region

  • Permanent: AB = 42, BC = 1,871, ON = 3,926, SK = 164
  • Temporary: AB = 3, BC = 11, ON = 109, SK = 0

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

By gender

  • Female:  full-time = 2,418, part-time = 2,130, casual = 132, temporary = 97
  • Male: full-time = 799, part-time = 478, casual = 49, temporary = 26
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 There were no material changes in Procurement in 2019 as an organization
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 2019:

  • 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
  • LifeSciences BC
  • Ontario Chamber of Commerce
STRATEGY
102-14 Statement from senior decision-maker 2019 Sustainability Statement

GRI-Sustainability-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

LifeLabs’ Whistleblower 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 Health and Safety & 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
  • Non-union employees: 4,773 (77.9%)
  • Union employees: 1,356 (22.1%)
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 2019, unless otherwise stated, from our operations. 
102-51 Date of most recent report

2018 Community Report

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 2019 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:

The following contributions were made in 2019:

  • Employee Giving Program: $31,824
  • Community Investment BC: $ 46,700
  • Community Investment ON: $71,490
  • Community Investment SK: $ 10,950
  • Community Investment National: $54,582
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 2019, 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

13,836,447 kWh of electricity was consumed in 2019 at LifeLabs’ four main laboratories (Burnaby, Surrey, Toronto, Mississauga).

 436,314 m3 of natural gas was consumed in 2019 at LifeLabs’ four main laboratories (Burnaby, Surrey, Toronto, Mississauga).

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 2019, our main laboratories (Burnaby, Surrey, Toronto, Mississauga) withdrew 72,967 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.

EMISSIONS
GRI 305: Emissions 2017  
305-1 Direct (Scope 1) GHG emissions
  • Road (courier) mileage: 22,092,063 km
  • Road (courier) CO2 emissions: 4728 tonnes
  • Water CO2 emissions: 25 tonnes
  • Electricity CO2 emissions: 208 tonnes
  • Fuel (NG) CO2 emissions: 813 tonnes

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

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: 3,258,426 km
  • Air CO2 emissions: 365.3 tonnes
  • Non-hazardous waste CO2 emissions: -261.3 tonnes
  • Hazardous waste CO2 emissions: 2035.5 tonnes
  • Total waste CO2 emissions (hazardous & non-hazardous): 1774.2 tonnes
EFFLUENTS AND WASTE
GRI 306: Effluents and Waste 2017
306-1 Water discharge by quality and destination

LifeLabs discharged 72,967 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.

306-2 Waste by type and disposal method

Healthier Environment: Recycling and Waste
By the Numbers

  • Recycle: 342,178 kg
  • Compost: 39,400 kg
  • Landfill: 371,490 kg
  • Biohazardous: 795,760 kg
  • Chemical: 116,369 kg

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

306-3 Significant spills LifeLabs did not observe any reportable spills in 2019 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 2019.

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 2019 was 3.68. There were no work-related fatalities.

Top three injury types were needlesticks (29%), ergonomics (23%), and slips/trips/falls (18%).

403-3 Occupational health services

LifeLabs has an online system for reporting of workplace hazards (and incidents). The online hazard reporting system is accessible through a link from the homepage of the LifeLabs intranet. Supervisors investigate and implement corrective actions for the hazard reports they receive.

Another way LifeLabs controls hazards and reduces occupational health and safety risks are through its tiered audit system. Monthly inspections are conducted by Health and Safety Reps or Joint Health and Safety Committee members, and layered in addition to these are audits by supervisors, by managers, and by members of the Health and Safety team.

Hazards, incidents, and audit results are reviewed by the Health and Safety team and relevant information is shared back with the organization in the from of health and safety newsletter articles, hazard alerts, incident alerts, and safety talks.

403-4 Worker participation, consultation, and communication on
occupational health and safety

Workers participate in the occupational health and safety program through their participation as Health and Safety representatives and through the Joint Health and Safety Committees.

Each year, Health and Safety representatives and Joint Health and Safety Committee members are emailed sections of the health and safety programs and their feedback is requested for ideas for improving the programs. Any worker can also email the health and safety team at the EHS@Lifelabs.com email to ask questions and suggest improvements to the program. The safety program also has a document/form that workers can complete to send feedback to the Health and Safety team.

LifeLabs has two “Employee Councils” (one in BC and one in ON) with the mandate to work in partnership with employees across the business, organizational leaders and Human Resources with the goal of contributing to make LifeLabs a great place to work.

This is done by:

  • Facilitating dialogue between employees and management
  • Encouraging employees to express their ideas and opinions
  • Openly communicating with respect and professionalism
  • Creating opportunities for all employees to provide input into initiatives that impact the organization
  • Ensuring Employee Health and Safety is an important topic for Employee Council

Occupational health and safety information is accessed and communicated through a number of mechanisms:

  • Online learning management system includes health and safety modules
  • Safety programs are housed online in ‘Paradigm’, which is a controlled online document database
  • Health and Safety has its own webpages of information accessible on the company’s intranet pages
  • The Safety Data Sheet database is accessible online from any LifeLabs computer
  • Health and Safety sends out a monthly safety newsletter with safety talks, articles on safety, and metrics
  • Health and Safety articles are shared through other communication methods through the award winning Leaders Digest which provides information to leaders at all levels, through the OneWeekly which is a weekly company newsletter, and through direct emails to staff
  • 30 separate full day annual health and safety training sessions were held for the health and safety representatives and joint health and safety committee members to attend across BC and ON. There were approximately 450 attendees
403-4 b. Where formal joint management worker health and safety committees exist,
a description of their responsibilities, meeting frequency,
decision-making authority
and whether and if so why any workers are not represented by these committees

The joint health and safety committees at LifeLabs adhere to the requirements set out by each province that they are based out of.

The responsibilities include:

  • Represent employees and ensure employees’ participation in EHS at the workplace with the goal to prevent workplace incidents and improve workplace health and safety.
  • Identify occupational hazards. Make recommendations to management/employer to improve workplace health & safety using the LifeLabs EHS Recommendation Form (see figure 1 for details).
  • Review, at least annually or more frequently if changes occur in the workplace, the EHS Program (SOPs & Training). Make recommendations to improve the EHS Program using the LifeLabs EHS Recommendation Form.
  • Receive employees’ health & safety concerns/suggestions and discuss issues/suggestions with workplace parties. Recommend solutions reporting locally to Managers, or to EHS, if any.
  • Conduct monthly EHS Audits. Monitor effectiveness of the EHS Program (SOPs) and Training.
  • Investigate work refusals, if any.
  • Investigate workplace incidents that may result in critical injuries or a fatality, if any.
  • Be present at the beginning of workplace health and safety testing.

All workers are represented either through their Joint Health and Safety Committee or by their Health and Safety Representative, depending on the size of their worksite.

Joint Health and Safety committees meet at a frequency determined by their provincial requirements, either monthly or quarterly at a minimum. Joint Health and Safety committees are an advisory committee and provide recommendations to health and safety in the workplace.

403-5 Worker training on occupational health and safety Workers complete online education modules on the health and safety programs and read through the health and safety standard operating procedures applicable to their roles. Each business unit includes health and safety orientation for new employees relevant to their business function.
403-6 Promotion of worker health LifeLabs promotes physical, emotional and financial wellness.

Worker wellness is facilitated through SunLife Group Benefits plans that include different options to choose from, through fitness memberships discounts offered through WorkPerks, through employee discount testing from LifeLabs tests, and through EFAP services that support health and diet.

Health promotion services promote physical, emotional and financial wellness. Mental/emotional health is supported through access to our EFAP provider, through group benefits plans, and through employee discount programs for health and fitness products and memberships.

403-7 Prevention and mitigation of occupational health and safety impacts directly linked by business relationships Health and safety risks, expectations, and requirements are built directly into the procurement process as we work with different business partners. New business services and equipment are reviewed for health and safety risks as part of the selection process.
403-8 Workers covered by an occupational health and safety management system Lifelabs health and safety programs adheres to the Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulations applicable to each of the provinces we function out of. We have not implemented a certified health and safety management system
403-9 Work related injuries

In 2019, LifeLabs has had 0 fatalities and 0 cases of high-consequence work related injuries. The main work-related injury was due to needlesticks.

There were 160 recordable incidents with a rate of 3.68 based on 200,000 hours worked.

403-10 Work-related ill health In 2019, LifeLabs has had 0 fatalities and 0 cases of recordable work-related ill health.
TRAINING AND EDUCATION
GRI 404: Training and Education 2017
404-1 Average hours of training per year per employee

As of December 2019, the average hours of training per employee in 2019 was 16.5 hours. This includes online and in-person training hours tracked in our company-wide learning management system.

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.

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

Female: 4346
Male: 1256
 
Full-Time: 3087
Part-Time: 571
PT Regular: 1764
Casual: 124
Temporary: 56

* 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: 4, 44%
  • Male:  5, 56%

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

  • Female: 30, 50%
  • Male: 30, 50%

Number & percentage of employees by gender:

  • Female: 4,777, 78%
  • Male: 1,352, 22%
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

  • “Pajama and Pancake Day”
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 2019, 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 2019, we did not pay any fines related to non-compliance with laws and regulations in the social and economic area.