Introduction

Welcome to our 2013 Accountability Report!

This annual report covers our 2013 activities and is a follow-up to our 2012 report. It covers all four of LoyaltyOne’s office locations and five lines of business. The report does not include our international partnership with the Brazilian loyalty program, Dotz. We have considered all of LoyaltyOne’s sustainability impacts and selected those most relevant to our service-oriented firm and our stakeholders.

Our 2013 achievements
Our plans for 2014
And more!

OUR Achievements

Shining the spotlight on 2013

Here are a few highlights from 2013 and the accomplishments and initiatives we’re most proud of:

Added two new electric vehicle charging stations to our fleet, and supported bike sharing and carpooling programs
Cut down on company GHG emissions by 18% from 2012
Achieved Emissary level, the second highest level on Bullfrog Power’s Green Index – one of only two organizations
Raised over $1.8 million for charity
Celebrated our 10th year of participating in the Holiday Charity Drive by raising $235,000, for a combined total of over 1 million dollars
Named one of the 50 Best Employers in Canada for the 5th year in a row
And more!

ONE Responsibility

Our commitment to making a difference

At LoyaltyOne, we are always finding new ways to help others improve their potential, enhance our natural environment, and create a meaningful impact by bringing partnerships together that deepen connections and change lives.

Community

We will help improve the social quality of life by supporting programs that spearhead community building and enrich relationships.

Environment

We work hard to reduce our own footprint and influence, as well as promote and demonstrate changes in behaviour that inspire others to do the same.

Wellness

We strive to create an engaged workforce by celebrating our associates and offering them a healthy, rewarding and meaningful experience.

Our accountabilities structure
Engaging our stakeholders and associates
Volunteerism

ONE Environment

Renewing our commitment to the planet

In 2013, we continued to work on reducing our environmental impact and integrating sustainability into our core business practices. We adopted new technology for our green fleet, introduced electric vehicle charging stations, and added 2 new electric vehicles. We also hosted a number of environmental forums at our corporate head office, and worked with numerous environmental committees to drive sustainability programs.

Reducing our harmful impact

We understand LoyaltyOne’s environmental impacts and we are doing everything we can to help reduce them in three main areas: our organizational carbon footprint, waste production and procurement practices.

Here are some of the changes we’re excited about:

An 18% decrease in total GHG emissions from 2012
Reduced total emissions by 34% from the 2009 baseline over the past 5 years
Implemented building retrofits and system upgrades at our Toronto office
Completed an intensive energy audit of our corporate head office to find new opportunities for reducing energy usage
A 17% decrease in external paper consumption and associated emissions
Increased use of Bullfrog natural gas at our Mississauga location, contributing to a nearly 30% decrease in overall heating emissions from 2012

Our paper policy

Paper is a major component of our ongoing communications to our AIR MILES Collectors, and is fundamental to the success of our programs. Since 2009, LoyaltyOne has had an environmental paper procurement policy to help minimize our impact on resources and eco-systems. Under this policy, all paper we purchase must be FSC-certified and have a minimum of 30% post-consumer content.

The purpose of this policy is to:

Target reductions in overall paper usage, both from an internal and external communications perspective
Challenge our vendors to continue to source environmental improvements in their practices and procurement on our behalf
Ensure that paper purchases on behalf of LoyaltyOne are from certified, sustainable sources
Establish an ongoing investigation of new technologies and practices that will improve our overall environmental impact

Using green energy

In 2013, we continued to utilize 100% green electricity from Bullfrog Power for our Toronto, Mississauga and Calgary offices. Bullfrog’s green electricity comes exclusively from wind and hydro facilities that have been certified as low-impact by Environment Canada under its Ecologo^TM program.

This year, we:

Achieved Emissary level, the second highest level on Bullfrog Power’s Green Index

By purchasing green electricity and natural gas from Bullfrog Power for our Toronto, Calgary and Mississauga offices, we were able to achieve a carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction of 882 tonnes!

Helping associates to live more sustainable lives

We have several programs in place that help our associates to reduce their impact on the environment. While we continue to support these programs, we’re always on the lookout for new ways we can make a difference. Here’s what we (and our associates) accomplished in 2013:

Our Work at Home Program helped reduce energy use and CO2 emissions
Purchased corporate memberships to the Bixi bike sharing service in Toronto and Montreal
Added a fleet of bikes to our Mississauga office and encouraged use of the “CycleLoan program”
Continue to participate in carpooling through Smart Commute in Mississauga, AutoShare in Toronto, and Communauto in Montreal
Added two additional Electric Vehicles (EVs) to our sustainable fleet, and added 2 Level II Electric Vehicle charging stations to our corporate head office

ONE Culture

The people behind our passion

Thanks to all our associates, 2013 was another incredible year for LoyaltyOne. We were once again recognized as one of the Best Employers in Canada (that’s 5 years in a row), and we’re proud to have been named one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People. And those are just a few of our accomplishments!

Training and development
Associate engagement
Rewarding performance
Dedication to wellness

ONE Community

Growing our community impact

While we continued to support our corporate charities, raising more than 1.8 million for charities such as Kids Help Phone, motionball in support of Special Olympics Canada and our Holiday Charity Drive, this year was all about growing our community impact.

With this goal in mind, we invested in a new resource to expand our community building efforts through a formal volunteer program. By focusing on communication, engaging opportunities and best practices, we helped both charities and associates to change lives.

Our charities
Our Volunteer Program
And more

Holiday Charity Drive

2013 marked the 10th year of running the Holiday Charity Drive, our biggest fundraising cause of the year. Last year, we raised more for charity than ever before for our Toronto charity of choice, CP24 CHUM Christmas Wish, and introduced some new initiatives to make that happen.

For the first time we held a “Sweat for Charity” event at the YMCA, where associates cycled, danced and did yoga. Their efforts raised an astounding $40,000 towards the cause.

Then we held our first live charity auction, where associates could bid on exciting rewards like sports tickets, appliances or travel. The event was a huge success, and raised $10,000.

Altogether we raised 7,626 food items, 2,484 toys and $235,000 for local charities, including the CP24 CHUM Christmas Wish, Daily Bread Food Bank, the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank and Sun Youth Organization in Montreal.

Walk So Kids Can Talk

On Sunday, May 5, 2013, LoyaltyOne Associates, along with their family and friends, participated in the annual Walk So Kids Can Talk. Our associates walk every year along with AIR MILES Collectors. We raised more than $23,000 to ensure that youth in distress have access to essential mental health resources and counselling.

Alexandra Park Community Centre

In 2013, LoyaltyOne continued to support the Alexandra Park Community Centre, a non-profit organization located in downtown Toronto. The Community Centre offers local community members, including youth, recent immigrants, refugees and low-income families, much-needed educational programs and assistance.

Here’s how we helped in 2013:

Awarded two $4,000 College or University Scholarships through the Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto (CHFT) Diversity Scholarship Program
Donated AIR MILES reward miles to help the Community Centre offset operational costs

CommunityOne Day

On May 14, 2013, LoyaltyOne associates from across Canada participated in 5 custom events that had a huge impact on the charity and associates. The planning committee members from Corporate Marketing and Workplace Services created a series of activities that appealed to the top areas of interest for associates: Family, Youth, Wellness, Environment and Poverty.

Not only did associates have a great time cleaning up parks, assembling food kits for those in need, and cycling to raise money – their participation made a lasting difference in our community.

Motionball

This year, we celebrated our ninth year supporting motionball, a non-profit organization that builds awareness and raises funds for Special Olympics Canada. motionball organizes and operates four major social events throughout the year, including the Annual Toronto Gala, Marathon of Sport, and Fall Classic Golf Tournament.

LoyaltyOne’s associates take part in these events and get to know Special Olympics Athletes as they play alongside them. These events help enrich the lives of Canadians with intellectual disabilities through participation in sports, and the raised funds go to athlete and volunteer recruitment and training.

In the works for 2014

In 2014, we’ll be taking on new and exciting initiatives to promote wellness such as sporting activities, physical activities and nutritional education. And to continue our environmental efforts, we’ll be developing a comprehensive strategy that maximizes our energy-efficiency.

Lastly, to keep our associates up-to-date on everything we’re accomplishing as a team, we’re transitioning our accountability report to a blog format. Now you can get real-time updates from our Corporate Responsibility blog at loyalty.com about what’s happening at LoyaltyOne, see the impact of our actions as it happens, and stay involved on our journey – every step of the way.

Our Awards

We’re committed to becoming more environmentally sustainable and creating an outstanding work environment. These awards are a reflection of that commitment, and we’re proud of all we’ve accomplished together.

50 Best Employers in Canada

For the fourth year in a row, we were named one of the 50 Best Places to Work by AON Hewitt Associates – a list which was featured in Report on Business magazine.

Canada’s Greenest Employers

For the fourth year in a row, we were recognized as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers. This designation honours employers who lead the nation in creating a culture of environmental awareness in their organizations.

The Green 30

Once again, we were acknowledged as one of Canada’s Green 30 Companies. This is awarded to those that lead the way in creating a new culture of environmentally responsible business.

Contact Centre Employer of Choice

We received Gold certification for the second year in a row.

Best Green Contact Centre

Our contact centre achieved Gold certification for excellence in our sustainability efforts.

Canada's Top Employers for Young People

For the first time, we were recognized as one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People. This special designation recognizes the employers that offer the best benefits for younger workers nationwide.

Top 15 Most Influential Brands – AIR MILES

An Ipsos Reid survey recognized AIR MILES, one of LoyaltyOne’s companies, as one of the top 15 most influential brands in Canada. We were in great company with Apple, Google and Facebook.

BOMA Toronto – TOBY Award (Outstanding Building of the Year Award) & Earth Award

Both of these were awarded to our Mississauga office’s property management partners, Bentall Kennedy, for excellence in environmental management.

About Us

We enrich relationships

As leaders in loyalty, we know that the key to growing business is understanding how to influence the choices people make – as consumers and individuals. For 20 years, LoyaltyOne has designed, developed and managed loyalty initiatives for retail, banking, grocery, utilities, manufacturing, government clients and more. We help our clients get closer to their customers so they can understand them more thoroughly, engage them more effectively and positively influence the choices they make.

Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, we employ approximately 2,000 associates in offices in Canada, the United States and throughout Europe. LoyaltyOne Co. is a division of Alliance Data, a leading provider of loyalty and marketing solutions.

Our unique advantage

LoyaltyOne’s innovative solutions set the pace and agenda of the loyalty industry. We deliver both the thought leadership and practitioner solutions that stand apart from the competition.

We offer:

Merchandising Solutions – helping retailers and their vendors determine the optimum product assortment, pricing and shopper-centric promotional strategies.

Loyalty Solutions – helping marketers shape customer behaviour through rewards and other motivators that boost current spend and expand the overall base.

Experience Solutions – helping companies create more rewarding experiences throughout their stores and across all the channels in which they interact with customers.

Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, we employ approximately 2,000 associates in offices in Canada, the United States, and throughout Europe. LoyaltyOne Co. is a division of Alliance Data, a leading provider of loyalty and marketing solutions.

Fast facts

Fast facts about the AIR MILES Reward Program:

Launched in Canada in 1992
Reaches 10 million active Collectors (representing approximately two-thirds of Canadian households)
Received 35 million visits and 300 million page views on airmiles.ca in 2013
Developed one of the largest permission-based email databases in Canada
Profitably changes customer behaviour for more than 100 participating Sponsors
Fulfills more than 4.4 million AIR MILES reward redemptions every year
Received CCEOC Silver designation in 2008, and Gold designation every year from 2009 - 2013 for Call Centre Excellence

See what makes this a great place to work

Watch the ways our associates give back

View our 2013 photo album

Watch the ways our associates give back