At RONA, sustainability goes with optimization

With a product line heavy in forest products, home improvement items, construction supplies and hardware, and a distribution network serving some 425 corporate and affiliated stores across the country, RONA Inc. has plenty of opportunity to take a leadership role in environmental stewardship. It’s an opportunity the company actively works to take full advantage of.

In recent years, RONA has instituted environmental initiatives in its stores across Canada, including waste management and energy efficiency programs. The company has an in-store product take-back program to recycle items like paint, batteries, CFL bulbs and fluorescent light tubes. RONA’s popular ECO program identifies thousands of products that have environmental attributes to help consumers make sound environmental choices. But it’s in the way the company moves products that some of the newest environmental efficiencies are taking place.

“On the transportation and delivery side of the business, there are many things we do on a small scale that make a difference in reducing our carbon footprint. Opportunities are numerous,” says Brian Cole, director, transportation and fleet management.

“For example, we order our trucks with various features that help make them more efficient,” he says. That includes installing engine heaters so that delivery drivers can turn their engines off during deliveries on cold days. Boom trucks that make heavy deliveries using onboard cranes now feature remote controls that allow the driver to control the truck while outside using the crane.

“Some companies continue to run trucks for 15 or 20 minutes while they’re unloading drywall or lumber,” says Cole. “In our case, we can shut the truck off and on again, reducing that carbon footprint. It’s an investment, one that we feel is the right thing to do for the environment.”

Charles Daharry is RONA’s national manager of transportation carrier management. He says that simple operational adjustments can yield significant benefits — for example, consolidating smaller shipments to multiple stores can fill up a truck only three-quarters full. RONA also co-ordinates store deliveries with supplier pickups to minimize empty mileage on return trips.

Daharry says RONA has spearheaded the use of long combination vehicles (LCVs) — trucks pulling more than one trailer on long hauls — to increase fuel efficiency. RONA also deployed a transportation management system between suppliers, distribution centres and stores, and set up a tracking system to automate delivery routes for 40 stores in Ontario and Québec.

“We recently started a pilot project to replenish our Ontario stores from Milton, near Toronto, rather than our distribution centre in Boucherville, Québec,” says Daharry. “In some cases, we’ve cut as much as 500 kilometres off delivery routes.” The company has also transitioned to intermodal transportation for goods travelling from Québec to Atlantic Canada by adjusting lead times and processes to accommodate the change.

RONA also leads by example, encouraging suppliers and subcontractors to adopt their own policies on sustainability. “When I do quarterly business reviews with all of our carriers, I ask for an update on their environmental policies and progress,” says Daharry. “One of our requirements is late-model equipment and trucks so they’re more fuel-efficient with less carbon emissions and less issues leading to potential environmental impacts.”

Environmental stewardship is a responsibility the company has always taken seriously, says Cole. “We have an obligation as leaders in our industry to limit our impact on the environment so that we’re leaving a great place for our grandchildren. That’s very important to the leadership of our company and it’s very much something that we're all passionate about.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Canada's Greenest Employers winners, published April 22, 2025 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.