From the company's beginning in 1946, BCS has always played an active role in building the communities around us: Bellingham and Whatcom County. This community outreach takes many forms: we support and serve on the boards of various local non-profit organizations; we support local agriculture; and we work to keep our immediate neighbors safe in case of emergencies.

List of Current Achievements

Annual financial support to the following local non-profit organizations, include but are not limited to:

• BCS provides free cold storage, warehousing, and donations of surplus food inventory to local food banks.
• United Way — In addition to providing employee-matched donations to United Way, two employees (a plant worker and a manager) serve on United Way's board and participate in committee work.
• Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association — BCS provides both ongoing monetary support to NSEA as well as volunteer labor for creek restoration projects. Lower Squalicum Creek, a local salmon-bearing stream near our facility was adopted by BCS and its employees in 2008 for ongoing stewardship.
• BCS supports its community through monetary contributions. In 2010, we donated over $75,000 to 62 local community non-profit organizations including several youth enrichment programs.
• Agriculture outreach — BCS supports local 4H projects to inspire and encourage kids interested in Whatcom County's farming legacy. BCS also participates in a local "farm share" program, partnering directly with Cedarville Farm (Whatcom County) for weekly deliveries of local farm goods to employees.
• Whatcom Literacy Council — BCS participates in local fundraising events to promote literacy.
• BCS offers Neighborhood and Community Safety Awareness and Preparedness programs, including shelter-in-place training.

Goals

• Employees to serve on at least three local non-profit boards.
• Encourage employees to volunteer, and provide opportunities to do so.
• Continue to donate to local non-profits each year.

BCS seeks to create an innovative and engaging culture where employees feel welcomed, appreciated, included, and inspired. We know that happy and healthy employees make for a successful company. BCS is proud of the longevity of our employees' tenure, our low turnover rate and high level of job satisfaction.

BCS has a number of programs to recognize the achievements of our employees, and we encourage them to take an active role in environmental sustainability and community outreach.

List of Current Achievements

• ESL / Citizenship — BCS offers its employees free classes in English, math and US citizenship preparation.
• Scholarships — BCS offers up to $500/year in tuition to employees wishing to continue their education.
• 4-H Youth Development Program — BCS sponsors employees' families participating in local 4H programs.
• Employee Hardship Donations — In cases of employee emergencies beyond their control, BCS steps forward at their discretion to provide ongoing financial and material support for their immediate needs.
• School Program Support — BCS sponsors employee children's school programs such as sports teams, music programs, field trips, PTA, etc.
• Sensitivity Training — BCS strives to create a safe and inclusive working environment for all. Mandatory training classes are conducted for all employees to enhance their awareness of diversity in the workplace.
• Workplace Literacy — Bellingham Cold Storage believes strongly in investing in our employees. To this end, we provide a robust "Workplace Literacy Program" for all our employees, teaching a range of skills needed not only for work, but for home, family life, and continuing education. Classes cover English, GED preparation, computer skills. These study groups empower BCS employees through continued education, and these employees in turn show greater loyalty to the company in return; it's a win - win situation for sure.
• Smart Commuter Program — At Bellingham Cold Storage, we try to do our part to foster environmental sustainability, and make that a part of our everyday business model. One such initiative is our "SMART Commuter Program", which incentivizes employees to find alternatives to single occupancy vehicles in their commute to work. On any given day, we now have over a third of our employees either carpool, bike, bus, or walk to work. BCS was recognized by EPA as "Best Workplaces for Commuters", and we have twice won the Governor's Award for innovation in workplace commuting.
• Employee Recognition Programs:
  • Employee of the Month — Each month employees select one of their own for recognition of outstanding workplace achievement. At the end of the year, one of the twelve recipients is then chosen as "Employee of the Year".
  • Safety Programs — For every three consecutive months without a "lost-time" accident, $3,000 is distributed amongst all employees.
  • Awards and Appreciation Dinner — BCS hosts an annual banquet for all present and retired employees to recognize and celebrate the past year's accomplishments and to give thanks for their efforts and service.
• Employee Empowerment:
  • KAIZEN implementation projects — Kaizen, a Japanese term meaning "change for the better", is a philosophy of continuous improvement of processes in business, management, engineering and manufacturing. Employees identify processes that seem redundant, require unnecessary hard work, or can be improved to make their job safer or more efficient. This program empowers them to have a positive contribution to their workplace.
  • BCS Core Values were drafted and adopted by the employees themselves:
    • Teamwork — We support the concept of teamwork. We encourage fellow employees in their efforts to do a good job, helping whenever possible.
    • Integrity — We treat all people and property with honesty and respect, and are dedicated to building trust with our employees and customers.
    • Quality — We are enthusiastically committed to providing the highest standards of service, product and performance.
    • Accountability — We willingly accept responsibility for our actions.
    • Attitude — We have a positive outlook and progressive approach toward our jobs, customers and fellow employees.

Goals

• Continue to give positive recognition.
• Promote healthy lifestyles.
• Offer continued education and lifelong learning.
• Empower employee workplace engagement and participation.

BCS recognizes that business success is a collaborative effort, requiring the support and cooperation from customers and venders. Together we are a team. BCS continually looks at ways we can expand our collaboration with customers and venders, providing environmental and safety training classes, best practices, and giving them recognition.

List of Current Training Programs

Some of the training programs that we offer our industry partners are listed below:

• Shelter in Place
• Anhydrous Ammonia Safety Training
• Emergency Evacuation Drills
• Forklift Safety
• Lockout/Tagout
• Stormwater pollution prevention
• First Aid/CPR/AED
• Fire Extinguisher Training
• Sanitation Workshops
• Propane tank safety
• Personal Hygiene/Food Safety
• Hot Work Permit Safety

Goals

• Expand in-house training for customers and venders;
• Continue long-standing customer relations;
• Continue to provide excellent customer service.

As a cold storage warehouse, BCS is strongly connected to the natural world. Our lifeblood is the storing and handling of nature's bounty: seafood, berries, vegetables and an abundance of other foods. We depend on a healthy environment to sustain these harvests. At BCS we try to do our part to foster environmental sustainability and make that a part of our everyday business model.

List of Current Achievements

• Recycle Program — BCS recycles toner cartridges, paper, cardboard, electronic devices and batteries as part of an ever-expanding recycling program.
• Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center — BCS provides free storage for food products to feed animals in rehabilitation.
• Stormwater management — BCS conducts ongoing training for employees, on-site tenants and venders on stormwater pollution prevention.
• Energy conservation programs — Over the past decade, BCS has continuously adopted the latest technology to reduce power consumption. New refrigeration control systems at both plants have reduced power consumption by 4.8 million Kwh per year (enough power to run approximately 440 homes for a full year [source]). In addition, we have replaced over 70% of the facility's older halogen fixtures with more energy efficient florescent lighting, reducing consumption by approximately 800,000 Kwh per year.
• SMART Commuter Program — BCS incentivizes employees to find alternatives to single-occupancy vehicles in their commute to work. On any given day, over a third of our employees either carpool, bike or walk to work. BCS has been recognized by the EPA as one of the "Best Workplaces for Commuters," and we have twice won the Governor's Award for innovation in workplace commuting. BCS created a SMART commuter check-box area on the daily timesheet to make it easy for BCS employees to report their SMART trip.
• Paper reduction program — BCS continues to transition away from paper printed reports and preprinted forms as a part of its waste reduction efforts through electronic archiving and EDI communication with customers.
• Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association — BCS provides ongoing monetary support to NSEA as well as volunteer labor for creek restoration projects. Lower Squalicum Creek, a local salmon-bearing stream near our facility was adopted by BCS and its employees in 2008 for ongoing stewardship.
• Sustainable local agriculture (CSA Farm Share) — As BCS recognizes that we are an integral part of the local food ecosystem, we participate in a "farm share" program, partnering directly with Cedarville Farm (Whatcom County) for weekly deliveries of local farm goods to employees. BCS is actively working to strengthen the local agricultural community.
• Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification — BCS has achieved MSC "Chain of Custody" certification. This eco-label is the globally recognized mark for seafood that can be traced back through every step of the supply chain to the well-managed and sustainable fishery that caught it. It enables the world's fisheries to demonstrate their environmental credentials - proving that they are fishing sustainably, implementing good management practices and minimizing their environmental impact.

Goals

• Strengthen the Smart Commute program.
• Reduce waste and expand the recycling program to all areas of the plant.
• Continue our stewardship of Squalicum Creek through the NSEA program.
• Achieve 100% conversion to energy efficient lighting.