SGI Initiative

HME’s Social Commitment applies internally and externally and guides our interactions with our employees and our greater community.

Internally, HME is committed to responsible, respectful hiring and retention policies. Additionally, with a valued focus on diversity and inclusion, we actively look to incorporate differing life experiences and beliefs in an effort to serve our varied clientele better.

From this policy, HME has grown a diversified team of professionals, including a Senior Leadership Team that is 62.5% female and a management team that is 55% female. In addition, our entire team of employees includes 55% who are visible minorities, and we have twenty-two different languages spoken by our team members allowing us to serve many of our clients in their native tongue.

Externally, HME is committed to social causes that better the communities that we live, work, and play in. From our staff volunteering their time with amazing community organizations like Variety – the Children’s Charity, to ongoing financial donations to various charitable causes such as Canucks’ Place, Ronald McDonald House, PADs, the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, First Nations Child, and Family Caring Society of Canada, Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society and many others. HME has also developed the ‘HME Gives Back’ Grant, awarded monthly by a committee of our employees to deserving recipients to assist in funding essential medical equipment they otherwise would not be able to afford.

Furthermore, HME is committed to supporting other locally owned businesses by working closely with Canadian and B.C.-owned suppliers whenever possible. By creating and supporting local, enduring jobs in our communities, we can help to build strong, resilient neighborhoods for all.

HME is committed to protecting the environment through thoughtful evaluation and consistent impact mitigation of our organization’s environmental footprint.

By 2030, HME intends to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions. We are de-carbonizing all aspects of our company and working towards decoupling our business growth from our emissions.

HME endeavours to follow established best practices concerning our business needs and commits to the following policies to minimize our impact on the environment and to reach net zero by 2030:

1. A commitment to reducing energy consumption across all areas of our business (office heating/cooling, fossil fuel consumption), including encouraging set office temperatures and efficient route planning to minimize gasoline emissions and a transition to electric vehicles.
2. HME works to minimize the production of all types of waste, especially paper. Encourage reuse, recycling, and the disposal of other waste that cannot be avoided responsibly. Energy efficiency upgrades and reducing waste are fundamental company principles.
3. Ongoing training is provided as part of staff development, taking into account our environmental responsibilities and identifying how personnel can reduce their environmental impact.
4. Efforts are made to minimize travel by maximizing IT systems, including route planning software.
5. Encourage the use of suppliers committed to sound environmental practices, including purchasing environmentally responsible products such as recycled or refurbished materials, reduced energy and water consumption, and the product's ability to be recycled at the end of their useful life.
6. Carbon offsetting is implemented when applicable and is proportional to the level of the business travel.
7. Pollution is prevented in all forms whenever possible.
8. All incidents detrimental to the environment are reported, investigated, and action is taken to prevent reoccurrence.
9. HME is committed to continuing to improve our environmental performance through regular environmental policy reviews.
10. We factor the cost of carbon into all significant procurement and expansion decisions.

HME is committed to working closely with our First Nations Communities, on whose traditional land we have the honor of operating our business. Our commitment is three-fold based on the following principles:

1. Respect
2. Advocacy
3. Reconciliation

Respect

Key to our commitment to First Nations Communities is respect. While working on First Nations Land, we operate our business through an Indigenous-Led approach. We respect the sovereignty of the First Nations Governments and actively take direction from First Nations Communities regarding the support and equipment their community members may require. In addition, we respect the traditions and culture of the First Nations communities. Therefore, we aim to provide culturally sensitive care through the provision of essential medical equipment for all community members.

Advocacy

We will work to advocate alongside our First Nations partners to government funding agencies to ensure that First Nation’s community members receive the most appropriate medical equipment to ensure that all Indigenous communities have better health outcomes.

Reconciliation

HME is committed to reconciliation with First Nations Communities through the education of our staff on the historical injustices that many Indigenous persons faced. All HME staff complete cultural-sensitive care training through the certified completion of the Aboriginal Health: For the Next Seven Generations for the Children program.