From summer student to Chemical Technologist, Rebecca promotes sustainable practices in corporate sustainability at our corporate Central Laboratory.
Meet Rebecca Schalike, Chemical Technologist, on the Food Safety and Quality Assurance team at our corporate Central Laboratory. Rebecca’s journey at Maple Leaf Foods began back in 2014 when she joined our organization as a summer student. Since then, the past decade of Rebecca’s career here has been filled with invigoration and a strong passion for sustainability.
Working at Maple Leaf Foods allows Rebecca the ability to bring her background in forensic science into the meaningful work she does every day at the company. She takes pride in being able to provide safe food to consumers in communities across the country. She’s also fond of the opportunity to help build better communities through our Raise the Good in the Neighbourhood program which lets our people volunteer and give back time in their community in a way that resonates for them.
Outside of work, Rebecca is a cat mom to Meeko and Rosco, who she says keep her and her fiancé on their toes.
Rebecca is a Sustainability Hero both at work and at home — she lives and breathes sustainable solutions to help protect our planet for future generations! Read on to learn more.
What brought you to Maple Leaf Foods and what has made you stay?
I started with Maple Leaf Foods as a summer student working in the Hot Dog department on the line at the old Courtland Ave. facility in Kitchener. Since then, I’ve had a few roles as a summer student in different facilities across the network. One summer, I worked in Quality Assurance (QA) as a lab technician for the Lagimodiere plant out in Winnipeg, Manitoba. My first full-time role with Maple Leaf Foods was at the canned meats facility in Mississauga, Ontario, working as a QA technician.
Eventually in 2021, I transitioned to where I am now — the Central Laboratory in Puslinch, Ontario.
The reason I’ve stayed is that I’m really driven by Maple Leaf Foods’ Leadership Values, and I find that they align very strongly with my own personal values. I’ve really enjoyed my time working here and being a part of a team that takes those Values seriously.
What role, if any, does Sustainability play in your job in Food Safety/QA?
I’m really happy to be able to say that I’ve helped our team at the Central Lab achieve the highest tier of “Green” certification through the My Green Lab program, which is an accredited program that’s recognized for laboratory sustainability.
Here at the lab, we have a sustainability committee of our own that tackles different projects throughout the year in different areas, whether that’s waste, energy, water, and more.
Last year, I helped to conduct a waste audit as waste reduction is the category I’m most involved with. That was a really big project, but we gained a lot of insight from it. Now this year, I’m helping to work on implementing further waste reduction through the information and data that we gained.
What does sustainability at Maple Leaf Foods mean to you?
Sustainability at Maple Leaf Foods, to me, means taking a holistic approach to support the integrity and the longevity of not only our planet, but also our communities.
By holistic, I mean from the farm all the way to our consumers. We can do this by being leaders in providing safe, nutritious food and doing that through sustainable processes and integrating eco-conscious decisions into our everyday operations.
Every action we take and every decision we make is an opportunity to engage better with our communities and partners to battle ongoing issues surrounding food insecurity in Canada, which goes hand-in-hand with the changing climate as well.
Of course, I’m proud to work for a company striving for continual improvement to achieve our bold goal of becoming the most sustainable protein company on Earth.
How do you practice sustainability in your everyday life – inside and outside of work?
Here at the Lab, we have a recycling program that I proudly helped to implement. We have all sorts of sustainability initiatives, such as changing over all of our lighting to LED, and running a battery, printer ink, and pen recycling program. Being part of those various programs is really how I get involved with sustainability in the workplace.
What I do at home that can extend into work is being mindful of my own lunches. For example, I try to make them as little waste or zero waste whenever possible.
Outside of work, I love nature and getting outdoors to go hiking, camping, walking, and gardening. I participate in recycling and waste reduction programs at home. While we have our local recycling program, we also try to reduce waste in our household whenever possible. We do that by consciously purchasing from local and sustainable product providers in our communities, whether it be for shampoo, clothing, or more. I also make my own fertilizer at home using what would be organic waste — particularly fruit or vegetable peels.
And of course, like most homes, my fiancé and I are very strict about turning off the lights when not needed, saving water by turning the tap off while we’re brushing our teeth, and unplugging appliances when not in use.
Are there any sustainability projects you’re currently working on that you can share details about?
Here at the Lab, we receive a lot of samples that must be kept chilled. So, I’m helping our sustainability team to investigate the possibility of using eco-friendly ice packs for shipping out items which would be a sustainable alternative for a cooler instead of Styrofoam.
The other project that I’m really excited about is supporting the corporate sustainability team with enhancing sustainability culture and engagement throughout the Maple Leaf Foods network. There’s a lot of potential there in educating and engaging our Team Members about embedding sustainability into their everyday operations.
What do you hope for the future of sustainability at Maple Leaf Foods?
I really hope that Maple Leaf Foods can spearhead the breakdown of silos not only within our own network, but in the broader food industry, continue to share best practices, and collaborate with others to enhance sustainability in the global food industry.
I truly believe that our Vision is achievable — we can be the most sustainable protein company on Earth. It’s a bold goal, and no doubt there’s going to be hurdles that we must overcome, but I’m a strong believer that anything that’s worthwhile is not without its challenges.
As a company, if we embody the Maple Leaf Foods Values, we can be leaders in providing better food for stronger communities and a healthier planet.
