Future-proof Your Business. Invest in Nature.
Businesses and institutions have a unique opportunity to lead the way toward a more resilient future when they landscape their property more sustainably.
Transitioning from conventional to sustainable landscaping can reduce the risk of property damage from flooding and extreme weather, improve water quality, enhance the local environment by creating healthy habitat for wildlife, lower maintenance costs, and improve employee health and wellbeing.
New opportunity: Save money on your water bill
Greening Corporate Grounds has partnered with the City of Mississauga to help Mississauga businesses save money on their stormwater charge, which appears on the Region of Peel water bill. Learn if your business qualifies.
Start with a Sustainable Landscaping Assessment and Action Plan
Every property is different. We work with you to develop an action plan that’s suited to your site conditions, reflects your vision and works within your budget.
What’s Included:
- Initial consultation
- On-site assessment and analysis of your property’s current conditions
- Detailed Sustainable Landscaping Action Plan based on property assessment
- Maintenance training for landscape contractors and facility managers
- Ongoing support and technical guidance to help plan your projects
- Project recognition signage
- Access to additional design services and educational opportunities, like planting plans, design charrettes, workshops and webinars, and employee engagement activities
Thanks to the generous support of our municipal partners, we’re able to offer our Sustainable Landscaping Assessment and Action Plan free of charge to businesses, institutions and places of worship in the Credit River Watershed.
Opportunities for Businesses and Institutions
Find inspiration for your sustainable landscape by exploring some of the opportunities and services available to you.
Butterflies, birds, amphibians and small mammals rely on urban green space for food, shelter and safe passage between habitats. Enhancing your property to support wildlife protects biodiversity. It also brings delight to the workplace as colourful birds and butterflies dance outside office windows.
Creating habitat can be as simple as installing a habitat structure, like a bird or bat box, or planting a native plant pollinator garden. It can also include planting a native grassland or meadow or a living snow fence. There’s an opportunity for every property.
Trees provide shade, add aesthetic appeal and create habitat for wildlife. They also prevent erosion, help reduce flood risk and improve air and water quality. Along with native trees and shrubs, native wildflower gardens are a beautiful addition to any property. They provide food for birds and support pollinators like butterflies and bees. We can help you determine where and what to plant to best suit your property’s conditions, your vision and your budget.
Habitat, overtaking well-tended gardens, and lowering your property value. Our invasive species experts can identify invasive plant species on your property and create a customized removal plan. We also provide technical information to your preferred contractor. Once the species are removed, we can explore restoration projects that will benefit your property.
Protect the natural diversity of your property by managing and removing invasive species. Our invasive species experts will identify invasive plant species on your property and create a custom removal plan. We also provide management advice and technical information to your volunteers or preferred contractor. Learn more about invasive species or connect with us to discuss next steps.
Once you’ve completed a Sustainable Landscaping Assessment and Action Plan, you gain access to opportunities to engage employees in nature-based team-building activities on your property.
Build morale, foster stewardship and demonstrate your organization’s commitment to the community and the environment. Studies have shown employees want to see genuine corporate commitment to sustainability. Show them you care by choosing up to three of our activities to create a hands-on experience. We offer planting and maintenance events, citizen science mini-expeditions, interpretive walks, and more. View the full list of activities, then connect with one of our specialists to get started.
Employee well-being benefits from being active outdoors and engaging with nature. COVID-19 has increased the urgency and interest in re-imagining the spaces in which we work, live and play to protect and promote human health.
Apply active design principles to your corporate landscape. It pays dividends in the form of increased productivity and employee retention.
Funding opportunities may be available to support sustainable landscaping or stormwater management projects on your property. Our Greening Corporate Grounds specialist will be able to determine what opportunities are available to support your projects.
Fluctuating temperatures and extreme weather events have the potential to increase flood risk, damage property and jeopardize insurance coverage. Low impact development technologies can reduce flood risk, reduce run-off pollution, and improve water quality.
Choose from quick and easy short-term solutions, like disconnecting downspouts, or larger long-term projects like installing permeable paving or green roofs. We can help you determine which technologies are right for you.
Conventional parking lots direct polluted run-off to lakes, rivers and streams. They can flood or crack and buckle due to frost heave. It’s expensive to maintain and replace.
If you’re in the market for a new parking lot, consider a more sustainable option like permeable paving. Permeable paving allows water to filter into the ground from the surface. It reduces run-off, prevents ponding and ice build up. To learn more about your options, connect with a Greening Corporate Grounds specialist.
Every business and organization generates pollution. Pollution isn’t just air pollutants like carbon dioxide or oil from trucking bays. It also includes road salt, organic and inorganic dumpster effluent, and landscaping and grounds care sediment and debris.
Pollution management on your property is required by city by-law. We can help you assess potential pollution risks and provide guidance to help you create a plan for managing pollution on your property.
Winter maintenance can be costly. When not managed sustainably, it can cause damage to your property, create risk for human injury and harm the environment. There are many opportunities to help you reduce environmental harm and conventional maintenance costs, such as reducing road salt use, retrofitting parking lots with permeable paving, or planting living snow fences. Watch our webinar on sustainable winter maintenance then connect with us to learn how to create a winter maintenance plan for your property.
When you undertake a sustainable landscaping property assessment with us, you get access to additional design services on a fee-for-service basis to help take you from planning to action.
Artistically Rendered Concept Plan
For project planning, stakeholder presentations and promotional material.
Corporate Fees: $700 – 1,000
Institutional Fees: $400 – 700
Planting Plans
Custom native planting plans that can be implemented by contractors or volunteers.
Corporate Fees: $250 – 300
Institutional Fees: $150 – 250
Design Charrette
A collaborative design session that engages participants in the development of their site plan and provides immediate feedback to the designers. This is a half-day facilitated workshop for up to 12 people.
Corporate Fees: $750
Institutional Fees: $450
Nature @ Work Employee Engagement Events
A half-day event including planting and maintenance activities, habitat structure building, or citizen science mini-explorations.
Corporate Fees: 10 to 20 people $750; 20 to 50 people, $1,500
Institutional Fees: Waived.
Program Sign
Interpretive Signage
Identifies the project, environmental and social benefits, and species or features of interest.
Corporate and Institutional Fees: 50% cost subsidy up to $500
Project Showcase
See how sustainability leaders across the watershed have enhanced their properties with Greening Corporate Grounds.
On-campus Commitment to Climate Change Resilience Sheridan College is committed to sustainability both in theory and in practice. […]
Connecting Community, Congregation and Climate Change CrossPoint Christian Reformed Church sits near the corner of Steeles Ave W […]
Over 1,500 native wildflowers stand as a testament to Solel Congregation’s deep-rooted compassion and commitment to providing a nurturing […]
Our Partners and Supporters
Upcoming Events
Greening Corporate Grounds News
Get your Business Flood Ready Is your business at risk of flooding? Businesses within the TRCA jurisdiction of […]
Jumping worms – Amynthas spp., Metaphire spp., Pheretima spp. Jumping worms are invasive earthworms most likely to be […]
Trees play a vital role in cooling cities, reducing carbon dioxide, supporting wildlife and enhancing air quality. They’re […]
Get Started
Let’s talk about sustainability on your property. Get started with a Sustainable Landscaping Assessment and Action Plan.
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Review Helpful Documents
- Invasive Species
- Native Plant Gardening
- Pollution Prevention
- Wildlife Habitat
- Best Practice Factsheets
More Resources
Take Sustainability Outside
Learn how sustainable landscaping reduces conventional property maintenance costs.
Subscribe to the Green Brief
Learn how to build corporate environmental sustainability through sustainable landscaping on your property.
Program Eligibility
Private businesses and institutions in the Credit River Watershed are eligible for our programs. Use our property look up tool to check to see if you’re eligible.