Progress in Progress

Breaking Barriers

Your Stories, Taken to Heart

Indigenous Strategy

Greening our Story

OUR ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGY

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A message from:
Catherine Tait

President and CEO

"The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say - we will never forgive you."

- Greta Thunberg - UN Climate Summit, New York, 23 September 2019

Greening Our Story is CBC/Radio‑Canada's answer to the global call for responsible and meaningful action on climate change. We know that a majority of Canadians rank climate change or global warming as a serious issue for the country. At the public broadcaster, we've also heard from our employees who believe that working for an environmentally progressive institution is important to them.

Greening Our Story is an opportunity to transform CBC/Radio‑Canada into a world class, sustainable public service media company. Why is that important? Because our greatest asset is the trust that Canadians have in their public broadcaster. Critical to that trust is delivering on our commitment to environmental sustainability, something we know Canadians care about. This new five-year strategy builds on our environmental work to date and takes our aspirations to the next level. It accelerates our commitments and encompasses everything we do: from how we produce our content, how we operate our business, and how we make the choices to avoid waste, to reduce our energy consumption and to limit our carbon footprint.

For over ten years, CBC/Radio‑Canada has reported to Canadians on our work to cut waste and reduce our negative impact on the environment. Some notable initiatives include our e-waste management, the conversion to LED lighting in our studios and the more recent introduction of electric and hybrid models to our fleet of vehicles. And even the beehives on our rooftops! Now is the time to step up our efforts and to set more ambitious goals for the organization.

We know that the targets presented in this five-year plan are a critical first step - and they are just the beginning of our sustainability journey. We've established concrete goals to reduce our carbon footprint and we will be measuring and reporting on our progress. We're adopting best practices, aligning ourselves with international efforts like the Paris Accord, and, most importantly, sharing our progress and results with Canadians and our employees.

As the nation's public broadcaster, we hold ourselves to a higher standard and we welcome this opportunity to take a leadership role in the commitment to Greening Our Story. Our aspiration is to surpass the targets set in this five-year plan, and to engage Canadians and employees in our commitment to building an environmentally sustainable public broadcaster.

Our targets
by 2026

Fleet

50%
fuel efficient or alternative energy

Of these, minimum
20%
being alternative energy
(electric or hybrid)

Energy

Reduce by
15%

Waste and recycling

0
waste goal

75%
diversion rate

No single use plastic in 2022

Independent productions

50%
using the carbon calculator

Procurement

Responsible procurement policies
25%
of the Request for Proposal (RFP) solicitations will contain sustainability criteria

Carbon emissions

Reduce by
25%

Establish our carbon footprint using Greenhouse Gas Protocol by 2022

Water

Reduce by
10%

In-house productions

100%
using the carbon calculator

25%
of these, albert certified

Travel

Reduce by
25%

Responsible travel policies

For details regarding the target scope, methodology and boundaries, refer to the latest Annual Environmental Sustainability Report.

Producting sustainably

3,2,1 action

We will produce and license content without doing harm and advance sustainable production in Canada.

Young girl hugging a tree

1. PRODUCING SUSTAINABLY

Proud to play our part

In-house productions will calculate their carbon footprint, actively use environmental tools and best practices, engage in improved sustainable production workflows, set zero-waste goals, and seek opportunities for continual improvement.

Spreading the message

We will engage with external productions and independent producers who develop content for us and share best practices in alignment with our environmental goals.

Green work takes teamwork

We will lead and collaborate with industry partners and associations to support our environmental objectives and advance sustainable production practices in the Canadian media industry.

Our Strategy is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These goals represent an action plan for the planet and society to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. For more information check out: https://sdgs.un.org/goals.

A light footprint

We commit to enabling low-carbon, efficient work environments across our activities, operations and decision-making, reducing our travel, consuming as few resources as possible and minimizing waste.

Landfill site, plastic in the ocean and a factory, and a beautiful landscape with mountains and a lake

2. A LIGHT FOOTPRINT

Fuel and energy

The greatest at green

We will become an environmental leader in the Canadian broadcasting industry. By 2022, we will establish a 10-year timeline to reduce our energy consumption and carbon emissions in alignment with science-based targets.

For the love of less

We will reduce emissions and energy use by adopting a carbon budget and implementing annual interim goals for areas such as production, fleet management, travel, technology and infrastructure.

Low risk, lots of rewards

We will assess the climate crisis exposure risk of CBC/Radio‑Canada’s owned, leased and managed facilities and assets. We will implement a response plan to ensure risks are mitigated.

Material Use and Waste

Shopping sustainably

We will source responsibly by procuring materials with a lighter carbon footprint. We will track our procurement and use of materials throughout the Corporation and pursue meaningful targets to reduce consumption.

Towards zero waste

We will continue to reduce our landfill waste by adopting circular approaches to our material consumption. We will reuse materials, set a framework for zero waste, as well as aggressive recycling and composting programs by fiscal year 2023.

Making the most of materials

We will ensure a safe and responsible end of life for materials we have used and favour a circular product lifecycle. We will audit our chemicals, electronics and other hazardous waste disposal processes by 2022 and set targets for reductions.

Tracking our impact

We will assess downstream vendors We to ensure they meet our targets for reduction.

Scripting a new path

We will accelerate positive impact through collective action by enabling our employees and partners to be agents of change. We will do this by embedding environmental sustainability as a key value through which our work is carried out, informing and training our employees, and engaging our partners to implement the required changes.

A parent and a child walking in the forest, holding hands

3. SCRIPTING A NEW PATH

Internal Processes

Total transparency

We will establish our baseline by adapting and expanding our annual Environmental Performance Report in alignment with globally used tools to produce a comprehensive picture of our current carbon emissions and energy use.

All in on the environment

In 2021, our new corporate Environmental Sustainability Policy will provide direction and guidance to employees. We will revise all corporate policies to promote mutually supporting documents and processes for anticipated environmental outcomes.

It's our job to help the planet

We will adopt our corporate sustainability mission, vision and values throughout relevant internal and/or external documents, including the Environmental Sustainability Policy.

Green across the board

We will embed environmental roles and responsibilities across all departments and business divisions, including at the Executive level, by 2022, keeping us accountable and in line with our corporate values of integrity and relevance.

Working with others

Leading by example

We will review and update procurement practices to enhance opportunities and selection of vendors who have implemented environmental policies and practices. We will encourage the requirement that vendors implement environmental policies and practices.

Impact where it matters

We will establish procurement criteria to factor sustainable sources and favour the prioritization of products that have an optimum environmental impact, where applicable.

Seizing every opportunity

We will amplify solutions and leverage opportunities for change by implementing a phased External Stakeholder Engagement Plan by 2022.

Communicating and Training

Learning by doing

Employees will be provided with education and training opportunities that support sustainable outcomes. This will enable our employees to be inspired, informed and act creatively and responsibly in implementing this strategy.

Growing greener together

We will implement a comprehensive cross-functional communications plan. By 2022, 100% of employees will know about CBC/Radio‑Canada's Greening Our Story Strategy and environmental corporate values, as well as relevant supporting corporate policies and where they can find them.

Shaping our narrative

We will demonstrate leadership and partner with industry stakeholders to amplify solutions by promoting the responsible development of Canadian content, enabling audiences to understand our role and contribution to sustainability, and continuing to showcase our contribution within the communities we serve.

Fir forest and aurora borealis

4. SHAPING OUR NARRATIVE

Sharing our Story

Follow the journey

We will share our environmental footprint journey. In alignment with our values of integrity, relevance and inclusiveness, we will regularly share our actions and progress nationally, regionally and locally.

Connecting with Canadians

We will reflect contemporary Canada by informing Canadians about climate change, related environmental stories and its relevance to their lives.

Engaging communities from coast to coast

We will continue to strengthen and prioritize our local connections in the communities in which we operate. We will contribute to local biodiversity enhancement efforts and encourage pathways for engagement through local programs.

Staying accountable

Reporting the story as it unfolds

We will track key metrics to develop a CBC/Radio‑Canada Environmental Sustainability Report by 2021 in alignment with best practices and publish reports annually to track our progress.

Doing our duty

We will continue to track and report compliance with national, regional and local environmental laws and regulations in all jurisdictions of operations.

Environmental
performance reports

More Info

This strategy was created by CBC/Radio‑Canada’s Sustainability Committee, with members from across all components of the Corporation, in collaboration with Green Spark Group, a sustainable film, television, and commercial production consulting firm.