The people who make a difference

2,500 years ago, Greek historian Herodotus said, “Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these courageous couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds,” and to which list, in 2022, Canada Post is adding “climate change”. Determined to be part of the solution, with leadership from the very top, Canada Post is one of the largest corporations in Canada to lay out a comprehensive plan to get to net-zero by 2050, with many interim targets along the way – and progress well underway. These include increasing measurement and disclosures, submitting targets to the Science-Based Targets initiative, and announcing a $1B investment to reduce Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 50% within 8 years, transforming their 14,000 vehicle fleet to 50% electric by 2030 and 100% by 2040, and building new net-zero carbon buildings – alongside a plan to upgrade and deep-green retrofit thousands of buildings across Canada. Other plans already well underway include implementation of a zero-waste plan to phase out unnecessary single-use plastics by 2022, diverting 90% of non-hazardous operational waste, construction, and demolition waste by 2030, and replacing virgin plastic packaging with sustainable materials. Innovation plays a key role and the Crown corporation is working with its four unions as they explore new delivery transportation (e.g., e-trikes), adopt sustainable packaging, and provide a $500k annual investment fund for employees to propose sustainability-focused projects, in addition to a $5M Sustainability Innovation Fund.

The Clean50 Individual awards are selected from 16 diverse categories that transcend industries, academia, different levels of government, thought leaders and advocates, and are based on accomplishments delivered over the prior two years.