FEED Autumn 2023 Web

CANADIAN COLLABORATION

The announcement in June that CBC/Radio-Canada is one of 22 Canadian broadcasters uniting to form Canadian Broadcasters for Sustainability, a group bringing together broadcasters from different linguistic and regional markets across Canada with the goal of combatting climate change, is the latest milestone in what has been an eventful recent sustainability journey. Indeed, in the same month, the broadcaster marked the second anniversary of Greening Our Story, a five-year environmental strategy – culminating in 2026 – whose objective is to take a leading role in advancing sustainable production practices in the country’s media industry. Among other measures, the plan committed the broadcaster to measuring the carbon footprint of 100% of its in- house productions using the Albert calculator (see our next section), ensuring at least 25% of in-house productions are ‘Albert-certified’ as sustainable, and measuring the carbon footprint of 50% of external productions using Albert. The latest full update – issued in December 2022 – indicates that the broadcaster is making good progress. Carbon emissions have been reduced by 11%, while energy and water consumption are down by 10.5% and 11% respectively. Already,

32% of in-house productions used the Albert calculator, while fuel-efficient or alternative-energy vehicles make up 27% of the fleet. Athena Trastelis, senior manager for environmental sustainability at CBC/Radio-Canada, says that the company is now devising sustainable procurement guidance which will help promote goods and suppliers with sustainability programmes. At the end of the five-year period, she notes: “We want there to be the ability for key suppliers to measure their emissions, share that information with us to get more accurate readings of how it all relates to Scope 3, and then work with them to set carbon reduction targets and net zero plans. We want to make it possible for us to all be on a common path together.” Invited to consider the industry’s overall progress towards a greener future, she confirms that certain organisations are ‘further along the road than others,’ but overall strikes an optimistic note. “Engagement has been super high – and I am really excited and proud about that,” she enthuses. “People want to get involved and see that it’s not about competition between organisations. We all have a common purpose and goal here, which is how to reduce emissions, get to net zero and be responsible eco-citizens of the world.”

WE WANT TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO ALL BE ON A COMMON PATH TOGETHER

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