Canadian Pacific Railway Limited published its first comprehensive Climate Strategy, charting a path to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt CP operations to the physical risks of climate change and further position CP as a leader in the transportation sector’s transition to a low-carbon future.
“CP’s Climate Strategy is ambitious, which we feel appropriately reflects the urgency of the fight against climate change. We look forward to collaborating with government, industry and research partners to create and test the new solutions required to achieve our targets,” said Keith Creel, CP President and Chief Executive Officer. “CP has been in business for 140 years and this collective commitment to sustainability and willingness to integrate new approaches will ensure we have a future as bright as our past.”
Building on CP’s Climate Change Commitment announced last year, CP’s Climate Strategy outlines the company’s approach to drive innovative climate action and a measured response to emerging climate-related risks impacting the rail sector. The Climate Strategy outlines CP’s objectives across five strategic pillars:
To guide implementation of the Climate Strategy, CP has established two science-based emissions reduction targets that address 100 percent of CP’s Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, and more than half of Scope 3 emissions.
These targets are based on the most current methodology available to the transportation sector through the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) with CP’s locomotive target recently approved by SBTi.
CP’s Climate Strategy, and supporting science-based emissions reduction targets, have been developed in alignment with the goals of the Paris Agreement and the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, which seek to limit global temperature increases to well below 2°C. Through this Climate Strategy, CP is taking an industry-leading approach to climate change that addresses impacts to the company, stakeholders and the environment.
CP has already taken significant steps to reduce GHG emissions, including installing a large solar farm at its Calgary corporate campus capable of generating more power than consumed annually by the main headquarters building. CP has also initiated a pioneering hydrogen locomotive program, and is currently building a hydrogen-powered locomotive using fuel cells and batteries to power the locomotives’ electric traction motors. This initiative is important to generate critical industry knowledge and experience that will inform future development while supporting CP’s emissions reduction targets.
As part of CP’s overall Sustainably Driven strategy, the company participates in leading sustainability disclosure frameworks including CDP, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). Aligned with these frameworks, CP will continue to disclose annual emissions, management practices and ongoing energy efficiency initiatives, and commencing in 2022 will report to its shareholders on its progress on the Climate Strategy.
CP recently received World Finance’s 2021 Sustainability Award for Transportation and was recognized as one of Canada’s 2021 Best 50 Corporate Citizens by Corporate Knights. For more information about CP’s sustainability practices and initiatives, visit sustainability.cpr.ca