EnviroMail 31 Canada Update 3 - Climate Change and Sustainability Outcomes at ALS Canada

ALS tracks and targets Scope 1 & 2 emission reductions as part of our sustainability plan and to assist our customer aspirations in reducing their Scope 3 GHGEs. For the year ended March 2023, Canada Environmental has achieved a record 49.3% reduction in absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions from baseline, and an intensity reduction of approximately 60%.

In 2021, the ALS Board approved a Sustainability Strategy that included a target to reduce Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions intensity by 40% by 2030, against a FY2020 baseline. This target has now been substantially exceeded in the Canada Environmental business.

We are excited to confirm that a new climate change vision and Net Zero target will be announced in conjunction with the release of the ALS Annual Sustainability Report in June 2023.

Sustainability and Carbon Emission Reductions at ALS Canada Environmental

The Canada team set an ambitious goal of achieving the Scope 1 and 2 40% intensity reductions by FYE 2027 – well ahead of the ALS Group target date. The Canada plan is named Project Milne, in reference to the Milne Ice shelf which collapsed in July 2020.

The team have completed a myriad of projects addressing electricity consumption, gas heating, and vehicles. This includes adopting a divisional policy of moving to electric or hybrid vehicles. The first fully electric sample pickup van is in use in Vancouver, and every business region in Canada now has hybrid or electric vehicles.

Prior to the ALS company decision to purchase > 90% renewable electricity globally, Canada Environmental was on track to reduce carbon intensity by 40% within four years, however with renewable electricity in place, we have far exceeded this target. This intensity decline does not include the GHGE reductions achieved from 2018/19 prior to our company reference baseline of FY2020.

We recognize the need to continue the reduction of our carbon footprint, which will assist our customers with their Scope 3 reduction aspirations, where together we will be contributing to the global effort to limit global warming to < 1.5° C.

 

New Climate Change Projects

In addition to vehicles, ALS has several exciting projects underway that impact Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. New technology in instrumentation, further building investment/upgrade projects, and new engineering projects are underway, adopting lessons learnt from our European peers.

In addition, our team has mapped ALS Canada’s plastic consumables usage, and determined that we have over 100 major consumable items (mostly single-use), with a total annual consumption of more than 10 million pieces and 104 tonnes.

Plastic and glass recycling has occurred at ALS for many years and significant plastic reductions have been achieved in recent years with miniaturization. That aside, every bit counts, and many new projects are underway, targeting a further 10% reduction in annual plastic usage this year in support of Scope 3 emission reductions.

The ALS Canada team would like to thank our clients for their ongoing support as we continue to reduce our emissions, miniaturize, promote safety best practice, move to smaller coolers and bottles, and deliver safety and sustainability.

ALS Recognition

The Canada environmental team is one of many globally, with approximately 800 staff out of a total of 18,500 employees across the ALS Group. The efforts, discipline, and outcomes over the last four years of tracking (and prior through sample miniaturization) have recently been acknowledged with this team awarded the inaugural annual ALS Climate Change Award for leadership in absolute emission reductions. This award has been proudly received by the Canada team, one of 68 finalists across four global awards in the ESG space around safety, sustainability, and community.

We look forward to updating this EnviroMail again next year to share the progress and outcomes of our ALS sustainability journey.

The ALS Environmental Canada team wins the 2023 Climate Change Award.
 

For further information on sustainability please contact ESGCanadaEnviro@alsglobal.com.

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