Progressing on Our Path to a Zero-Waste Experience
As part of the various initiatives we’ve put in place to reduce our environmental footprint, our goal is to offer our passengers a zero-waste experience on our new Québec City-Windsor corridor fleet by 2025. And since the unveiling of our sustainability plan in April 2022, much action and progress has been made in this regard.
By focusing on the reduction of packaging and materials in Business and Economy classes and on the improvement of waste collection on board our trains and in our facilities, our passengers can already experience the various changes we brought on board our current fleet, which allows us to have an immediate impact on our overall waste reduction.
What enters the train: Reduce packaging and materials
- New plastic cups, resulting in a 25% decrease in plastic use
- Reduction of sandwich packaging, one of our top-selling products, saving more than six tons of waste annually in Economy class
- Switching to bamboo cocktail stir sticks instead of plastic ones
What happens on the train: Improve collection on board
- Completion of in-class training of more than 70% employees working on board trains to improve recycling and prepare for the zero-waste objective
- Continuous testing of collection equipment on board
What leaves the train: Optimize material collection in facilities
- Integration of sustainability criteria and requirements in waste collection contracts
- Initiating the review of waste drop-off sites to improve waste valorization
The arrival of our new fleet also brings new opportunities. Thanks to a redesigned configuration of the galleys and service carts, we will introduce reusable glassware and water pitchers in Business class as each new train enters service. This is in addition to the reusable cutlery and dishware already used in Business class on our current fleet and will allow us to save more than 2 tons of plastic bottles.
The changes we’ve put in place so far are just the beginning and as we continue to advance on our path to a zero-waste experience, we’ll provide more updates on our various channels! In the meantime, you can find our five-year plan sustainability plan here to learn more about what else we are doing on the environmental, social and governance fronts.