At TransLink, we’re committed to fostering the development of a sustainable transportation system that aims to meet the needs of people, organizations, and businesses, and promotes the ecological, economic and social well-being of Metro Vancouver and beyond.
Our Sustainability Policy articulates TransLink’s commitment to making sustainability a key factor in all our strategies, plans, business practices, decisions, and operations.
TransLink is taking climate action: in December 2022, we adopted our Climate Action Planthat outlines steps we’ll take between 2023 and 2025. The plan builds on our Climate Action Strategy, which was first adopted in January 2022 and sets the direction to 2050 for our fleet and operations.
We’re also working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout regional transportation.
Transit-Friendly Employer is a new certification program offered by TransLink. It recognizes leading organizations for making employee travel easy, affordable, and climate friendly.
Our Climate Action Plan (CAP), adopted December 2022, sets specific actions we’ll take over the next three years in order to achieve our long-term targets. This plan will be revised periodically to help keep us on track. Access the CAP:
The Climate Action Strategy (CAS), adopted January 2022, integrates climate action in the enterprise, and sets out how we will move to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and a more climate-resilient transit system by 2050. It also sets an interim GHG reduction target of 45% by 2030 (relative to 2010 levels). Access the CAS:
We’ve adopted a Low Carbon Fleet Strategy which will chart our transition towards a zero-emission bus fleet over the next 18-years.
We’ve developed an enterprise-wide Facilities Renewable Energy Plan which includes an analysis of energy conservation at our facilities, opportunities to fuel switch from natural gas to electricity, and options for on-site renewable energy generation.
We’re undertaking a SeaBus propulsion feasibility study to look at how an electric SeaBus could reduce GHG emissions by more than 85 per cent compared to a diesel SeaBus, and save over 500,000 litres of diesel fuel annually.
We strive to create a culture of energy conservation. Our energy management programs monitor consumption and identify and maximize efficiency opportunities. These programs resulted in a 2 per cent decrease in overall energy consumption at our facilities in 2019 and over 5,600 tonnes of GHG emissions eliminated at CMBC over the past 10 years.
Already, half of our bus fleet uses lower-carbon emission technologies, including electric trolley, hybrid-diesel, and compressed-natural gas buses.
Switching from diesel to hybrid buses reduces GHG emissions by 20 per cent and moving to compressed natural gas from diesel reduces GHG emissions by 10 per cent. We are transitioning to our natural gas with 100% renewable natural gas by 2024. This will reduce our GHG emissions from our natural gas fleet by 80 per cent compared to diesel.
Our 2.5-year Battery-Electric Bus Pilot is part of a pan-Canadian partnership between TransLink, the Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC), the Government of Canada, and BC Hydro. Four battery-electric buses will reduce overall GHG emissions by almost 7,000 tonnes throughout their expected life.
Through our Carbon Offset Program, TransLink gained over $5.0 million in revenue from carbon credits associated with using lower carbon intensity fuels, which is being invested in improving service for our customers.
Our new strategy will help leverage our supply chain in support of collective sustainability goals. Sustainable procurement integrates social and environmental priorities – alongside financial considerations – into the selection of goods, services, suppliers, and the management of contracts.
We have continually decreased our fleet Criteria Air Contaminant (CAC) emissions per boarded passenger over the past five years. By retiring older diesel buses and replacing them with cleaner technologies we have reduced our CAC emissions by 65 per cent since 2016.
TransLink's head office is located in a LEED-certified building, meaning that it utilizes best-in-class building practices to minimize our environmental footprint, save money and resources, create a positive impact on the health of occupants, and promote renewable, clean energy.
BCRTC’s five-year environmental management plan and CMBC’s Environmental Management System guide informed decision-making and effective risk management.
We continue to implement water treatment and conservation measures at our facilities, including state-of-the-art ultra-filtration treatment plants, bus wash water recycling systems, safe wastewater discharge systems, and 50 per cent reductions in bus washing in summer to align with the region’s water conservation efforts.
Our waste and recycling programs aim to reduce our consumption of natural resources, prevent pollution, and minimize landfill space. Initiatives include waste audits and collection and recycling of various wastes, such as operator bus seats.
Commitments
We’re accountable to the public for ensuring we remain financially viable and make economical use of our revenue sources. The South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Act (SCBCTA Act) requires TransLink to develop an investment plan that identifies planned transportation services, initiatives, and major capital investments for the next 10 years.
Progress
Through sustainable financial management, we create the stability needed for successful long-term planning:
TransLink demonstrates its responsibility and accountability as a public-sector organization by tracking progress in our measures, assessing and mitigating risk, and reporting performance.
We have a diversification of revenue sources to help us weather any changes to the economy and to give us the capacity to deliver stable and predictable transportation services.
To manage and mitigate financial risks, we have developed Financial Risk and Debt Management Policies. These are reviewed annually by TransLink’s Finance & Audit Committee to ensure alignment with changing market conditions, technology, evolving regulatory standards, and best practices.
With our name and stable credit ratings, TransLink is currently the only transportation agency in Canada to issue bonds directly through the Canadian debt capital markets as a way of raising financing. TransLink is the first transit agency in Canada to issue green bonds, which are used to finance the current expansion of our system. Green bonds give investors the opportunity to invest their money in green and low-carbon projects – for example, battery-electric buses.
TransLink developed a Green Bond Framework to set out the guidelines for the issuance of green bonds.
TransLink is currently implementing a fully integrated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) system to better monitor and manage financial resources and physical assets.
Commitments
As a responsible member of the community, we’re committed to:
Working with our stakeholders and community partners to foster the livability, sustainability, and resilience of our region and provide leadership for developing and enhancing our transportation system.
Conducting transparent, inclusive, and respectful consultations with our stakeholders and the public to obtain meaningful input into TransLink activities.
Encouraging and recognizing the efforts of employees, subsidiaries, service contractors, and partners for their sustainability practices and innovations.
As an employer, we’ll provide a safe and healthy workplace and cultivate an equitable, diverse, inclusive, and respectful environment.
Progress
To address the transportation challenges of our region, the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation adopted Transport 2050 and the 10-Year Priorities to keep our region moving over the next decade.
TransLink has worked diligently to develop a full, inclusive public consultation approach to its plans and projects, which is outlined in our Principles for Public Consultation and Engagement.
Our Supplier Code of Conduct strongly encourages suppliers to demonstrate sustainability, leadership, and innovation, while promoting best practices and continuous improvement throughout their operations.
As beacons for our community, our employees support many organizations throughout the year on a continuous or one-time basis.
We’re working on gathering data on our employees’ sentiments around equity, diversity, and inclusion in our work environment to get a better understanding of where we stand and what we can focus on in the future.
We provide all employees with Respectful Workplace Training and offer health and wellness programs and initiatives.
Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement
We’re one of only five North American transit agencies recognized by the American Public Transportation Association for the strength of our sustainability commitments. Since 2015, we’ve been a platinum level signatory based on our commitment to a core set of actions on sustainability that include:
Making sustainability part of our strategic objectives
Fostering and resourcing “sustainability champions” within our organization
Engaging team members to work toward environmental goals
Including an ongoing sustainability inventory of our environmental impacts
Providing services that contribute to sustainability
To support the commitments, we’ve made under APTA, we apply principles of an Environmental Management System (EMS) across our organization. This EMS helps guide informed decision‐making, enabling us to provide cleaner, more sustainable transportation choices in the region.
Greenest Employer Award
Our efforts were recognized on the list of Canada’s Greenest Employers in 2018, 2019, and 2020. TransLink works hard to create a culture of environmental awareness in our organization and to minimize the environmental impact of our operations.
Our annual Accountability Report combines information about our financial performance, people practices and sustainability, reflecting how we make decisions based on a number of factors. We also share our performance highlights through TransLink’s Accountability Centre.
We are always looking for feedback. Let us know what you think at sustainability@translink.ca.