Resilience and Determination to Serve: The Story of Canada’s No. 2 Construction Battalion
- Feb 16, 2023
- History
A sustainable organization is recognized as one that delivers economic, environmental and social benefits to all its stakeholders, both in the short and long term. The Royal Canadian Mint has a solid foundation in place to be a leader in environmental, social and governance (ESG). As we pursue our ESG journey, we have many opportunities to create additional value for Canada and Canadians by minting with care.
An Environmentally and Socially Responsible Mint
The Mint performs a duty that is essential to Canadians, and we don’t take that responsibility lightly. We use our unique position as Canada’s coin producer to support important causes, shine a light on historical figures and moments, as well as advocate for responsible sourcing in Canada and around the world — all while generating value to the Canadian economy.
The Mint is a recognized Canadian corporate leader in socially and environmentally responsible business practices (with multiple Corporate Knights Top 50 Best Corporate Citizens rankings) and will continue to prioritize its corporate-wide ESG commitment.
We are committed to acting responsibly by minimizing our impact on the environment, cultivating safe and inclusive workplaces and making a positive difference in the communities where we operate.
Message from the President and CEO
“As a Crown corporation and international leader in the minting world, we are committed to being transparent about our ESG journey, sharing successes and also reporting on areas where we have the opportunity to do better.
Through everything we do, we strive to be a performing and caring Mint — environmentally, socially and ethically.”
Marie Lemay
President and CEO
The Royal Canadian Mint is committed to supporting Canada’s adoption of the United Nations 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
We are committed to investing in solutions that lower our carbon footprint, reduce water use and waste, and minimize our environmental impact.
Carbon Emissions & Climate Change
We are committed to developing a healthy, safe and caring workplace for employees, grounded by a culture of inclusion that is reflected in our diverse product offerings, while ensuring equitable access to coinage.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
ESG is foundational to our governance processes and integrated to business performance and accountability.
Responsible Sourcing & Manufacturing
Investments to achieve carbon neutral circulation business by 2030.
Establish and monitor KPIs for manufacturing waste, recycling and composting.
Identify opportunities to reduce water consumption by 5% over 3 years.
0 major incidents.
85% participation in DEI active learning opportunities.
Reduce reportable injury rate year-over-year.
Five development days per employee per year.
Fully implement ESG considerations into contracting lifecycle.
Refinery traceability program in place.
Achieve and maintain industry-leading certifications.
Welcome to the ESG Blog!
This section will be continually updated with articles, photos, videos and more. There will be new content to share in the weeks and month ahead, so be sure to check back often.
The Royal Canadian Mint’s ESG commitment is backed by substantial investments in key initiatives:
In 2022, we successfully recertified our Winnipeg plant and completed preparations for certification of our Ottawa facility.
Having participated in an LBMA-led pilot project to track provenance of gold used in its refining operations, we are applying lessons learned to the implementation of a scalable traceability technology solution for precious metals.
We have a clear roadmap to compliance with reporting requirements associated with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). This includes the integration of climate-related risks and opportunities into business strategies, risk management, and full disclosure of carbon-related metrics and targets, including Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and performance against targets.*
Collaborative R&D projects with McGill University continue on innovative, sustainable processes for separating metals and optimizing chemical reactions. In 2023, the research team will move out of the lab to test their technologies on a bigger scale.
We are committed to making our Winnipeg facility carbon-neutral by 2030. Advances with geothermal technology are already contributing to the achievement of that goal, allowing warm water from deep within the expansive grounds surrounding the facility to be extracted and used in manufacturing operations, reducing natural gas and electricity consumption.
We will identify opportunities to increase participation from Indigenous groups in the precious metals supply ecosystem. We will also evaluate the possibility of adding Canadian gold sourced from artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) to our refinery supply chain.
*The Mint is already well-positioned to begin reporting against many of the recommended TCFD disclosures ahead of its 2024 reporting deadline.