- Bell named GHG Reductions Champion
- Solar cell site project recognized
- Catherine Goyer named one of
Canada's Clean50 leaders for 2023
MONTRÉAL, Oct. 7, 2022
/CNW Telbec/ - Bell announced today that it has been recognized by
Clean50 – a national sustainability organization – for its
commitment to the highest environmental, social and governance
(ESG) standards. Clean50 has named Bell the inaugural GHG
Reductions Champion for achieving meaningful greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions reductions, in addition to recognizing Bell's solar cell
site initiative for its environmental innovation.
Bell has demonstrated its environmental leadership by setting
increasingly ambitious GHG reduction goals since 2017. Clean 50 has
named Bell the inaugural GHG Reductions Champion in recognition of
our success reducing the GHG emissions intensity of our operations.
In 2021, we surpassed our target by an additional 15 percent,
with our GHG emissions per network usage showing
a 55% improvement compared with our 2019
baseline.
Bell's solar-powered remote communication towers initiative was
named one of the Clean50 Top Projects for 2023, ranking it among
the most innovative and inspiring sustainability projects
undertaken in Canada in the last
two years. The project replaces diesel generators with solar
voltaic cells to provide primary power to remote communication
towers and was developed in partnership with Université de
Sherbrooke's Interdisciplinary
Institute for Technological Innovation (3IT) and its
Nanotechnologies and Nanosystems Laboratory (LN2), as well as with
Saint-Augustin Canada Electric Inc. (STACE). The project was
successful at reducing diesel consumption at remote sites by up to
75%.
In addition to the Top Project award, Catherine Goyer, Director, Corporate
Responsibility and Environment, has also been named one of Canada's
Clean50 leaders for 2023, ranking her among the Canadians who have
done the most to move the country toward a sustainable economy over
the last two years. The recognition celebrates Catherine's
leadership of Bell's Corporate Responsibility and Environment team
in helping deliver sustainability solutions. Clean50 points out
that "Catherine's vision of digital technology enabling the
decarbonization of the country's economy and society has helped
guide Bell through successive cycles of increasingly ambitious GHG
reduction targets."
"Bell is committed to providing innovative products and services
that help create a sustainable future. I'm delighted that Clean50
has named Bell its inaugural GHG Reductions Champion, and
recognized our Solar Cell Sites initiative as one of the Top
Projects. I am also happy to congratulate Catherine Goyer, whose goal-oriented leadership
of Bell's Corporate Responsibility and Environment team has
resulted in her being named to Canada's Clean50 for 2023."
- Marc Duchesne, VP,
Corporate Security and Responsibility, Bell
Bell's leadership on environmental issues includes a wide range
of innovative programs to reduce environmental impacts throughout
our operations and provide tools to help our customers reduce their
carbon footprint. We demonstrate our commitment to energy
management and reducing the carbon footprint of our network, in
line with our strategic imperative to help create a sustainable
future.
Quick Facts:
- Recently surpassed GHG intensity reduction target by 15%,
bringing GHG emissions per network usage down by 55% between 2019
and the end of 2021
- Over the past two years, set the goal of achieving carbon
neutral operations in 2025
- Committed to science-based, absolute GHG reductions by 2030
that align with the most ambitious temperature goal of the Paris
Agreement
- Achieved a rate of 63% overall waste diversion for 2021
- Prohibited unnecessary internal single-use plastics, and
recovered 2.5M end-of-life electronic
devices from customers in 2021, donating the net proceeds to
WWF
In 2022, Bell achieved ISO 50001 certification of its energy
management system for a third consecutive year, after becoming
the first communications company in North America to
achieve that designation for our energy management
system and has been recognized as one of Canada's
Greenest Employers for the sixth consecutive year.
More information about Bell's environmental achievements is
available in its Corporate Responsibility Report. Bell's ESG
commitment is also highlighted in the BCE 2021 Annual Report to
shareholders, available at BCE.ca.
About Bell
Bell is Canada's largest communications company, providing
advanced broadband wireless, TV, Internet, media and business
communication services throughout the country. Founded in Montréal
in 1880, Bell is wholly owned by BCE Inc. To learn more, please
visit Bell.ca or BCE.ca.
Through Bell for Better, we are investing to create a
better today and a better tomorrow by supporting the social and
economic prosperity of our communities with a commitment to the
highest environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards. This
includes the Bell Let's Talk initiative, which promotes Canadian
mental health with national awareness and anti-stigma campaigns
like Bell Let's Talk Day and significant Bell funding of community
care and access, research and workplace leadership initiatives
throughout the country. To learn more, please
visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.
Media inquiries
Jacqueline
Michelis
jacqueline.michelis@bell.ca
@Bell_News
Investor inquiries
Richard
Bengian
richard.bengian@bell.ca
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking
Statements
Certain statements made in this news release are forward-looking
statements, including statements relating to our ESG objectives
including, without limitation, our goal to achieve carbon neutral
operations in 2025 and to achieve our science-based targets for GHG
emissions reduction, our business objectives, plans and strategic
priorities, and other statements that are not historical facts. All
such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the "safe
harbor" provisions of applicable Canadian securities laws and
of the United States Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to
inherent risks and uncertainties and are based on several
assumptions which give rise to the possibility that actual results
or events could differ materially from our expectations. These
statements are not guarantees of future performance or events, and
we caution you against relying on any of these forward-looking
statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news
release describe our expectations at the date of this news release
and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Except as
may be required by applicable securities laws, we do not undertake
any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements
contained in this news release, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. Our ESG objectives, and
the benefits expected to result therefrom, are subject to risks
and, accordingly, there can be no assurance that our ESG objectives
will be completed or that the benefits expected to result therefrom
will be realized. In addition, forward-looking statements for
periods beyond 2022 involve longer-term assumptions and estimates
than forward-looking statements for 2022 and are consequently
subject to greater uncertainty. In particular, our GHG emissions
reduction targets are based on a number of assumptions including,
without limitation, the following principal assumptions:
implementation of various corporate and business initiatives to
reduce our electricity and fuel consumption, as well as reduce
other direct and indirect GHG emissions enablers; no new corporate
initiatives, business acquisitions or technologies that would
materially increase our anticipated levels of GHG emissions; our
ability to purchase sufficient credible carbon credits and
renewable energy certificates to offset or further reduce our GHG
emissions, if and when required; no negative impact on the
calculation of our GHG emissions from refinements in or
modifications to international standards or the methodology we use
for the calculation of such GHG emissions; no required changes to
our science-based targets pursuant to the Science Based Targets
initiative methodology that would make the achievement of our
updated science-based targets more onerous; and sufficient supplier
engagement and collaboration in setting their own science-based
targets and sufficient collaboration with partners in reducing
their own GHG emissions. For additional information on assumptions
and risks underlying certain of our forward-looking statements made
in this news release, please consult BCE Inc.'s (BCE) 2021 Annual
MD&A dated March 3, 2022, BCE's
2022 First Quarter MD&A dated May 4,
2022, BCE's 2022 Second Quarter MD&A dated August 3, 2022 and BCE's news release dated
August 4, 2022 announcing its
financial results for the second quarter of 2022, filed by BCE with
the Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities
(available at Sedar.com) and with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (available at SEC.gov). These documents
are also available at BCE.ca.
SOURCE Bell Canada