Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Resilience
• Energy Use and Emissions Reduction
• Sustainable Supply Chain
• Ecosystem Impact Minimization
• Community Responsibility Enhancement

Environmental Achievements

• Required all new GO stations and maintenance facilities to meet LEED® Gold certification
• Implemented an award-winning Environmental Management System (EMS)
• Committed to electrification of core segments of the GO Transit rail network

Social Achievements

• Committed to integrating Community Benefits provisions into all major infrastructure projects
• Delivered Smart Commute program to promote sustainable mobility choices
• Provided access to car and bike share services at many stations

Governance Achievements

• Appointed an internal Sustainability Strategy Advisory Committee
• Developed a Sustainability Strategy based on stakeholder engagement
• Established goals, actions, and measures of success for priority sustainability areas

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Climate change impacts (extreme temperatures, flooding, etc.)
• Managing the environmental impact of large-scale infrastructure projects
• Balancing infrastructure development with community needs

Mitigation Strategies

• Developing a corporate Climate Adaptation Plan
• Developing climate resilience requirements for infrastructure projects
• Implementing sustainable procurement practices
• Engaging with communities in the design and construction of new infrastructure

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Sustainability framework for construction materials
• Life-cycle impact consideration in material selection
• Waste management plans from vendors
• Incentives to avoid landfill tipping fees
• Vendor Code of Conduct
• Sustainable Procurement Policy

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Extreme temperature
• Heat wave
• Precipitation
• Flooding
• High winds
• Freezing rain
• Snowfall
• Drought

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, AA1000 Stakeholder Engagement Standard

Certifications: LEED® Gold

Awards & Recognition

• American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) Sustainability Commitment programs gold-level status
• Canada Green Building Council’s (CaGBC) Government Leadership Award
• Railway Association of Canada’s Environment Award

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change

Environmental Achievements

• Increased levels of redundancy on generators and power systems
• Installation of early weather and flood detection systems and controls across the transit network
• An embankment failure monitoring pilot project
• Increased preferred rail laying temperature to 37.7°C to reduce the risk of track bending or buckling in hot weather
• Upgraded standards for providing back-up generators at GO stations and facilities
• Proposed a new vegetative clearance zone along railway tracks

Social Achievements

• Enhanced emergency response and operating procedures
• A Winter Readiness Plan to help prepare for the impacts of increased snowfall, ice, and more extreme winter temperatures
• Collaboration with local, regional, provincial and federal partners

Governance Achievements

• A staff position dedicated to climate resiliency and adaptation within our Planning and Policy group
• A cross-organizational Climate Resiliency Working Group
• A Climate Risk Assessment of key assets against 12 climate parameters
• An Extreme Weather Advisory Plan

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Hot weather can warp rail tracks
• Rainstorms can cause floods or washouts
• Snow and ice can obstruct track switches
• Freeze-thaw cycles can cause pavements and other materials to deteriorate
• Freezing rain can cause blackouts that interrupt communications
• Storms and heat waves can exhaust staff
• Existing infrastructure assets may need to be maintained, and in some cases upgraded, so that they are less vulnerable and more resilient to extreme weather events and climate change
• New standards that are based on future climate conditions may need to be applied to new infrastructure and capital projects that have extended lifecycles
• New protocols regarding maintenance, monitoring, reporting, and emergency response planning may be needed for managing existing and future infrastructure assets

Mitigation Strategies

• Vulnerability assessment pilot project using Engineers Canada’s Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee (PIEVC) Protocol
• Enterprise Asset Management program
• Development of new Design Excellence Guidelines for future capital projects
• Aggregation of more than 60 emergency response plans into a single coordinated plan
• Creation of a Snow Plan as part of a Winter Readiness Plan
• Collaboration with local, regional, provincial and federal partners to improve collective knowledge and best practices
• Integration of resiliency principles into the current review and update of its Regional Transportation Plan
• Integration of resiliency principles into selected procurement processes

Supply Chain Management

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Intense rainfall
• Flooding
• High temperatures
• Snow and ice
• High winds
• Freezing rain

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability (A4S)

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change
• Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity
• Governance
• Community Engagement
• Sustainable Procurement
• Safety

Environmental Achievements

• Pilot test of zero-emission battery electric GO Buses
• Reinstallation of 850 bus seats (7% increase in capacity), reducing deadhead trips by 7,025 km
• 754,000 kilowatt hours of solar power produced and fed back into the electrical system
• LEED Silver certification for Cooksville GO Station and Eglinton Crosstown LRT Maintenance and Storage Facility
• Replanted more than 25,000 native trees and shrubs

Social Achievements

• Achieved 81% employee engagement score (increase of 9% from 2022)
• Inclusion index score of 80%
• 40% women in senior management roles
• Reduced Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) to 0.59 per 200,000 hours worked
• Launched Metrolinx Mental Health Strategy
• Launched Text for Help program for customer safety
• Implemented Indigenous awareness training for all staff

Governance Achievements

• Established standalone Inclusion & Engagement Office and Chief Inclusion Officer role
• Established independent committee to oversee use of force incidents and an arrest review committee
• Implemented a safety management system with 28 standards
• Established Safety Regulatory Oversight Office (SROO)

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Reduced operating range of battery electric buses compared to diesel buses
• Infrastructure requirements to support alternative fuels and technologies
• Construction-related service interruptions
• Impacts of construction on communities (noise, vibration, air quality)

Mitigation Strategies

• Development of specifications for next-generation propulsion systems
• Business case exploring alternative propulsion systems
• Traffic Management Plans to minimize disruption
• Community engagement to address concerns
• Community Benefits Program

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Sustainable procurement program (in development)
• Indigenous procurement strategy (in development)
• Transit Procurement Initiative

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Extreme weather events

Transition Risks

• Regulatory changes, market shifts

Opportunities

• Development of energy-efficient products and services

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI

Certifications: Canada’s Greenest Employer (2023), Canada’s Rail Safety Award (2022)

Third-party Assurance: Self-declared; external compliance assessment planned

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
• Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
• Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
• Goal 13: Climate Action
• Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals

See GRI Content Index for details

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Zero-emission battery electric GO Buses
• Electric locomotives

Awards & Recognition

• Canada’s Greenest Employer (2023)
• Canada’s Rail Safety Award (2022)