EDC begins carbon offsetting program for business travel

OTTAWA, April 22 /CNW Telbec/ - Today, the 20th anniversary of Earth Day in Canada, Export Development Canada (EDC) announced that it will begin purchasing carbon credits to offset the carbon emissions generated by its business travel.

"The nature of an export credit agency's work means that travel, and a considerable amount of it, is necessary to successfully promote Canadian trade," said Stephen Poloz, Senior Vice-President of Financing. "But however necessary our travel may be, it doesn't preclude making smarter choices and using carbon credits to reduce our impact on the environment."

EDC selected Vancouver's Offsetters to provide for its carbon offset requirements. With the offsets that EDC purchases, Offsetters will support Canadian renewable energy and energy efficiency projects that wouldn't have taken place in the absence of offset funding. Among these projects are ground-source heat pump installations at residential and community-based facilities and the installation of a biomass boiler and energy trapping curtains to reduce a greenhouse's reliance on fossil fuels. These installations aren't common practice, and will now significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and become a model for energy innovation and a switch to a lower carbon future.

EDC staff will also be looking to reduce carbon emissions by increasing the use of technology like videoconferencing and making efforts to use more low-carbon options in their travel.

"EDC has a highly mobile workforce, with technology in place that allows us to work remotely. While these technologies were originally put in place to help us serve our customers better in the places they do business, they also allow us to be more green," said Sherry Noble, Senior Vice-President of Business Solutions and Technology.

EDC will purchase carbon offsets on an annual basis based on the total amount of carbon emitting travel for all staff. EDC has also retroactively purchased offsets for its 2008 business travel.

For more information about EDC's Corporate Social Responsibility programs, visit EDC's CSR page.

As Canada's first and leading carbon management provider, Offsetters helps individuals and companies understand, reduce and offset their climate impact. Headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Offsetters is the first ever Official Supplier of Carbon Offsets to an Olympic Games and will be providing the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) with carbon credits sourced from clean technologies developed in BC's Lower Mainland. In 2009, Offsetters was also selected by the Pacific Carbon Trust as the largest initial supplier of carbon offsets to the BC Crown Corporation.

EDC is Canada's export credit agency, offering innovative commercial solutions to help Canadian exporters and investors expand their international business. EDC's knowledge and partnerships are used by more than 8,400 Canadian companies and their global customers in up to 200 markets worldwide each year. EDC is financially self-sustaining, a recognized leader in financial reporting and economic analysis, and has been recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for nine consecutive years.

For further information: Media contacts: Phil Taylor, Export Development Canada, Tel: [phone], Blackberry: [email protected]