ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY

Climate change presents both a risk and an opportunity for sport in Canada. Extreme weather increasingly disrupts events, training environments, and operations, and we must lead by example by embedding sustainability into how we govern, travel, and compete. Cycling Canada’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy aligns with IOC, COC, UCI, and UN best practices, aiming to integrate sustainability into our governance, events, and community programming. It has also been designed to support and align with Cycling Canada’s 2020–2030 Strategic Plan, ensuring long‑term resilience and relevance.

Strategic Overview

Our efforts will be focused on the following strategic pillars:

  • Organization, where we will embed sustainability throughout the entire organization to drive action and accountability in reducing our environmental impact
  • Events, where we will create responsibly planned and delivered events that prioritize measuring and reducing their environmental footprint
  • Community, where we will inspire communities across Canada to engage in sustainability while increasing access to impactful programs.

To view our strategic pillars click here.

Key commitments

To convert intention into action and make meaningful progress, we understand that our efforts require consistency and accountability through a long-term lens. By aligning with globally recognized frameworks and embedding these actions across our organization, we commit to the following:

  • Fostering partnerships that help increase the number of Canadians cycling, leading to a community‑wide shift toward active transportation and aligning with UCI sustainability goals.
  • Becoming a signatory to the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework, Sports for Nature, and the UCI Climate Action Charter.
  • Setting and pursuing science‑aligned targets to reduce our emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2040.
  • Integrating sustainability guidelines, criteria, and initiatives into Canadian Championship events starting in 2026.
  • Improving the awareness and understanding of sustainability across the Canadian cycling community.

Our strategy reflects our commitment to strong governance and thoughtful leadership, ensuring that our actions today support a healthier, more resilient future for our sport and our communities. Sustainability is not separate from our core goals but is directly aligned with the priorities outlined in our 2020–2030 Strategic Plan. From fostering deeper community connection, to promoting inclusive growth, to delivering exciting events and educational leadership, this strategy strengthens the long‑term sustainability and relevance of cycling in Canada. Looking ahead, we are committed to embedding sustainability into the next phase of our strategic planning, ensuring it remains a core part of how we govern, grow, and lead.

resources

The Cycling Canada Environmental Sustainability Project is supported by Racing to Zero. Racing to Zero was founded by Canadian Olympians and Paralympians who experienced firsthand how climate change impacts sport at every level. Bringing together a deep understanding of both the Canadian and global sport systems with technical expertise in sustainability and carbon accounting, we now provide a full suite of solutions for organizations across the sport sector.

“It was a pleasure working with Cycling Canada throughout the COC’s NSO Sustainability Pilot Program and we are really pleased with the outcomes of the project together. Cycling Canada is now well equipped to continue along this journey, following a clear strategic roadmap towards more sustainable operations and events and we are excited to see the positive impact that they can have over the coming years,” highlighted Oliver Scholfield, Executive Director, Racing To Zero. 

RACING TO ZERO