Across the globe, CGI members* are committed to staying abreast of key environmental issues. At both the global and local levels, members actively participate in championing sustainability. In the fight against climate change, our members both develop solutions for our clients and support grass-roots initiatives in their communities. Additionally, our local teams dedicate meetings, member resource groups and engagement tools to a range of related topics.
Education and empowerment are equally crucial for our members to be able to speak and act on ESG-related issues. On a regular basis, we provide trainings and programs to raise awareness, encourage engagement and ensure all are aligned to advance our board-driven ESG mandate. At the company level, we share our ESG objectives and solicit member feedback through regular consultations and events such as our Annual Tour, where we kick off our business plans for the new fiscal year.
Training and awareness
We offer company-wide ESG-focused trainings on our Academia learning portal about our overall ESG strategy, about how members can contribute, and about our climate strategy. Our local operations also offer related training to support their unique market needs. For example, in France, we provide training on sustainability impacts across the IT lifecycle.
When it comes to raising awareness, our local teams sponsor a variety of programs. Examples from 2022 include:
- CSR Days in Europe: Our operations in Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark and Slovakia hosted “CSR days” to share opportunities to learn about and engage in ESG-based initiatives. Topics included CGI’s sustainability solutions, circularity, the energy transition, facilities accessibility, Internet safety for kids (Spoofy), language café for non-native speakers, cancer prevention, carbon accounting and non-profit fundraising.
- World Environment Day in India: On this United Nations Environment Programme day, our India operations hosted several events. In-person activities included making seed balls and bottle planters, plus fundraising drives for tree planting. Virtual event topics included e-waste management, water conservation, biodiversity, apiculture and sustainable beauty
- Sustainability Week in Sweden: Our Swedish operations hosted lunch-time webinars with partner organizations on topics such as the energy market (with E.ON), reducing litter (with Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation), sustainable resources (with Sysav), grocery sustainability (with Coop Sweden) and net-zero (led by our Head of Sustainability Management for CGI in Scandinavia).
- Plastic-free July in the UK: Pawprint is a mobile and desktop app that allows our UK employees to track, understand and reduce their carbon footprints at home and at work. It uses science-based calculations to measure and improve lifestyle environmental impacts (e.g., home, work, diet, travel and consumer goods). Through a Pawprint “sprint” in July, UK employees saved 676.6kg CO2e by taking 494 actions, such as bring-your-own shopping bag, choosing reusable water bottles or coffee cups, purchasing loose produce and recycling soft plastics. The campaign also included weekly tips for reducing plastic use. CGI donated £10 for every participant to Waste Aid, for a total of £1,000. These actions contributed to the 97,485.4kg CO2e saved since launching Pawprint in January 2022.
- Read and share a climate book in France: As part of a campaign about the impact of human activities on the environment and biodiversity, all CGI members in France could choose from a selection of eight books on climate science. The project raised awareness and promoted reuse by encouraging the sharing of books with as many people as possible.
Our local teams also dedicate events and member resource groups to ESG topics. For example, our UK operations’ “No Planet B” initiative engages members on the journey to reduce our environmental impact. It also facilitates their contribution to meeting our environmental objectives by eliminating single-use plastics from office kitchens, enlisting ambassadors for office environmental initiatives, as well as cycling; engaging members through environmental competitions, webinars, articles and events; and encouraging recycling, reusing and reducing through waste management initiatives.
CGI members participated in numerous community environmental activities in 2022. Here are just a few examples:
- Cleaning up rivers in America: U.S. members mobilized to collect abandoned waste near rivers in their communities.
- Planting trees in Canada: Our Canada operations partnered with Tree Canada’s National Greening Program to plant a tree for each CGI member’s milestone anniversary, celebrated at each 5-year milestone.
- Adopting tree saplings in the Philippines: Our members in the Philippines adopted nearly 500 tree saplings as part of our collaboration with Haribon Foundation, which supports reforestation through a movement called Forests for Life.
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Awareness, engagement and action will continue to drive positive transformation in protecting our planet. Our commitment lives beyond a corporate value and extends into the everyday activities of our members around the world. From education and training, to programs and tools, to conversations across the business, our focus remains on finding solutions for clients and communities alike. This begins with engaging our members on our ESG journey and empowering them to act locally.
