The reality in today’s world is that business and environmental performance now go hand in hand. CNL is proud to be one of thousands of organizations across 155 countries to be registered to ISO 14001 – the internationally recognized standard for certification that demonstrates an organization’s environmental stewardship. The Chalk River Laboratories has been ISO 14001 certified since 2004 and the Whiteshell Laboratories has been certified since 2010. During this time, there have been many lessons learned and a steady evolution of CNL’s Environmental Management System. A significant level of effort and vigilance is required to establish, maintain and improve an environmental management system over time.
As Canada’s foremost nuclear science and technology laboratory, it is vital that CNL leads by example in terms of environmental performance. For this reason, CNL has an Environment Policy which ensures that protection of the environment is an integral component of our decision-making in all phases of our business activities, including product development, project planning, project implementation, operations and decommissioning. We also focus our environmental efforts on minimizing nuclear legacy obligations for future generations.
Overall, CNL’s environmental performance has been steadily improving in recent years. We post the detailed evidence, here, publicly, to demonstrate our commitment to environmental stewardship, and to help secure Canadians’ acceptance for the continued exploration of nuclear science and technology.
As Canada’s National Nuclear Laboratory, we strive to ensure that sustainability is integrated into all the work we do and all the decisions we make.