Sep 09 2024
0

How Canada Running Series is Changing the Face of Sustainability in Running

By | Races | No Comments

We all love to run – that’s why we’re here, right? We love it for our physical and mental health, to thrive within our run community, and oh! that endorphin rush! We love that big gulp of fresh air after the final push to the finish line, and we LOVE that well-deserved cold drink at the end of a long run.

But as we watch our streets flood, forests burn, and local communities literally in the line of fire suffer devastating consequences, it’s not hard to picture a time when running might not be as simple as stepping out of the house with a pair of shoes on our feet.  

Did you know that in 2023, the number of air quality bulletins issued by Environment Canada spiked to unprecedented levels, more than double those of 2021, the next highest year? 

In some parts of Canada, summer has become “fire season,” prompting us to ask: What can we do to ensure we can continue participating in the sport we love for future generations?  

At Canada Running Series, we’re serious about supporting the communities we run through. That means supporting their health, well-being, and natural environments. We’ve put our money where our mouth is and made some big sustainability commitments, including certifying with the Council for Responsible Sport. 

Here are the top five sustainability programs you can find at all Canada Running Series events: 

1. Waste management at races

Forget dumping everything in one big dumpster and letting it go to the landfill. We’re BIG on waste sorting and do our best to divert as much event waste away from landfills as possible. This effort includes using compostable cups at all water stations, donating all leftover food to local food security programs, donating clothing to local charities, and sorting all the waste that comes through our events into recycling, compost, or landfill.  

In 2024, we aim for our biggest waste goal yet: a zero-waste event* at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon. 

*Note that “zero-waste” is commonly referred to as any waste diversion efforts that result in 90% more waste diversion.  

2. Sustainable running medals 

Our medals, including ribbons, are made of 100% recycled content! We order medals in two stages to make our orders as accurate as possible and reduce waste. All leftover medals are recycled after the event to ensure a full-circle life cycle product.  

3. No more bottled water at running events

That’s right—you won’t find any single-use plastic water bottles at our events! The regions where our events occur are fortunate to have safe and reliable drinking water sources on tap. 

That means we can avoid plastic and provide our participants with a delicious sip of water from a delightfully compostable cup straight from city sources. We are fully committed to this goal and request our stakeholders, partners, participants, and spectators to help us and do the same!  

4. Bring your own bottle to Canada Running Series races 

Did you know you can BYOB (bottle) at all our events? That’s right! Stop by our water stations with your own bottle, hydration vest, or cup, and we’ll refill it on the go. You’ve been training like that anyway; why not try it on race day and send fewer cups to the organics bin?  

5. Introducing the Green Bib Registration Program

No shirt, no medal, no problem! All Canada Running Series events offer participants a green bib registration option, giving them a choice around what items they want to receive for their race day. 

Instead of receiving a shirt or medal, green bib participants can donate $10 to one of our sustainability charities, Trees for Life or Trans Canada Trail – and you’ll get a charitable receipt for your donation, too. 

So, if you’re running your umpteenth marathon and don’t have the space on your trophy rack for more hardware, now you can help our planet while saving that closet space for that coveted Boston jacket.  

Making Sustainable Choices Every Day

We know sometimes it’s inconvenient or impossible to make sustainable choices every day, but we’re here to help you reduce the impact of your race day and make responsible choices that still get you to that finish line. By making conscious lifestyle choices and choosing events that prioritize environmental responsibility, we can all do a little bit to make a big difference in the future of our running communities. 

May 23 2023
0

Run and Raise Funds with the 2023 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon Charity Challenge

By | Charity Challenge | No Comments

TCS Charity Challenge celebrates 20 years of running for a cause in Toronto; $50 million raised to date

TORONTO, ON (May 23, 2023) – The annual TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its Charity Challenge. Today marks the official launch of the 2023 season, and participants across Toronto and around the globe can sign up to run for a cause or donate to over 150 Charity Partners to help the TCS Charity Challenge hit its fundraising goal of $3 million.  

The TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon is a premier running event offering participants a unique race experience along Toronto’s beautiful waterfront and parts of the Trans Canada Trail. Runners and walkers alike can choose to partake in the marathon, half marathon, or 5K events. The race takes place in-person on October 15, 2023, with virtual options available throughout October and many ways to celebrate locally. 

“We are thrilled to be launching our 20th Charity Challenge,” said Charlotte Brookes, National Event Director at CRS. “Since its inception in 2003, together we’ve raised over $50 Million for incredible organizations making a difference right in our communities. It’s wonderful to see so many people come together to support them. We invite all Torontonians, Ontarians and Canadians to choose to run, or choose to give, for the cause that moves them this October.”

“TCS is so proud to host the Charity Challenge,” added Haley Price, Head of Sports Sponsorships, TCS North America. “Knowing that the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon Charity Challenge fundraising efforts have such a huge impact on local organizations is equally humbling and inspiring; Toronto’s running community is truly world-class!”

Last year the marathon raised over $20,000 for its sustainability Charity Partners alone, who are returning this year as the 2023 feature charities: Trans Canada Trail and Trees for Life. 

This announcement comes on the heels of the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon’s recent  Evergreen Certification by the Council for Responsible Sport. This award recognizes the Marathon’s commitment to environmental stewardship and showcases the efforts of the Marathon to make the event the most sustainable in Canada.

Registration and fundraising for the TCS Charity Challenge officially opens today. Here’s how to get involved:

  1. Register online for one of the Marathon, Half Marathon or 5K events.
  2. Fundraise by signing up for the TCS Charity Challenge and selecting the charity you’d like to raise funds for.
  3. Donate by visiting the TCS Charity Challenge website and select the Official Charity you’d like to donate to.
  4. Support the TCS Charity Challenge, our Charity Partners and participants by following along on social media and using the hashtags #chooseTOrun, #chooseTOgive and #TCSCharityChallenge, and come out on October 15 to cheer on your friends and family along the race route and at the finish line!

-30-

About the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

The TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon is Canada’s premier running event and the grand finale of the Canada Running Series (CRS). Since 2017, the race has served as the Athletics Canada national marathon championship race and has doubled as the Olympic trials. Using innovation and organization as guiding principles, Canada Running Series stages great experiences for runners of all levels, from Canadian Olympians to recreational and charity runners. With a mission of “building community through the sport of running,” CRS is committed to making sport part of sustainable communities and the city-building process. 

To learn more about the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, visit www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com. 

About Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that has been partnering with many of the world’s largest businesses in their transformation journeys for over 50 years. TCS offers a consulting-led, cognitive powered, integrated portfolio of business, technology and engineering services and solutions. This is delivered through its unique Location Independent Agile™ delivery model, recognized as a benchmark of excellence in software development.

A part of the Tata group, India’s largest multinational business group, TCS has over 614,000 of the world’s best-trained consultants in 55 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of US $27.9 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, and is listed on the BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) and the NSE (National Stock Exchange) in India. TCS’ proactive stance on climate change and award-winning work with communities across the world have earned it a place in leading sustainability indices such as the MSCI Global Sustainability Index and the FTSE4Good Emerging Index.

For more information, visit www.tcs.com  

MEDIA CONTACT:

Emma Hunt, Sutherland Corporation

emma@sutherlandcorp.ca

Apr 10 2023
0

TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon Earns Evergreen Certification for Commitment to Sustainability and Community Impact

By | Uncategorised | No Comments

The Council for Responsible Sport certified the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon with the highest distinction possible 

TORONTO April 10, 2023: The TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon (TWM), Canada’s premier running event, has been newly awarded with an Evergreen certification by the Council for Responsible Sport, earning the race the highest distinction possible for outstanding social, environmental, economic and community impact. 

TWM’s successful efforts to make the event as sustainable as possible included: diverting 85.9% of waste away from landfill, eliminating plastic bottles altogether at the event, using virtual event materials instead of paper wherever possible, collecting over 3,400 kg of used running clothing and shoe donations, and offsetting 100% of the race’s Scope 1 & 2 emissions. All these efforts were documented and diligently reported on in adherence to the Council for Responsible Sport’s rigorous certification standards.

Additionally, the marathon raised over $20,000 for its Sustainability Charity partners Trees for Life and Trans Canada Trail.

In its 2022 debut as the title sponsor of the marathon, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) — the global IT services, consulting, and business solutions company — used its tech expertise to boost the sustainable impact of the event, through sustainability education with the creation of its new official TWM app. 

Developed by TCS in collaboration with Canada Running Series (CRS) and Jen Cerullo, the project’s sustainability lead, the TCS TWM app promotes sustainability with the Sustainability Scorecard. Runners and spectators could use the app to measure a range of environmental factors, like travel choices and waste and plastics use, to learn more about the environmental impact of their race day. The app also empowered users to donate to Trans Canada Trail, a nonprofit invested in providing a more accessible experience across more than 28,000 km of national trails, or to Trees for Life’s tree-planting projects near the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon course.

In addition to the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon becoming more environmentally sustainable, it has also excelled at fundraising. In 2022, the TCS Charity Challenge raised $2.71 million for 150 charitable organizations.  Over $50 million total has been raised since the program began in 2003. 

Dian Vaugh, Council for Responsible Sport, Certification Verifier, Board Member commented: “The Green Team set a Strategic Sustainability Plan focusing on details as they considered policies for 

purchasing, logistics, energy, waste, community inclusion, and outreach. TCS, as the new title sponsor, brought their expertise to the TWM App with a Sustainability Scorecard and gave a glimpse into the future events with the STEM goIT Challenge at the Expo. TCS Charity Challenge raised over 2.71 million dollars, truly making a difference for each participating charity and the community at large. TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon earned the Evergreen Certification by executing their plan for a healthy community and planet.”  

The sustainability efforts made by TWM were measured by ReScore, a first-of-its-kind app (designed by TCS, and used by the Council for Responsible Sport) that enables sporting event organizers to measure, track, report, and verify their progress on a broad range of environmental and social indicators. ReScore simplifies the approach for organizers who want to meet the increasing expectations of fans, athletes, sponsors, and host communities that sporting events be more sustainable and socially inclusive.

Haley Price, Head of Sports Sponsorships, TCS North America commented: “In our partnership with Canada Running Series, TCS is committed to enhancing the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon through innovative technology like the sustainability app, to promoting awareness of sustainability education, to amplifying charity partners, and to maximizing the positive impact of the event on the local community here in Toronto. We applaud the TCS Toronto Waterfront for setting the sustainability standard for endurance running races.”

“As a landmark Toronto event, the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon is fully committed to doing more to embody the very spirit of marathons, bringing the community together to celebrate the sport of running, promote healthy, sustainable lifestyles, and to give back to the local communities we run through.” said Charlotte Brookes, National Event Director of CRS & the Toronto Waterfront Marathon.  

About the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon 

The TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon is Canada’s premier running event and the grand finale of the Canada Running Series (CRS). Since 2017, the race has served as the Athletics Canada national marathon championship race and has doubled as the Olympic trials. During the 2022 event, participants raised over $2.71 million for 150 community charities. Using innovation and organization as guiding principles, CRS stages great experiences for runners of all levels, from Canadian Olympians to recreational and charity runners. With a mission of “building community through the sport of running,” CRS is committed to making sport part of sustainable communities and the city-building process. To learn more about the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, visit www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com. 

About Tata Consultancy Services

Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that has been partnering with many of the world’s largest businesses in their transformation journeys for over 50 years. TCS offers a consulting-led, cognitive powered, integrated portfolio of business, technology and engineering services and solutions. This is delivered through its unique Location Independent Agile™ delivery model, recognized as a benchmark of excellence in software development.

A part of the Tata group, India’s largest multinational business group, TCS has over 616,000 of the world’s best-trained consultants in 55 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of US $25.7 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, and is listed on the BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) and the NSE (National Stock Exchange) in India. TCS’ proactive stance on climate change and award-winning work with communities across the world have earned it a place in leading sustainability indices such as the MSCI Global Sustainability Index and the FTSE4Good Emerging Index. For more information, visit www.tcs.com .

CRS interview requests:

Charlotte Brookes, National Event Director

Charlotte@canadarunningseries.com

647-830-7553

TCS interview requests:

Tiffany Fisher

Tiffany.Fisher@tcs.com

416-999-2140