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Canadian National Waste Ties Challenge
Context: CN is committed to building a sustainable future, to working with our supply chain partners and customers to provide cleaner, more sustainable transportation services, and to working with stakeholders and rightsholders to avoid, minimize, or offset our environmental impact and when we do impact the environment, to restore it.
CN is also committed to managing waste responsibly, including monitoring waste production and disposal practices and identifying opportunities for waste diversion from landfill through reduction, beneficial re-use, recycling, and energy recovery solutions. Consistent with this commitment, CN is interested in exploring approaches to divert used wooden railway ties from landfill.
Response Criteria:
CN will review solutions subject to the following considerations:
· A successful solution will need to be compatible with the preservatives used in our wood ties. Proponents should be aware that ties are of varying ages and from varying locations, therefore CN cannot guarantee that our waste ties will contain only a single type of preservative. More information on these preservatives can be found on the FAQ of the Railway Tie Association website: https://www.rta.org/faq#F.
· Solutions are primarily sought for wood ties, but options for concrete and/or composite ties are also of interest.
· If approved for a commercial scale application, the solution will need to be located on a CN line, with a preference for locations in western Canada. A map of CN’s network can be found on our website: https://www.cn.ca/en/our-services/maps-and-network.
· CN will prioritize solutions with the most compelling economic benefits to CN. CN is interested in solutions which can accept at least 35,000 metric tonnes/year in a commercial application. Larger scale opportunities can be discussed with a proponent that meets these minimum requirements.
· Preference will be given to solutions which are low or lower emission, or have other sustainability benefits. CN will prioritize organizations that demonstrate environment, health, safety and sustainability leadership.
CN provides additional information on our expectations for suppliers on our Supplier Portal | cn.ca. Preference will be given to proposals which are able demonstrate successful deployment, i.e. solutions which have previously established proof of concept.
The Opportunity:
Successful proponents will have the opportunity to:
· Gain access to one or more CN’s sites to demonstrate your solution in a North American context
· Work with CN technical experts to understand market needs and CN-specific considerations
About CN:
CN is a leading North American Transportation and Logistics Company. Essential to the economy, the CN team of approximately 23,000 railroaders transports more than C$250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network of approximately 20,000 route-miles spanning Canada and mid-America.