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
416-999-2140
