Scout Environmental

Scout Environmental is a not-for-profit organization focused on engaging individuals to become more energy efficient, live in healthier homes and to properly recycle end-of-life products.

What We Do

Since 2000, we’ve designed and implemented thousands of programs that have dramatically increased program participation rates, changed behaviour, increased product sales and delivered emission reductions.

Our team at Scout Environmental has deep subject matter expertise in areas such as energy conservation, environmental health, product stewardship/extended producer responsibility, air quality and climate change. Our core service offerings are:

Program Design, Implementation and Management:

We specialize in designing and delivering a range of programs from national retail campaigns to accelerated vehicle retirement to mercury collection and more! We have an established history of providing complete turnkey programs, including:

Marketing/Communications
Financial Administration
Fulfillment
Multi-lingual customer service
Recruiting
Training
In-market resource deployment
Program Evaluation

Outreach and Marketing:

We have implemented over 2,000 unique urban and rural community-based consumer engagement events, with a deep understanding and expertise of in-store retail program execution with over 300 program ambassadors across Canada. Our in-market services include staffing, customer engagement using data collection technology, product exchange and education.

Beyond in-person events, we are experts at engaging Canadians through a myriad of outreach and communication channels. Whatever the program needs, we’re able to deliver:

Dedicated websites
Videos
Social media
Marketing strategies
Media engagement
Digital outreach toolkits
Online training platforms
Digital webinars, events and conferences

Our Story

Scout Environmental (formerly the Clean Air Foundation) was created in 2000 to respond to an identified need for a strong and focused effort to engage the public in actions that improve air quality. Traditional information-based efforts had done nothing to change behavior. It was time for a new approach, one that rewarded people to participate in programs that lead to demonstrable outcomes and measurable emission reductions.

At the outset, we recognized that the retail sector offered one of the best channels to reach millions of people. Our early programs encouraged individuals living in communities across Canada to exchange old lawnmowers, air conditioners and electronics for cleaner alternatives through a variety of retail channels. From product exchange initiatives, we then turned our attention to crafting marketing and merchandising strategies that influenced consumer behaviors and incentivized change.

In addition to pioneering return-to-retail recycling programs, Scout Environmental was the first environmental organization to forge national public-private partnerships between retailers, manufacturers and government on various environmental issues

including air quality, environmental health, climate change and toxics such as mercury. With the onset of the digital revolution, social platforms and the proliferation of image and video sharing, the tools at our disposal have allowed us to reach more people, with relevant and rewarding offers that turn government initiatives into community-relevant successes. Retailers love how we drive traffic in-store. And there’s a triple-win in terms of environmental impact, peer-to-peer recognition and enhanced social value that incentivizes further positive behaviors and outcomes for both the public and private sectors.