CN's ongoing environmental training programs are designed to educate, train and motivate employees to conduct their activities in an environmentally responsible manner.

Employee Training

New operating employees receive environmental training at the beginning of their employment with CN.  Training of employees includes general environmental awareness training, as well as more specialized training depending on the type of work activities being performed. 

For example, employees and their supervisors who are directly involved with locomotive fuelling work activities would receive specialized training such as fuelling practices, spill response, water and wastewater management, and waste management. Examples of other specialized training are:

• Project Initiator Environmental Review (PIER) This training shows project managers how to assess environmental impacts prior to the start of a new activity or project and before decommissioning a facility. For example, before a project gets started, CN will conduct an initial screening of the area to determine if any environmental effects are likely to occur and if a more comprehensive environmental review is needed.
• Environmental guidelines for construction and maintenance These guidelines provide environmental considerations for employees involved in the start of a new construction project or its maintenance, such as the installation of culverts or the renewal of ballast near watercourses.
• Measuring air emissions This is specialized training for employees at CN dock facilities where the products handled like iron ore create air emissions issues.

Contractor training

Third party service providers are required, through contractual agreements and undertakings, to conduct their operations in accordance with CN's Business Code of Conduct and the Environmental Policy.

As required by regulations, contractors or consultants working with hazardous wastes and in emergency response activities at CN operations in the United States are required to attend 40 hours of classroom training and an 8-hour refresher course.

Railroad Emergency Response Training (RER)

The CN Railroad Incident Command Structure (ICS) was created to teach the roles individual employees, departments and external stakeholders play at a rail incident. Environmental Officers are frequent participants at these courses as their responsibilities at derailment/accident sites require them to follow the protocols of CN's internal incident command structure.