WSP to quantify Canadian Olympic skier’s carbon footprint

Photo courtesy Team Canada.

WSP Canada has entered a partnership with Canadian freestyle skier and Olympic medalist Marion Thénault to determine the carbon footprint of her athletic activities, as she travels around the world to events on the World Cup circuit.

Currently studying at Montreal’s Concordia University to become an engineer herself, Thénault will work with the consulting engineering firm’s climate change experts—who are part of its Earth and environment team—to quantify the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with her freestyle skiing activities and find ways to reduce and offset this carbon footprint. As she plans to return to the Winter Olympic Games in 2026 in Milan, Italy, she hopes to become one of Canada’s first carbon-neutral athletes.

“I am very excited to work with WSP,” she says. “Travelling around the world comes with an environmental impact, one that we need to reduce to minimize the impact of climate change. Hopefully, the research we are doing will help athletes around the world take action to reduce their carbon footprint.”

“This partnership is a unique opportunity to support a young woman in the development of her career, both as an athlete and as an engineer.” says Marie-Claude Dumas, president and CEO of WSP Canada.

LinkedIn photo.

Thénault, 22, was originally a gymnast before trying aerials in 2017. She has been a member of the national team since 2018, was named Fédération Internationale de Ski et de Snowboard (FIS) Rookie of the Year in 2020-2021 and was a member of the Canadian Olympic team earlier this year in Beijing, China, where she won bronze as part of the mixed aerials team.

Over the next four years, both WSP and Thénault will provide updates on their respective social media channels about the journey to carbon neutrality.