Canadian Fuels Association members work continuously to improve the environmental performance of fuels and the facilities that produce them. To learn more, please visit: http://www.canadianfuels.ca

1. 1canadianfuels.caCanadian Fuels Association
FUEL fundamentals
Our industry is getting
Greener every year
In the past 10 years alone, our industry has
invested almost $8 billion to improve
the environmental performance of fuels
and the facilities that produce them.
Canadian Fuels Association members work
collaboratively with stakeholders to encourage
responsible policies that protect communities,
workplaces and the environment.
Protecting the environment is integrated into our
business planning, the facilities we design, our
products, our operating practices, and training
programs. We work continuously to improve the
emissions performance of the fuels we produce,
and invest heavily in our facilities and operations
to improve our energy efficiency, emissions
performance and our use of water.
Cleaner air is a top priority. The fuels our
refiners produce are much cleaner than they
were a decade ago:
• Since 2005, the industry has invested $5 billion
to reduce sulphur levels in gasoline by more than
90 percent, and in diesel by 97 percent.
• Lower sulphur levels combined with new vehicle
technology have reduced the smog-forming
emissions of a 2005 vehicle (or newer) by 90 percent
over a 1993 model.
• Environment Canada predicts that by 2030, total
Canadian on-road vehicle emissions for nitrous
oxide, sulphur dioxide and particulate matter (PM2.5
)
will drop by 79 percent, 69 percent and 57 percent,
respectively, compared to 2005.
These greener fuels are the product of years of
continuous improvement by Canadian Fuels
members to enhance vehicle engine performance
and improve air quality.
National decline in emissions of smog precursors — nitrous oxides, volatile organic
compounds and particulate matter for light duty gasoline vehicles from 1995–2012
Source: Environment Canada, Pollutant Inventories and Reporting Division, 2014

2. 2canadianfuels.caCanadian Fuels Association
Lower Refinery Air Emissions
As Canadian Fuels Association members have improved the environmental
performance of fuels, they have also made impressive improvements in
the amount of atmospheric emissions from refineries.
Since 1998:
• sulphur oxide emissions are down 64 percent
• nitrous oxide emissions are down 36 percent
• volatile organic compound emissions are down 78 percent
In addition, refinery emissions of benzene are down 89 percent since
1993, contributing to a 71 percent drop in benzene air concentrations
between 1995 and 2008, as measured by Environment Canada.
Canadian Fuels Association members are committed to continuously
improving the quality and environmental performance of refineries.
Responding to the challenge of climate change
The refining sector produces 2.5 percent of Canada’s total greenhouse
gas emissions. By making better use of energy and improving the
efficiency of the refining process, refiners have met increasing demand
for their products while reducing their GHG emissions.
Since 2007, refining industry CO2
emissions have decreased by over 17
percent.
Cleaner Water, Less Waste
Canadian Fuels Association members are continually looking for
ways to enhance their water stewardship by using less water and
by improving the quality of the water they return to the ecosystem.
Our members’refineries have
decreased their water intake by
nearly 14 percent since 2005. Since
1992, environmental upgrades
have resulted in water effluents
with lower concentrations of five
federally regulated substances: oil
and grease, sulphide, ammonia
nitrogen, phenol and total
suspended solids.
Updated 02/12/2014
For further information, please contact
Canadian Fuels Association
info@canadianfuels.ca
613.232.3709
Giving used oil
a second life
Our members work with
provincial governments and other
stakeholders in western Canada
and Quebec to establish programs
that collect, process and recycle
waste oil products such as used
oil, oil filters and containers. More
than 200 companies across Canada
participate in such programs.
In 2012, Quebec recovered
94 percent of its used oil, 83 percent
of its filters and 95 percent of
its oil containers. B.C. recovered
73 percent of its oil, 87 percent of
its oil filters and 87 percent of its
oil containers.
Returning surplus
sites to productive use
When our members stop using one
of their sites for business purposes,
they remove the infrastructure and
secure, evaluate and monitor the
site until it has been thoroughly
cleaned in a process called
remediation. These sites range
from decommissioned refineries
to surplus retail sites. Canadian
Fuels Association members are
committed to return these
valuable sites to productive use.
As an example, one of our
members’former fuel storage
facilities on Toronto’s waterfront
was assessed and remediated.
The 50-acre site is now home to
Pinewood Toronto Studios.
Our members have remediated 676
surplus retail and other industrial
sites since 2009, including 207 in
2012 alone.