We’re so excited to share… Courtney Agencies is B Corp certified!

A Licensed Customs Brokerage & International Freight Forwarding company, Courtney Agencies joins the B Corporation movement to make businesses a force for good. 

If you’ve been following our journey, you’ll know that Courtney Agencies has committed to being a purpose-based company, with the guidance of an articulated purpose:  

To make it easier for values-based business to succeed in the global marketplace.  

Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet specified standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.  

Our early efforts to reduce our operational energy and material use as well as bring attention to leading people practises meant we were successful in meeting certification requirements in our first attempt – with a score of 86.1. To be certified, a business must score 80 or more points and the total number of points possible is 200. For reference, exemplary Patagonia scores just over 150 points, and most average businesses score just over 50. 

B Corps work to consciously benefit all stakeholders — workers, communities, customers, and our planet. They are also 250% more likely to be carbon neutral – as Courtney Agencies is through its work with Radicle Climate Smart. You’re helping to minimize your own carbon footprint when you support a B Corp. 

We have more to do and we use the B Corp criteria as the standard to gauge our business goals and practices. It is a holistic way of looking at positive business impact and helps guide our decision-making in operations, services, clients, employment practices and community investment.

Courtney joins almost 6000 companies worldwide – and is one of just over 400 B Corps in Canada [as at October 2022]. We’re currently the only certified Customs Broker. We enthusiastically encourage our clients, partners, suppliers and friends to consider taking this worthy journey and do what we can to influence the supply chain. Visit bcorporation.net.  

View this short video to learn more about this important global movement:

In Honour of Earth Day – April 22, 2022

This year’s theme for Earth Day calls on everyone to play a role — all sectors of society. And “this time with the extraordinary responsibilities to get it right.” Accelerating solutions to combat our greatest threat, climate change, and to activate everyone – governments, citizens and businesses – to do their part. Everyone accounted for, and everyone accountable. (https://www.earthday.org)

Count. Us. In.

On this Earth Day, we’re dropping a tab called Responsibility into the Courtney.ca website. In this newly created section, we will share how — as a corporate citizen and as a group of people brought together through our business – we show up in the areas where we have impact and influence. 

Ours is a customs brokerage and freight forwarding business. And, through that vantage point, our social purpose is to:

Make it easier for values-based business to succeed in the global marketplace.

The universal conversation about environmental protection is forcing us to become systems thinkers. Let’s face it, the planet is going to survive regardless of what we do to it. What we’re really talking about is the survival of the natural world which is dependent on the planet’s current offerings. The bee has become the poster child for our needed attention to the dependencies within our eco-systems. 

If we are to learn anything from First Nations elders, it’s that we are responsible for the relationships we have and hold with each other and all parts of the natural world — including the land, air and water we depend on for survival.

We’re all connected and we’re all dependent on each other.

Under Responsibility, Courtney will share updates on our efforts and actions to make the connections as we:

  • lessen our environmental footprint through changes to our operations and our service offerings
  • contribute to humanitarian practises around the world
  • continually enhance our workplace for the people who make Courtney’s business their business.

We invite you to follow our journey and, most importantly, to join in with your own. 

Thinking about Astro Tourism

If you’ve followed the Courtney posts and blogs of late, you will be aware of our interest in business with a social purpose. It’s our belief that business has a responsibility to be conscious of the impact it has on people and the planet. In this regard, many of us are encouraging each other to learn more, talk more and act more. 

Perhaps that’s why I was particularly taken aback when the most successful business owners among us made space tourism their priority this past summer. I felt profoundly disappointed by these ventures. While the three entrepreneurs were delivering messages about how space exploration would have social benefits, I could only think that  the significant amount of resources required to propel them into orbit would have been better directed to ensuring our planet continues to be inhabitable. 
 
This space race took centre stage in the media while the world was fighting fires on an unprecedented scale. Western Canada, California and other parts of the US, South America, a wide band through the middle of Africa, parts of Asia, and Greece were staggering to keep up with what we no longer debate is climate change-related heat, drought, and fires. Concurrently, Germany and other countries were fighting the flood waters that poured through their cities. All the while the global population reels with a virus that has significant implications for poorer countries and their access to vaccines.

While I am disappointed in the choices of these individuals, it’s not really where the responsibility finally resides. I wonder how we ended up with a system that allowed this to happen --the amassing of exceptionable amounts of wealth with too few people who are lauded when they use that wealth for social good. The world is somehow dependent on their good will and good judgment. Is it too much to expect and too much to ask? We’re asking those who have earned and who hold large amounts of capital to make value decisions about how it’s spent.

Each of the space tourists has done some great things with their influence and affluence. Branson and his partnership with Whole Earth Water, Musk and his development of the advanced electric car (the Tesla) and Bezos Day One Fund supporting the end of homelessness and other causes. But these recent space junkets negatively affect the environment by loading carbon into the most sensitive parts of our atmosphere.

To be clear, I am not against any space ventures or even all private space ventures. In fact, I believe our communications and other systems rely on them. But - because of the resources it takes and the pollution it contributes - perhaps decisions about space tourism need to be made in the public sphere rather than by private parties -- where there can be greater attention on balancing social priorities. More regulation, more scrutiny, more transparency and more public discourse.

There has been so much concerted effort within the shipping industry and every other industry to make real movement in addressing and arresting mounting carbon in our atmosphere. It would be disheartening to have our collective efforts adversely affected by big and opposing actions.

I’d be interested to hear your perspective.

Courtney got Climate Smart

Last month, the organization and key staff successfully completed the Climate Smart training and certification program, and started on our action plan for reducing our environmental impact. We have brought out attention to our “standby” power, paper use, lights and other electrical draws.

Truth be told, our business doesn’t have a huge carbon footprint – but we vow to do what we can and help to raise consciousness among our staff, our partners, our clients and our friends. 

If you follow the Courtney blog and social posts, you’ll see theme. We pledged to stop using single-use plastic. Our family made the choice of electric bikes to ferry kids and run other errands around town. And we are addressing our carbon contribution. It takes real intention and attention to be the change we want to see – and we’re excited to be doing it.

My philosophy is that the “tipping point” will come when there is a critical mass of people and businesses willing to stand up and be counted – regardless of how big or small the businesses are. The more we each put up our hands, show our commitment through action, the more chance of real and lasting change. Individually and collectively, we are the drivers.

We invite you to join us by connecting with Climate Smart Business Inc. You too can take advantage of the data collection, training, tools and technical assistance you need to establish a baseline and make changes to your business practices will make the biggest difference to your numbers.

About Climate Smart  
Climate Smart is a Canadian, award winning B Corp that certifies and enables businesses to profitably reduce greenhouse gas emissions and take action on climate change. Climate Smart has helped over 1000 businesses and 40 partner cities and organizations prepare for and participate in the low-carbon economy of the future. Using a data driven approach, Climate Smart provides innovative tools and programming for “host partners” on the front lines – cities, ports, airports, and financial institutions – to build capacity towards ESG and Net-Zero goals, disrupt old economic trajectories, and invest in more efficient technologies. Visit climatesmartbusiness.com to learn more. 

National Indigenous Peoples Day

A message about the 215 and more

Like so many, we are reeling with the recent discovery of the unmarked grave in Kamloops and knowledge that at least 4,000 more children lost their lives at the hands of the Canadian government and the churches. We have come to understand that this evidence of centuries of mistreatment was not a recent reveal to the Indigenous people on this land we call Canada. But the physical finding of children’s remains made it impossible to remain oblivious to what happened in Canada’s residential schools.

As Courtney is making social purpose and moral courage a more central part of its message and its mission, we want to acknowledge the atrocities of past generations and what still continues for the Indigenous peoples, their communities and their land. The very nature of Courtney’s business gives us a global view. But it lacks foundation if our social purpose doesn’t start right here at home – enhancing understanding between people and improving quality of life.

To acknowledge National Indigenous Peoples Day, we have taken action in the following ways:

  • Through dedicated time for discussion, we are being educated with our staff on the meaning of Truth and Reconciliation and the Commission’s Calls to Action.
  • We have made a donation to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society as well as the choice of one of our staff members – Legacy of Hope
  • We now share with our network this booklet that explains the Residential School System in Canada.
  • We recognize that the land is sacred to our Indigenous peoples and we will continue to do what we can to take care of how we interact with it – at home and at work.

We are starting into a journey of learning the truth for Indigenous people here on Turtle Island, as well as for those people around the world who suffer violent oppression and the threat of cultural genocide. 

We invite you to join us.

Paul Courtney and Virginia Weiler 

The power and appeal of electric bikes

I love bikes.

In fact I have a bit of a collection for a variety of terrains (Mountain, Gravel, Road, Commute). I use my bikes for leisure and for transportation, and – until this year – my bike was powered exclusively by me. 

But a recent switch in schools for my youngest child required a commute through Vancouver that required some thoughtful reconsideration…

How long would the route take in a car on Vancouver’s roadways?
How far can she ride a bike before she’s done?
And would she have the peddle-power to make it home after a long day? And would the accompanying adult want to do four of those trips a day – there and back for a drop; there and back for the pick-up?
Was the best option to move to the other side of the city?

(The resounding “NOOOO” from the pack still rings in my ears).

And then it came to us. The only sustainable way to make sure that our commute was consistently low impact was an electric cargo bike where our child is the cargo. In fact, we have found that we don’t just use it to transport our little one to school and back but also to all her sporting ventures and well as trips to the grocery store and such. It’s great, you just bike right up and drop off.

We have done over 2000 kms in less than 6 months. This is now our preferred local mode of transportation and here are the reasons why. 

The bike we purchased is – hands-down – one of the best investments we’ve made.

It’s economical

The bike we purchased is – hands-down – one of the best investments we’ve made. It was a bit spendy but I believe that, when it comes to electric bikes, you get what you pay for.  The good news is it will pay for itself in saved parking, insurance and fuel costs.

It’s convenient

We move faster than the cars that are clogging the streets. It’s a great ride, and my daughter feels comfortable and secure. Vancouver is relatively bike friendly so we take bike routes almost all the time. It’s easier than a car and there’s never an issue finding a place to park. You don’t need special athletic gear – this bike is just as happy with your work clothes, play clothes, or school clothes. 

You get some exercise – at the level you want

I get as much exercise as I choose and and never more than I want.  You can adjust the amount of “assist” but you always have to pedal. And, as we are much more likely to take this bike than our standard bikes, we are clocking far more “pedalling” hours now.  The low-impact of pedalling will accommodate this type of exercise well into our advancing years.  I sometimes am challenged to build exercise into my day (lack of time, reduced options during lock-downs, or injuries) but I can always get it on my commute to and from the office or the elementary school. 

It’s all-weather

Vancouver is a rainy place with one of the most temperate climates in Canada. We rarely see snow, so we don’t really have to do anything to prepare for wintery road conditions. Hello friends in Calgary (where they saw the white stuff well into the month of May this year)… you may be interested in the balloon tires that hug a snowy road. Here on the Wet Coast, I will likely invest in the new attachments they have to provide some rain coverage. 

It has environmental benefits

So much better for the environment than cars, electric bikes have virtually zero emissions, and are not dependent on fossil fuels (at least not in British Columbia where hydro is the primary energy source) and they do not pollute the air. Added bonus – they’re quiet so they don’t contribute to noise pollution, save for the bell you may have to use once in a while. 

Supply chain issues

COVID has increased the demand for anything related to outdoor activities and, of course, that includes all types of bikes. At the same time, COVID has disrupted supply chains causing a real lag in meeting demand. For the sake of the planet, let’s hope that the demand keeps growing for all the reasons mentioned and, as we come out of COVID, the supply issues get smoothed out. However, in the short and even medium terms, continue to expect delays in delivery of the bikes and their parts. (You knew I’d bring it back here, right?)  

In an article in Car and Driver “The Ride into Our Electric Future Will Be Led by Bikes, 2019”, it was predicted that 300 million electric bikes will be out on the world’s roads by 2023. I get it.  It’s the way to roll.

EARTH DAY

Of course, the issue of climate change has an urgency that overshadows the issue of pollution. But I have been reading and hearing more about the peril of plastic and understand that addressing our dependence on plastic has benefits for all of it: climate change, air pollution, land, and water pollution. 

A time to reflect on the impact we are having on our natural environment and – as the host of all life – how much our environment needs to be centered in our thoughts and actions.

Remember five years ago when container loads of plastic scrap from Canada was turned away by the Philippines? The container loads sat on the docks until Canada took it back. The Freight Forwarding industry was indirectly implicated in this social issue but became an active part in addressing the issue by applying new government rules and regulations to stop the practice. This really linked how the ethics of our businesses decisions have real world effects.

Fossil fuels are a significant component of new plastic. Fossil fuel extraction, processing and plastic production contributes to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere and changes our climate.

Millions of tons a year, only less than 10% of the plastic we create is recycled. 

In its material state, we have a big problem getting rid of plastic. There is a variety of reasons for this – it does not make it back to recycling facilities, or there are no buyers for the recycled materials, or (mostly likely) its components are not pure enough to recycle. We should keep recycling, of course, but ultimately the answer has to be a drastic reduction of our dependence on the stuff.

Unrecycled plastic waste becomes pollution. We have all seen pictures of the football field-sized garbage patch in the middle of the ocean and read about the microplastics found in the bodies of fish that are ending up on our plates. 

Related to the ship stranded off the coast of the Philippines, we now know of the mountains of first world plastic waste many wealthy countries sent to poorer countries. It was a cheap way to meet reduce domestic landfill. For developing countries taking in the garbage, it was a significant source of income (BBC News June 2019). To address the sheer volume, some took to burning the plastic – creating toxic air pollution that causes respiratory and other diseases. Not good.

If it were not for the pollution and GHGs, I am sure we would all still love the properties and conveniences plastic offers. A topical example – think of the necessary tons of disposable plastic coverings needed to keep sterile all the plastic paraphernalia for COVID tests and vaccinations. We do not have ways to alter all our dependencies on plastic just yet – but I am confident we will in time.

I still want to do my part.

On this Earth Day, I pledge to choose plastic-free and plastic-reduced options wherever I have the power to do so.  The easiest things I can do right away are refusing single use plastics like plastic bags at grocery stores, drink bottles, coffee cups and their lids, and straws. And I will be bringing this sensibility into our workplace to influence the habits of our team. 

I invite you to join me.

The highway to CARM

CARM, the Canadian Border Services Agency’s newly created Assessment and Revenue Management system, will soon be opening the virtual doors on its registration process.

While an overhaul is long overdue and there are certainly efficiencies to be had once CARM is fully implemented, we do think there is reason for the government to pay attention to the calls of Importers to slow down implementation. Those being:​​

  • This is a very difficult time to bring in major business changes. With many people working from home, it is far more difficult for companies to manage change. Things will be easier when we return to a more normal work environment, but no-one can anticipate when that might be.
  • Some industries have been all but halted in the pandemic’s economic twister. Those industries do not have the resources to address systems changes, and it’s only fair to engage them in this move once the economy rights itself and allows them to get back on their feet.
  • COVID-related pressures on the system have negatively affected companies’ ability to easily, quickly and economically get a bond or other security. But to get Customs to release goods prior to payment, importers will HAVE to post security. That’s a change in the way Importing business has been done — and one we believe may come with constraints and added costs.
  • It’s also likely that the details of certain aspects of the program will not be ironed out or fully communicated before the implementation dates. There are lots to areas yet to be finalized. So, Importers are being asked to register but are still really unsure of what “signing on” is going to bring.

​​Very likely CBSA will adhere to their published timelines. Regardless, you can trust Courtney to work on your behalf and work along with you to ensure that all the steps are taken in good time. We will help you navigate this road.

Stay tuned

​as we release information bulletins, conduct timely webinars, email blasts and other types of communiques to keep you ahead of the curve.

To best facilitate our CARM notices and future communication, we are updating our client management system. We are opening up streamlined communications channels that will deliver to our clients timely information and facilitate even better service.

Please click here to sign up and receive the information you need when you need it, which includes industry updates, Courtney news, as well as CARM updates. Visit our CARM info webpage for more information.

Paul Courtney 

Shippers: why care about professional associations

Courtney has been incorporating more business planning tools into our operations – and bringing a new lens to customer service, people development and forecasting. These exercises have only strengthened my appreciation for the value of professional associations to the advancing of industries and the businesses that work within them.

Whether they think about it or not, clients greatly benefit from a company’s role with its professional association.

I currently volunteer and serve as CIFFA Vice-President I and Customs Chair. From that vantage point, I am really well-schooled in the seemingly continual changes to regulations governing our industry. The CIFFA board advocates on behalf of its members – serving as watchdogs, of sorts, for how government priorities affect our businesses and systems and by extension our clients.

Professional associations set the bar for baseline education and provides opportunities to gain advanced knowledge. They establish service standards and ethical codes to build consistency, security and trust. That is particularly important in Freight Forwarding in Canada. If you’re a shipper and not one of our clients, I would strongly recommend you look for a supplier that is a CIFFA member to gain access to the competency, business ethics and knowledge the association requires of them.​

Our team benefits from professional development opportunities which, in turn, benefit our clients.

My own career was carved out by a family-owned business where the learning was… might we say… “organic.” But, as I moved into more responsible roles – culminating at owner and CEO – I relied heavily on the educational offerings of the Canadian Society of Customs Brokers (CSCB) and CIFFA.

Earning certificates through the courses offered, I continued to enhance my learning through conferences, workshops and conversations with the network of members. Experiences that proved invaluable to my business and my clients.

Today, I give back by sharing my knowledge with colleagues, competitors and industry newcomers. As a leader of a team of eager and able young customs brokers, forwarders and logistics professionals, I support the growth of our team through fully sponsored certificate programs offered by the industry associations.

Would you like to know more? Please contact me at hello@courtney.ca

Courtney Agencies celebrates 65 years

Born on the shores of the mighty Fraser, family-owned Courtney Agencies celebrates its history on its 65th anniversary

We’re the Courtneys, and we’ve owned and run a customs brokerage firm for 65 years.

This company was set in motion by the career choice of my grandfather, started by my father, later run by my mother, with decades of hands-on support from their two sons – one of which is me. I now own the business and operate it with my talented wife, Virginia.

Our history, our longevity and our ownership model is valuable to our clients. As a family-owned company, we have been able to center our clients in every decision we make. We’re not bound to shareholders or distant owners so we can keep our focus on our business, our teams and our relationships.

I was literally born into this business. For years my grandfather, J.A. ”Alex” Courtney, was the manager of a successful shipping and storage business based in New Westminster, BC. For West Coast shippers and customs brokers, the Port of New Westminster was where you wanted to be. The Fraser River – a working river – has a history of moving logs and lumber, coal and other industrial products into and out of Canada.

My father, Richard “Dick” Courtney, worked with my grandfather, learning the ropes while gaining confidence and growing interest in an enterprise of his own. After my grandfather’s passing, my father – with the help of his mother (Laura Courtney) – established a business of their own, and Courtney Agencies Ltd. was born. My grandmother worked with the business until she was in her eighties! 

A shack on the docks in New Westminster was the first home of Courtney Agencies... ​No shipping containers, no computers, not even an electric typewriter in those days.
Courtney Agencies-img1
Courtney Agencies-img2
Courtney Agencies-img
Courtney Agencies-img4

Top left, The Port of New Westminster; Top right, Columbia Street – aka “The Golden Mile”; Bottom, left, Teenaged Dick Courtney picture believed to have been captured by famous street photographer Foncie Pulice; Bottom right, Courtney’s first “office” – a shack on the dock. (Grateful to the New Westminster archives.) 

A shack on the docks in New Westminster was the first home of Courtney Agencies and where it served as Ship’s Agent and Customs Broker for this west coast port of entry. No shipping containers, no computers, not even an electric typewriter in those days.

Later, my mother, Veronica “Ronnie” would join the Courtney Agencies’ crew; my parents dedicated more than a decade to their business before my brother and I were part of the picture. For as long as I can remember, we breathed the shipping air. We practically learned the trade by osmosis after school and in the summers.

Not surprisingly, the kids would have an interest in carrying on the tradition. My brother, Don, dedicated twenty years to building Courtney Agencies. I went to university to learn more about business and take professional courses to earn industry-specific certificates. My father’s passing in 2000 put the reins in my mother’s hands as I prepared myself to take the leadership role.

In the past 65 years, we have seen some significant changes. We moved our offices to the historic Marine Building in Vancouver. We needed to be closer to the Port of Vancouver which, by the seventies, had outpaced the one in New Westminster. The Telex machine hummed with communication between the ships and us – the ship’s agent.
Eventually, I got to hang up my Keds for a pair of Florsheims when I no longer had to physically run paperwork from the Courtney offices to those of Canada Customs.

We brought in Laurence Lovett, of Lovett Ventures, who for more than 30 years transitioned our business from paper to digital. We were one of the first Customs Brokers to have a website with resources for clients, and no-one was more prepared for the Y2K millennium switch. Laurence retired at 85 but, in many ways, he will be with us forever. We have a physical space on West Pender in Vancouver but, like so many others, much of our business is being conducted through the cloud for now.

In the last twenty years, we’ve broadened our service offerings, and developed the ability to bring goods to and from locations anywhere on the globe. We have grown our “extended family” of specialists to more than 20 people, starting with Serrena who just over a year ago celebrated 25 years of service with Courtney! We have drawn expertise from all over the world and creating a vibrant, multicultural workplace. Most recently, we have rebranded and aligned our offerings under a bold banner and newly articulated purpose statement. We invite you to watch for more on this in the coming months.

Drawing on the strength of our past, we’re more than ready to be a force for the future.

Happy 65th anniversary to Courtney Agencies and all the family, clients, friends, partners and staff members that have been part of this journey.

And to our “littles”, aged 14 and 7, we have the door open for you to join us one day in the wonderful world of shipping. 

Author

“I’m Paul Courtney and I’ve been in this business for 30 years” 

Categories