Message From Our Executive Director + 2020 Results |
Dear Friends of CBSR,
It's been a crazy year and our hearts go out to all those that are hurting and those who have risked so much to safeguard public health and essential services.
Between the global pandemic and the new arms race in net-zero commitments to the tipping point in diversity, equity and inclusion, 2020 was a turning point in the way the world looked at systems change.
CBSR began the year by launching a major partnership with the constellation, which includes GLOBE Series, The Delphi Group, EXCEL Partnership, and Leading Change. This trial marriage was like rocket fuel for CBSR at the exact moment that Canadian business leaders seemed to need us most. As a result, we experienced a 300% growth in our membership and introduced several new programs including the SME Cohort Program we recently launched. You can see a summary of our 2020 results with links here.
In 2021, we will be integrating even further into the constellation and launching several more exciting initiatives. If you've ever considered test driving a CBSR membership, 2021 is the perfect year for you to do so and if your company was a CBSR member in the past, we would be delighted to welcome you back to an incredibly dynamic community of sustainable business leaders from several industries across Canada making business a force for good.
I know this holiday season looks very different but I hope it can be a positive opportunity to rest, reflect, appreciate what we have, and recharge for the year ahead.
Warmest wishes to you and yours,
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Scotiabank Joins CBSR to Connect with Canada's Sustainability Thought Leaders |
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Scotiabank, a leading bank in the Americas, is the most recent member to join Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR).
“We recognize the long-term success of our Bank is fundamentally intertwined with the future of those around us. We focus on areas where Scotiabank can make the biggest impact – enabling customers, employees and communities to realize their futures, mobilizing finance to address important social and environmental challenges and building trust by acting with integrity in everything we do – in order to create a more sustainable world. We are proud to join a community of like-minded professionals at CBSR to help contribute to a sustainable future in Canada,” said Sandra Odendahl, Vice President of Social Impact & Sustainability at Scotiabank.
Scotiabank is joining Royal Bank, Maple Leaf Foods, Enbridge and more than 30 other companies who are part of CBSR’s growing network championing Canadian business as a force for good.
“We are so pleased to welcome Scotiabank as a member,” said Leor Rotchild, Executive Director of CBSR. “By coming together around a shared purpose, CBSR members are raising the bar and ambition level for business in Canada.”
Visit Scotiabank online at www.scotiabank.com/
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Canada's Leading Companies Commit to Meaningful Action on Climate |
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Recognizing that climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the world, a coalition of Canada’s leading corporations & CBSR Members - Maple Leaf Foods and CN Railway along with Celestica Inc, shared a unified commitment to four strategic actions to protect the environment and ensure a sustainable, equitable and healthy future for all Canadians. Their commitments, which are aligned with the Paris Climate Accords, cover four key areas - Reducing Carbon Emissions, Setting Science-Based targets , Resource Stewardship and Sustainability Reporting.
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Bell Becomes First Telecoms Company in North America to Achieve ISO 50001 Certification |
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New CBSR member, Bell has achieved ISO 50001 certification of its energy management system. ISO 50001 integrates energy efficiency into management practices to increase awareness of energy use, reinforce good energy management behaviour and make better use of existing energy-consuming assets and processes.
This achievement makes Bell the first telecommunications company in North America to receive such a certification.
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Nutrien Launches New Carbon Offset Program |
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Nutrien, one of our newest and most active corporate members, recently launched agricultural industry’s most comprehensive carbon program, providing end-to-end support for growers to drive improved sustainability and boost profitability.
As part of the new program, Nutrien will provide sustainable products and solutions, year-round dedicated agronomic counsel and the industry’s leading digital platform to track and measure results. The plan will also enable growers to monetize their improved carbon performance at the farm level by facilitating the purchase and sale of carbon credits from its grower customers to value-chain partners.
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Canada's Plan to Meet Net-Zero Climate Targets |
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On December 11, 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada’s strengthened climate plan - "A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy". Built off of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Climate Change, the plan establishes a carbon pricing benchmark and federal pricing mechanism. The plan is still predicated on a Supreme Court decision on the jurisdiction of the federal government to impose pollution pricing and a federal backstop mechanism. If successful, the plan would see the carbon price increased to $170 per tonne by 2030 in $15 annual increases.
Visit our website to see the other key pillars of the government's plan.
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Okane Consultants Joins CBSR to Drive Sustainability in Mining |
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Okane Consultants is a Saskatoon-based company with offices across Canada, the USA, Australia and New Zealand. The company provides multidisciplinary mine closure and relinquishment solutions to mining companies across the globe. Okane assists mining companies by fully integrating their closure plans into the life of asset plan so that the benefits of progressive closure and reclamation activities can be realized throughout operations.
Okane's purpose is to Help Create a Better Tomorrow. By applying the latest technology in a cost-effective manner, they provide innovative technical consulting services to the mining industry while also offering the best potential for long-term environmental protection. As pressure from investors on environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies of mining companies continues to grow, Okane provides an opportunity to help clients realize the full financial and socioeconomic benefits of progressive mine closure and connects with policymakers to align on sustainable resource development and returning land use best practices.
CBSR is excited to welcome Okane as a founding member of our new SME Cohort Program and we look forward to working together to accelerate sustainability practices within the mining industry.
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Directeur Exécutif de CBSR à CBC Radio Canada / CBSR Executive Director on CBC Radio Canada |
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Leor Rotchild, le directeur général de Canadian Business for Social Responsibility qui est à la fois une association professionnelle et un groupe de réflexion pour ce type d’entreprises à mission, parle d’une sophistication de la philanthropie d’entreprise.
Cela n’a jamais été une mauvaise chose pour une entreprise de s’impliquer dans sa communauté et de se préoccuper de l’environnement. Depuis cinq ans, c’est devenu un impératif. C’est là où les investisseurs mettent leur argent, c’est là où les employés veulent travailler, souligne M. Rotchild.
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New Sustainable Procurement Research Reveals Stagnation in Progress |
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The 2020 Sustainable Procurement Barometer developed by ECPAR assesses the advancement of sustainable procurement among organizations in Canada. The Barometer reveals that sustainable procurement continues to gain importance among public institutions and businesses. The increase in the number of respondents accelerated from 76 in 2016 to 142 for the 2020 Barometer. These figures reflect the growing interest of Canadian organizations, as well as the strong involvement of governments and the sustainable procurement networks that contributed to this report: the CCSP, RCO, CBSR and OPBA. Several trends have taken root since the earlier editions, though an organization’s moral values remain the key motivator to initiate a sustainable procurement approach. Economic imperatives such as the lowest bid rule and the costs of the approach still constitute the main obstacles to sustainable procurement. The 2020 Barometer also highlights the ways in which sustainable procurement contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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Humans of CBSR Celebrates Coro Strandberg |
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How do you describe someone as extraordinary as Coro Strandberg? She has been an Associate and Consultant to CBSR over many years and she was instrumental to growing CBSR's work in Canada by helping us access funding, providing strategic advice, and developing tools and guides including the influential Transformational Company Qualities. She is also a generous mentor, thought leader and a singular force in driving the expansion of corporate social responsibility and social purpose organizations in Canada.
In her Humans of CBSR profile, Coro reflects on her many years with CBSR, where she first achieved a national profile, and how it helped her launch her impressive consultant career.
"Given the state of the world, we need to accelerate the role of business to contribute its assets, resources, value chains, and platforms to tackle society’s challenges – and CBSR has a central role to play in that. I’d like to see CBSR help entire sectors chart the path to a sustainable future! We need all hands on deck"
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Upcoming Events & Initiatives From Across The Constellation |
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In February 2020, CBSR entered into a formal partnership with the Constellation that includes GLOBE Series, The Delphi Group, EXCEL Partnership, and Leading Change in order to consolidate and accelerate corporate sustainability leadership in Canada. The following is a summary of some of the upcoming events from across the Constellation. |
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The Delphi Group
is hosting a Net Zero webinar on January 13, 2021, which will capture lessons from Canadian business leaders on how to set and achieve credible and rigorous net-zero and science-based targets. The webinar will feature Trevor McLeod, Director, ESG & Public Policy at Enbridge, Chantale Després, Director – Sustainability at CN Railway, Tim Faveri, Vice President, Sustainability & Shared Value at Maple Leaf Foods, Puninda Thind, Sustainability consultant at The Delphi Group.
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CBSR is hosting a webinar on January 20, 2021 to share some exclusive public opinion research on the future of Canadian business leadership. Hear from GlobeScan CEO, Chris Coulter and other sustainable business leaders on what the research says about the state of Canadian business and what to expect from the year ahead.
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Leading Change Capital
is a biennial sustainability summit integrated with GLOBE Capital for 150 youth aged 19-35 from coast to coast to coast on Monday, April 12, 2021. The first round of application review will begin December 21, 2020. Applications submitted after this date will be considered if there are remaining spots available. Those interested are encouraged to apply early.
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GLOBE Capital 2021 will bring together the corporate leaders, investors, innovators and policy makers from diverse sectors to unlock investment, accelerate innovation, and create a more resilient future and a cleaner economy for Canada.
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The Constellation gathered the leaders of our respective organizations to articulate why we're optimistic about 2021. We think you will enjoy this summary. Happy holidays.
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