As headlines proclaim another historically hot summer, are Canadian businesses doing their part to usher in a greener, more sustainable future?
According to Cristian Rodriguez, Vice President of Safety, Sustainability and People at Wajax, “Canada has fallen behind the EU and the USA in terms of sustainability disclosures, but we are catching up.”
Increased sustainability for Canadian companies
Rodriguez uses his own company as an example of how Canadian businesses have made sustainability more of a priority over the past decade.
“When I joined the company nine years ago, we had a small occupational health and safety team already in place,” Rodriguez explains. “We began growing by including an Environmental and Sustainability Manager, a Sustainability Specialist, and an Environmental Compliance and Real Estate Specialist. During the pandemic, we expanded the team again with a Wellness Manager and Wellness Specialist. More broadly, we now have a strong safety team led by a Director of Safety, and we have a technical training team supporting our technicians. ”
Rodriguez also notes larger trends that promote corporate responsibility and sustainability in Canada.
“Early this year, the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board (CSSB) released their first proposed Canadian Sustainability Disclosure Standards for public consultation,” he points out. “Companies, and especially publicly traded organizations, are paying attention. We are figuring out what sustainability targets we need to meet, how to achieve them, and what we must disclose.”
According to Rodriguez, certain sectors of the Canadian economy deserve to be commended for their commitment to sustainability. “The clean power and low carbon fuels sector in Canada is doing quite well,” he says. “According to the Canadian Centre for Energy Information, 68% of Canada’s electricity comes from renewable sources and 82% from non-greenhouse gas (non-GHG) emitting sources such as solar, hydro, wind, and nuclear power. Canada is also the world’s second-largest producer of hydroelectricity, with 60% of Canada’s electricity coming from hydroelectric sources.”
Another positive development is that companies’ increased investment in sustainable practices has also created jobs dedicated to corporate social responsibility in general and environmental sustainability in particular.
“There is a boom in sustainability-related opportunities being created in the job market,” Rodriguez says. “In addition, the pandemic brought safety and wellness roles to the forefront, and companies are realizing they need to seriously look after the well-being of their employees, not only to maintain their social license to operate but also as a differentiator to attract and retain talent.”
Yet, there’s still substantial room for improvement regarding Canadian companies’ sustainability.
Sustainability challenges for Canadian companies
According to Rodriguez, businesses worldwide are still lagging behind important benchmarks related to sustainability.
“The UN has established 17 Sustainable Development Goals, but on a global level, only 15% of these are currently on track for 2030, and we are even moving backward when it comes to some of these goals!” Rodriguez says.
Part of the problem is a common misconception about what sustainability encompasses.
“People most often think about sustainability as measuring, tracking, and reporting on our carbon footprint, which continues to be important and evolve,” Rodriguez says. ”However, Canadians and Canadian companies need to understand that sustainability is so much more than accounting for GHG emissions and setting targets, and it is most definitely not a PR exercise. Canadian companies need to address what is material to their stakeholders, which means all of them — not just their shareholders.”
For this reason, Rodriguez emphasizes the importance of corporate policies and initiatives that bolster employees’ well-being.
“Sustainability is also very much focused on supporting our people in multiple ways so they can thrive,” Rodriguez explains. ”Investing in their well-being, their learning, their goals, and their communities allows businesses to thrive in turn. This looks like working in very real ways on matters of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, as well as the many levels of community engagement. For companies working in industrial settings like we do, occupational health and safety is paramount.”
Moreover, as Rodriguez explains, “There are five areas of action where the private sector in Canada can collectively make the biggest impact: gender equality, climate action, living wages, water resilience, and finance and investment in sustainability.”
Consequences for Canadian companies that neglect sustainability
Changes in Canadian governmental policy make it increasingly likely that companies will face consequences for failing to address their sustainability.
“Beyond the responsibility to run an ethical business with sound corporate governance, the Canadian Securities Administrators — the umbrella organization of Canada’s provincial and territorial securities regulators — has indicated that they are waiting for the CSSB to finalize its sustainability standards so they can work towards formalizing such disclosure to be presented alongside other financial filings,” Rodriguez says. “Additionally, new amendments to the Competition Act in Canada are now in force via Bill C-59, and after receiving royal assent this past June, many of these amendments target greenwashing, which is false or misleading advertising around sustainability.”
The good news is that companies can take action to improve their sustainability and protect not just the planet but also themselves.
“Thankfully, there are many Canadian sustainability professionals, NGOs, and consultants ready to help organizations eager to integrate sustainability as part of their purpose and business strategies,” Rodriguez says. “A good place to look for resources is Eco Canada, as they have partnerships, programs, and research to support employers, professionals, and new practitioners in the environmental sector.”
Continue to challenge the status quo
Canada has made significant progress in its transition to sustainable business practices, yet there is still much work to do.
“To anyone interested in sustainability, it’s time to get involved, ask questions, and continue to challenge the status quo,” Rodriguez says.