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Whose job is it to fix this mess? The late economist Milton Friedman argued that the only social responsibility of business is to make profit. Not everyone takes such a narrow view, but the remarkable thing is that even Friedman’s narrow definition of corporate social responsibility is now sufficient justification to deploy the full and awesome power of business to bear on the twin crises of climate chaos and dangerous inequality. Not because it is right, but because it is profitable.

Here’s how it works. Climate chaos is mostly a function of coal, combustion cars and cows, which, thanks to the engineers, are now less profitable than renewable power, electric vehicles and plant-based protein. So, if you want to make more money, you invest in the solutions to climate change, not the problems. Just ask Michael Sabia, CEO of $310 billion pension giant Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. In 2017, his fund set a target to boost climate solution investments 50% by 2020. How’s it working out so far? The fund is ahead of target and making fantastic returns from this theme, running into the mid-teens.

Smart companies understand that to adapt and capitalize on this new reality, they need the best talent, which requires paying a fair wage, which also happens to be a pretty effective means for reducing inequality.

This year’s Best 50 Corporate Citizens are exemplars of clean capitalism. They have shaken free the cobwebs of inertia and are capitalizing on the big and growing markets for planetary solutions, with clean revenues making up 35% of their overall revenues. That’s more than 10 times higher than the average large Canadian company (excluding the Best 50).

The Best 50 companies are also paying their workers well, with the median employee earning $93,202, more than 2.5 times the median Canadian wage of $35,000, according to Statistics Canada.

To the extent that the Best 50 offers a window into the future make-up of the Canadian economy, it reveals the continued centrality of natural resources. But we are moving beyond Harold Innis’ characterization as hewers of wood and drawers of water to become harnessers of clean power and providers of capital, with 46% of the Best 50 hailing from these two sectors alone.

The Class of 2019

This year’s top company is The Co-operators, which has pioneered a world-class suite of insurance products to deal with climate change while investing an increasing share of its premiums for positive impact in line with global climate and sustainable development goals. Last year’s top company, Hydro-Québec, slipped to No. 2 due to slight declines in its water and energy productivity, but still remains North America’s largest producer of renewable energy.

Algonquin Power took third, moving up five places due to improvements on water productivity and its strengthening portfolio of renewable power. Rounding out the top five are Teck Resources, which derives 94% of its revenue from AA and AAA-rated mines according to the Towards Sustainable Mining framework, and the beleaguered Bombardier, which despite its plane woes, still maintains a strong market share for world-class public transit solutions.

Companies headquartered in seven provinces are featured on the ranking, with Ontario and Québec accounting for a combined 33 of the top 50. British Columbia and Alberta followed with nine and five companies respectively, and Manitoba, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia tied with one apiece.

Champions: The large Canadian organizations who led the way in 2019

% Women on board
89% — Vancouver City Savings Credit Union
66% — Enmax Corp
57% — Cogeco Communications Inc

% Women senior executives
70% — York University
63% — Enmax Corp
60% — Vancouver City Savings Credit Union

CEO-average worker pay ratio
2.4:1 — Farm Credit Canada
2.5:1 — Export Development Canada (EDC)
3.9:1 — Société de transport de Montréal

Cash taxes paid/profit ratio
67% — Catalyst Paper Corp
49% — Hydro One Ltd
36% — Intact Financial Corp.

% Clean revenue
100% — Canadian Solar Inc
99.6% — Hydro-Quebec
98.5% — British Columbia Hydro and Power

Carbon savers
(biggest 3-year reductions tC02)
-4,445,333 — Fortis Inc.
-2,327,801 — TransAlta Corp
-1,216,000 — Encana Corp

Water savers
(biggest 3-year water reductions cubic litres)
-45,000,000 — TransAlta Corp
-34,000,000 — Hydro-Quebec
-25,046,444 — Resolute Forest

Click here to go back to the 2019 Best 50 landing page.

The Best 50 Corporate Citizens project is supported by the Canadian Industry Partnership for Energy Conservation (CIPEC). CIPEC offers energy management solutions, financial support, technical tools and networking opportunities to help Canadian industry save money through energy efficiency.

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For complete scores, return to 2019 Best 50 landing page and click on ‘free results.’

*Clean Revenue is calculated according the Corporate Knights Global Clean Revenue Taxonomy, with the exception of the Metal Ore Mining companies, which were scored based on the % of their revenue certified to AA or AAA according to Towards Sustainable Mining.

Click here to go back to the 2019 Best 50 landing page.

The Best 50 Corporate Citizens project is supported by the Canadian Industry Partnership for Energy Conservation (CIPEC). CIPEC offers energy management solutions, financial support, technical tools and networking opportunities to help Canadian industry save money through energy efficiency.

The post 2019 Best 50 results appeared first on Corporate Knights.

The post The top foreign corporate citizens of 2019 appeared first on Corporate Knights.

“We exist to provide financial security for Canadians and Canadian communities,” says president and CEO Rob Wesseling. “And we take a holistic view. It’s not just financial security in terms of economics, but also social and environmental security which are critical to overall wellness.”

It’s this strategy, and the results to date, that earned the Co-operators the top spot on the 2019 Corporate Knights Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada. The Co-operators was 12th on the list in 2018 and earned the top spot in 2011. The organization also ranked number one in 2019 against 230 of its global insurance peer companies.

The Co-operators, founded in 1945, has more than $41 billion in assets under administration and four main lines of business: property and casualty insurance, life insurance, institutional asset management and brokerage operations. It employs 5,350 people including 2,753 licensed insurance representatives across Canada and it serves more than 5.7 million members within 250 credit unions. Its investment division includes asset management for 156 institutions including pensions, insurance companies, co-operatives, endowments and foundations.

The Co-operators has been on a “deliberate journey to sustainability” over the past decade, says Barbara Turley-McIntyre, vice president, sustainability and citizenship. “There is no destination. The goal posts keep moving and we continue the journey with it.” Turley-McIntyre says the company has been successful in part because it has engaged the entire organization, from the boardroom to front-line employees, to help meet its sustainability goals. “It’s not an add on,” she says, “it’s truly embedded.”

Clean Revenue Rewarded

In the Corporate Knights ranking, the company scored high under “clean revenue,” which is revenue that has a clear environmental or social benefit with 11% of its insurance premiums linked to sustainability themes. Its Comprehensive Water insurance product was created in 2015 and provides a wide range of water and flood damage coverage. In 2018, the Co-operators extended that same policy coverage to include damage caused by storm surges. More than 300,000 of its Canadian clients have this insurance coverage today. “It’s a piece of the market that has evolved,” says Wesseling. “While we can’t take credit for the evolution of the market in its entirety, we do think we played an important role as the catalyst, in terms of highlighting the issue and creating circumstances where the market can emerge.”

According to Wesseling, approximately 13% of the organization’s institutional assets, or more than $1.2 billion, are in “verifiable impact investments.” That’s up from just under 8% in 2017. The organization is aiming for 20% by the end of 2022. “We’re not done yet,” he says.
In 2017, the organization’s investment management company, Addenda Capital, launched the Addenda Capital Impact Fixed Income Pooled Fund, the first of its kind in Canada, which includes about $50 million in investments today. In addition, Addenda Capital manages more than $2.5 billion in impact investments, of which 48% are investments from the Co-operators.

“It took time and there was pressure and resistance, internally and externally, as to whether making a positive impact with your investment portfolio was really something that could deliver on the other goals we have as an organization,” says Wesseling. He says the Co-operators is always looking for ways to capitalize on the growing number of impact investments on the market while also supporting the development of the green bond market.

Employee Impacts

The Co-operators scored well in terms of employee turnover and retention. Its employee retention rate was 94% in 2018 and 2017, which it says outperformed the Conference Board of Canada’s 88% benchmark for the sector. Its voluntary turnover rate was 4.6% in 2018, versus 3.6% the previous year, and below the Conference Board benchmark of 8%. “It’s the purpose and the work environment that, in our view, drives the high level of engagement and commitment in the organization, which in turn drives high retention levels,” says Wesseling.

The organization invests an average of $1,029 per employee annually on external education programs and offers an attractive benefits package. Last year, it increased its mental health benefits package to $5,000 from $500 per beneficiary. The package includes support for employees and their immediate family members and includes services ranging from counselling to addiction support services. Wesseling says the change reflects the prevalence of mental health issues and is a way to support employees who may be suffering. “We believe in rewarding our people and ensuring that they have the salary and benefits they need to sustain themselves and their families,” says Wesseling.

Overall, the Co-operators is focused on improving its sustainability performance in areas that matter to its stakeholders, and recommends other organizations do the same. “If we aren’t focused on these issues then we are likely to miss some of the risk cues associated with some of the impacts on our business,” says Wesseling. “These issues are important to every community. If they are important to every community then they should be important to every business serving those communities. At the end of the day, members and clients will decide which businesses to patronize. And more and more, he says, “It will be those whose purpose and activities align with their values.”

Brenda Bouw is a freelance writer and editor with more than 20 years of experience as a business reporter.

Click here to go back to the 2019 Best 50 landing page.

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Corporate Knights is proud to host the 18th annual Best Corporate Citizens in Canada Gala.

Join us on June 4th, at the Globe & Mail Centre in Toronto to celebrate sustainability achievements in all sectors.

We are excited to honour those who made it onto our rankings for 2019 Best 50, Top Foreign Corporate Citizens and Global 100.

For more information please see the invitation below or e-mail events@corporateknights.com.

@corporateknight | #2019Best50 #TopForeign2019 #Global100

Visit our Facebook page to view photos from the 2018 gala

Follow @corporateknight on Twitter for updates

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