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Good evening, everyone. I am honoured to stand before all of you today to receive this recognition on behalf of The Co-operators and our stakeholders. I am joined tonight by many people who work hard everyday to contribute to this achievement.

In a room surrounded by peers and business leaders who are all contributing to a common goal of building a more sustainable and resilient Canadian and global society, this moment feels particularly poignant.

I’d like to begin by giving you some insight into the history of our co-operative organization, because today’s achievement finds its origins in our roots.

In 1945, a group of farmers, credit union leaders and social pioneers pooled their resources and ingenuity to build a co-operative that would meet the ill met and unmet insurance needs of their members, families, and communities.

Today, although the world around us has changed significantly, and our co-operative has expanded, the same co-operative purpose guides us.

We still exist to provide financial security for Canadians and their communities.

The complex issues we face compel us to take a longer-term view of success – not just for our own organizations, but for our clients, communities and the planet.

This purpose is perhaps even more relevant today than it was almost 75 years ago. The embedment of sustainability into our strategy, decision-making and day-to-day operations is simply the manifestation of our cooperative purpose.

If we are to succeed in our mission to provide financial security for Canadians and Canadian communities, then we must account for the interconnected economic, social and environmental issues that put their security at risk. Doing so is not just the right thing to do … it is also good business. And it’s good business for all of us, since their risks are our risks.

The challenges of the future will be greater than the challenges of the past. The complex issues we face require holistic, collaborative and imaginative solutions. They compel us to take a longer-term view of success – not just for our own organizations, but for our clients, communities and the planet.

We have all been recognized for our leadership in environmental, social and financial responsibility. The sobering truth is that our clients and our communities need us to do much, much more.

And this is my call to action. Let’s challenge each other. I think all of us here are fans of some healthy competition.

Climate change is the defining issue of our times and it poises key intergenerational challenges. It requires an “all hands on deck” mentality. And yet, here in Canada, we have a polarized environment with regards to climate change. This polarization makes it difficult for healthy dialogue and action.

As business leaders, we have an opportunity to transcend this and pull our collective weight.

In this room, are companies with great influence. Imagine if we coordinated to help implement a robust and low-carbon economy. Initiatives like the Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance rely on Canadian Financial Institutions to lead the way in a smart transition to a low-carbon economy. I hope you’ll join us in these discussions, and adopt the recommendations of the Expert Panel’s report.

In this room, are companies with great influence. Imagine if we coordinated to help implement a robust and low-carbon economy.

In this room, are companies that collectively manage hundreds of billions of dollars in assets. Imagine the positive change we could drive if each of our organizations committed to impact investments. Today, The Co-operators has invested 13% of our assets in externally verified impact investments — over $1.2 billion. We are committed to reaching 20% by 2022. And 20% is not enough. It is simply a marker along the way, and I challenge us to work toward an aspirational goal of 100% in the long term. The financial returns are market competitive, and these investments are having a measurable environmental or social impact. In essence, the positive externalities are free.

In this room, are organizations who collectively serve tens of millions of Canadians. Imagine the impact we could have if our products and services were designed to help build more resilient and sustainable communities, to inform and equip Canadians to live more sustainable lives. Currently 11% of The Co-operators products have sustainability or resiliency in mind. Again, 11% is not enough and we are committed to doing better.

Together, we can catalyze the transition to a low-carbon economy. We can invest for positive impact. We can design our products and services to enable sustainable, resilient choices, and shift behaviours.

Along the way, we can partner across sectors and stay coordinated, working towards a shared goal of a sustainable future.

Thank you.

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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.

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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