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	<title>community bond | Corporate Knights</title>
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		<title>Domtar’s Sustainability Strategy: Our people and communities</title>
		<link>https://corporateknights.com/sponsored/domtars-sustainability-strategy-our-people-and-communities/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Domtar]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 Nov 2025 16:36:07 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Sponsored]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2025 sponsored content]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[community bond]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Domtar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sustainability]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://corporateknights.com/?p=48655</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Second of three stories about our Sustainability Strategy pillars: Environmental Stewardship, Our People and Communities, and Responsible Business.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://corporateknights.com/sponsored/domtars-sustainability-strategy-our-people-and-communities/">Domtar’s Sustainability Strategy: Our people and communities</a> appeared first on <a href="https://corporateknights.com">Corporate Knights</a>.</p>
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									<p>Domtar is committed to turning policy into action, especially when it comes to our responsibility to the people and natural resources around us. Our 2030 Sustainability Strategy focuses our efforts in three areas: Environmental Stewardship, Our People and Communities and Responsible Business.</p>								</div>
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									<p>The strategy, which launched in May 2025, is the result of nearly two years of collaborative work led by our Sustainability team. Driven by 12 objectives related to our operations, products and value chain, the integrated strategy will be our focus as we continue our work as a leading manufacturer of diversified forest products.</p><p>In the first article in this series, we looked at our commitment to Environmental Stewardship. In this article, we explore the social pillar of our strategy: Our People and Communities.</p><p>The People and Communities pillar recognizes not only Domtar’s vital interconnections with employees and the places where we operate, but also the value we can create through effective collaboration. There are many ways we will bring this pillar to life, such as engaging with community members, supporting the development of our employees and taking steps to better ensure workplace safety.</p><p>“This pillar represents the heart of who we are as an organization and the legacy we want to build together,” says <a href="https://www.domtar.com/about-domtar/domtar-leaders/richard-tremblay/">Richard Tremblay</a>, president of Domtar’s Pulp and Tissue business unit. “We can only succeed as a company if our communities, employees and other partners share in that success. This isn’t just good ethics; it’s good business. Our future depends on how well we nurture critical relationships today.”</p><h4> <strong>How We Support Our People and Communities</strong></h4><p>Our goal is to contribute to the prosperity of and quality of life in our operating communities through trusted partnerships, thoughtful engagement and support for the well-being and development of our employees in a safe and inclusive workplace. The People and Communities pillar encompasses four key objectives:</p><p><strong><em>Employee Safety</em></strong></p><p>Every employee who comes to work for us has the right to a <a href="https://www.domtar.com/domtar-safety-milestones-and-awards/">safe working environment</a> and to return home to their family safe and sound. We aspire to reduce employee injuries to zero by enforcing a proactive safety program and culture. This means that we must identify and control each and every risk present in our workplaces while ensuring a culture of safety is present across our organizations and endures over time. To get there:</p><ul><li>By 2026, we will establish annual safety targets that drive positive actions and behaviors.</li><li>By 2030, we aim to achieve zero injuries.</li></ul><p><strong><em>Indigenous Partnerships</em></strong></p><p>We are also deepening our existing <a href="https://www.domtar.com/responsibility/indigenous-relations/">relationships with Indigenous communities</a> by <a href="https://www.domtar.com/indigenous-partnerships-across-canada/">building mutually successful partnerships</a>, helping to create <a href="https://www.domtar.com/creating-opportunities-for-indigenous-youth/">opportunities for Indigenous youth</a> and supporting <a href="https://www.domtar.com/tiskwat-land-agreement/">land reacquisition</a> in partnership with First Nations. But we recognize that we must continue to learn and improve, particularly when it comes to creating business opportunities and career pathways at Domtar.</p><p>By 2030, we will:</p><ul><li>Establish Domtar as a preferred partner for Indigenous communities through the implementation of our Indigenous partnership policy and internal engagement strategies.</li><li>Ensure Domtar is considered a culturally safe and inclusive environment where Indigenous employees, partners and communities feel respected, valued and heard.</li></ul><p><strong><em>Community Engagement</em></strong></p><p>Another way we connect with our people and communities is through community engagement. This includes employee volunteerism through programs like <a href="https://www.domtar.com/introducing-domtar-connects/">Domtar Connects</a>, <a href="https://www.domtar.com/inclusive-and-accessible-spaces/">monetary and in-kind donations</a> to community initiatives and <a href="https://www.domtar.com/teachers-students-go-back-to-school-with-domtars-help/">donations of classroom supplies</a>. Just as we have for many years, we will continue to enhance our community engagement programs by focusing on employee volunteerism and financial support for education, sustainability and humanitarian needs.</p><p>By 2030, we will:</p><ul><li>Achieve $20 million USD in community investment ($4 million each year over five years).</li><li>Reach a volunteerism milestone, which will be established in 2026.</li></ul><p><strong><em>Employee Experience and Talent Development</em></strong></p><p>To remain successful, we need a workforce that is engaged and empowered to contribute to our long-term success. This not only makes Domtar <a href="https://www.domtar.com/employee-training-strengthens-long-term-performance/">a better place to work</a> but also enhances our ability to face future challenges.</p><p>We are committed to fostering an environment where everyone is inspired to build their career and fulfill the company’s purpose. By 2030, we will:</p><ul><li>Achieve milestones that will be determined by top themes in our 2026 employee engagement survey.</li><li>Expand growth and development opportunities for at least 85 percent of high-potential and potential successors by ensuring their participation in personalized development plans.</li><li>Develop a mitigation strategy for 85 percent of critical roles, prioritizing internal talent, when applicable, to ensure timely fulfillment of open positions.</li></ul><h4><strong>Our People and Communities Make the Difference</strong></h4><p>Sustainability starts with people: those who work at Domtar and the communities where we live and operate. As we navigate turbulent times, our ongoing commitments to our environment, our people and our communities — as well as responsible business practices — will ensure we can respond to challenges in a way that makes us all stronger, together.</p><p>“All of us — individuals, communities, companies — need to adapt and succeed even in the face of fast change and often daunting challenges,” says <a href="https://www.domtar.com/about-domtar/domtar-leaders/john-williams/">John D. Williams</a>, Non-Executive Chairman of Domtar’s Management Board. “At Domtar, we can create resiliency through our workplace culture, strong relationships with the communities whose success is intertwined with ours, and forward-looking and collaborative approaches to business, including investment in product innovation and Indigenous-led procurement.”</p><p>Visit <a href="https://www.domtar.com/responsibility/sustainability-strategy/">Domtar.com</a> for a full overview of Domtar’s sustainability strategy and recent sustainability report, including objectives and performance targets that define the roadmap for our company’s efforts in the years ahead.</p><p>Domtar is of the &#8220;Private 25 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World&#8221; named by Corporate Knights in 2025.</p>								</div>
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									<h3>Learn more:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://www.domtar.com/responsibility/sustainability-strategy/">Domtar’s Sustainability Strategy</a></li><li><a href="https://www.domtar.com/sustainability-strategy-environmental-stewardship/">Our Sustainability Strategy: A Commitment to Environmental Stewardship</a></li></ul>								</div>
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		<p>The post <a href="https://corporateknights.com/sponsored/domtars-sustainability-strategy-our-people-and-communities/">Domtar’s Sustainability Strategy: Our people and communities</a> appeared first on <a href="https://corporateknights.com">Corporate Knights</a>.</p>
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		<title>Banks won’t solve the housing crisis, but community bonds just might</title>
		<link>https://corporateknights.com/responsible-investing/banks-wont-solve-the-housing-crisis-but-community-bonds-just-might/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tova Gaster]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Dec 2024 18:05:09 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Responsible Investing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[canada mortgage housing corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[co-ops]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[community bond]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[green housing]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://corporateknights.com/?p=43425</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>More housing co-ops are joining a national movement that's using community bonds to take housing out of commodity markets</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://corporateknights.com/responsible-investing/banks-wont-solve-the-housing-crisis-but-community-bonds-just-might/">Banks won’t solve the housing crisis, but community bonds just might</a> appeared first on <a href="https://corporateknights.com">Corporate Knights</a>.</p>
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										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A new housing co-operative plans to fund 50 units of affordable, green housing in Kamloops, British Columbia, by selling bonds to local investors. It’s part of a movement of co-ops which, priced out of conventional markets, are looking to alternative methods to finance affordable, sustainable housing.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.propoliscooperative.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Propolis Housing Cooperative</a> is partnering with <a href="https://tapestrycapital.ca" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tapestry Community Capital</a>, a non-profit investment organization, to fundraise through community bonds: investments typically bought by, and returning profits to, local residents. <span style="font-size: revert; letter-spacing: 0px; color: initial; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">“They can be such a great solution for people to know that they’re having an impact with their investment, helping to build the affordable housing that we so desperately need – and they get a financial return on their investment at the same time,” Propolis director Lindsay Harris tells </span><em style="font-size: revert; letter-spacing: 0px; color: initial; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">The Energy Mix.</em></p>
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<p>Communities across Interior B.C. brace for a worsening wildfire season each summer. Each disaster displaces <a href="https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2022/06/27/BC-Climate-Refugees/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new waves of evacuees</a> who turn to surrounding communities <a href="https://www.castanetkamloops.net/news/Kamloops/499864/City-of-Kamloops-says-more-than-100-wildfire-evacuees-registered-at-reception-centre" target="_blank" rel="noopener">for support</a>. B.C.’s 2024 wildfire season affected <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/wildfire-status/about-bcws/wildfire-history/wildfire-season-summary#statistics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more than 4,100 properties</a>.</p>
<p>“We’re seeing a lot of evacuees coming to our community during wildfire season,” Harris says, and many have nowhere to go. But Kamloops faces a <a href="https://www.castanet.net/news/West-Kelowna/443832/Displaced-evacuees-could-have-tough-task-finding-long-term-housing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tight housing market</a>, and a 2020 City of Kamloops report warned that subsidized housing isn’t keeping up with<a href="https://www.radionl.com/2024/01/30/b-c-population-to-hit-7-9-million-by-2046-as-growth-rate-soars-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> rapid population growth</a>.</p>
<h4>Tackling the climate crisis through community land trusts</h4>
<p>Harris says that Propolis emerged from a need to tackle the climate crisis on two fronts: expanding housing access and reducing emissions by building green. To acquire land and build a six-storey, mixed-use development, Propolis set a fundraising goal of $1.1 million. Harris says that 80 investors have brought Propolis to 90% of that total. Tapestry helped Propolis develop a formal, secure community bond campaign with planning support and investor engagement, Harris says.</p>
<p>Community bonds allow issuers like Propolis to set investment timelines and terms, giving them flexibility that conventional loans or grants lack, Tapestry co-executive director Ryan Collins-Swartz says<em>. </em>While Propolis is the first community bond campaign in Western Canada, it follows projects in Eastern Canada. The Ottawa Community Land Trust is also partnering with Tapestry on a community bond fundraising campaign to <a href="https://www.theenergymix.com/community-land-trusts-can-build-resilient-affordable-housing-advocates-say-ottawa-voted-them-down/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acquire and preserve</a> an affordable building.</p>
<p>Community land trusts (CLTs) are non-profit corporations that hold land in trust for residents, who <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/real-estate/vancouver/how-community-land-trusts-could-help-build-affordable-vancouverhousing/article34026679/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">buy in at rates lower</a> than market rent. The Ottawa CLT has raised almost $3 million in bonds since launching its campaign seven months ago, according to executive director Mike Bulthuis<em>. </em>“I think it is a real demonstration of what the community prioritizes,” he says.</p>
<p>Taking housing out of the commodity market also reduces reliance on banks and speculators, who often contribute to rising inequality and unsustainable industries, a <a href="https://utppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3138/jccpe-2023-0201" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2023 study</a> published in the <em>Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy</em> found.</p>
<p>“All of this work to support divestment from extractive investments, and investments into community, ultimately has positive implications for climate, as well,” Collins-Swartz says<em>.</em></p>
<p>Only 19% of CLTs surveyed by the Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts in 2023 were actively planning for climate change. Harris says that Propolis is foregrounding energy efficiency and renewability by building net-zero housing, in partnership with local construction company NexBuild.</p>
<p>Other Canadian land trusts, including the Ottawa CLT and the Kensington Market Land Trust in Toronto, instead preserve existing affordable housing, which Bulthuis says can reduce both emissions and rental costs.</p>
<h4>Financial instruments that help fill the housing gap</h4>
<p>CLT properties still have to return profits to bond investors and pay for development costs, which can be steep for older buildings. Those costs can set a limit on how affordable CLT housing can be. “We might buy a building where rents are . . . a modest level of affordability or an average level of rent,” Bulthuis says. “I think there’s still a huge value in doing that.” CLTs don’t raise rents like most market landlords would, Bulthuis says – they just have to recoup costs.</p>
<p>To make up the difference, “community bonds fit and stack with other funding sources,” Collins-Swartz says, including Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) grants, loans and provincial funding.</p>
<p>Tapestry’s work for community bond campaigns recently received a federal boost. In November, the non-profit won $3 million from CMHC as a finalist in its <a href="https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/professionals/project-funding-and-mortgage-financing/funding-programs/all-funding-programs/housing-supply-challenge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Housing Supply Challenge</a> to scale up community bond campaigns across Canada.</p>
<p>By 2025, Tapestry aims to use the CMHC award to jump-start a $30-million pooled investment fund for community bonds, which could help non-market housing developers attract investors to larger funds rather than individual campaigns. Tapestry is launching partnerships with 19 co-ops in 2025.</p>
<p>The pooled fund <a href="https://tapestrycapital.ca/tapestry-community-capital-cmhc-housing-supply-challenge-finalist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">could backstop co-ops</a> in Northern and rural areas that don’t have enough people or wealth to support a community bond campaign on their own, according to Tapestry’s media release.</p>
<p>By creating a larger market for community bonds, Collins-Swartz says that Tapestry hopes to broadly shift <a href="https://www.theenergymix.com/community-wealth-building-advances-canadas-net-zero-transition/">resources</a> toward local economies. “We’re not going to create change in affordable housing, climate change, wealth inequality, without fundamentally challenging our systems of financing and investment,” he says.</p>
<p><em>This article was first published by <a href="https://www.theenergymix.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Energy Mix</a>. It has been edited to conform with Corporate Knights style. Read the <a href="https://www.theenergymix.com/co-ops-fund-affordable-sustainable-housing-with-community-bonds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original story here</a>. </em></p>
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<p>The post <a href="https://corporateknights.com/responsible-investing/banks-wont-solve-the-housing-crisis-but-community-bonds-just-might/">Banks won’t solve the housing crisis, but community bonds just might</a> appeared first on <a href="https://corporateknights.com">Corporate Knights</a>.</p>
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		<title>Impact bonds offer a safe haven for investors</title>
		<link>https://corporateknights.com/responsible-investing/impact-bonds-offer-safe-haven-investors/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tim Nash]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Mar 2020 18:48:42 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Responsible Investing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[community bond]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[green bond]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tim nash]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://corporateknights.com/?p=20001</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>It would be normal to feel a little shaky about the markets right now. There’s lots of volatility and concern about panic behaviour as COVID-19</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://corporateknights.com/responsible-investing/impact-bonds-offer-safe-haven-investors/">Impact bonds offer a safe haven for investors</a> appeared first on <a href="https://corporateknights.com">Corporate Knights</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It would be normal to feel a little shaky about the markets right now. There’s lots of volatility and concern about panic behaviour as COVID-19 spreads. Investors are looking to buy bonds in a flight to safety, but interest rates are on their way down so traditional bonds will offer very low financial returns.</p>
<p>Now is a really good time to look at impact investments as a way to further diversify your portfolio.</p>
<p>An impact bond is a loan to an organization – often a non-profit &#8211; that offers investors a financial return in addition to making a direct positive social or environmental impact. Each bond has a different minimum investment, interest rate, and maturity date. Different impact bonds will generate different types of impact.</p>
<p>Community bonds in Toronto include the <a href="https://socialinnovation.org/cb2020/">Centre for Social Innovation (CSI)</a>  (a co-working space for social entrepreneurs with three locations in Toronto) and <a href="https://www.sketch.ca/projecthome/invest/">Sketch</a> (an arts studio with programming for at-risk youth in the Toronto Queen West neighbourhood). Green bonds include <a href="https://www.solarbonds.ca/invest/invest">SolarShare</a> – a co-op that builds community-owned solar projects – and CoPower – a company that finances low-carbon projects like geothermal heat pumps and LED retrofits.</p>
<p><strong>Why should investors care?</strong></p>
<p>Global financial markets are a roller coaster right now. Stocks are all over the place, and interest rates are so low that traditional bond yields aren’t keeping up with inflation. Impact bonds are quite beautiful in that they are completely uncorrelated to financial markets. I own both a SolarShare solar bond and a Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) community bond. Both of these bonds are completely unaffected by this crisis, and I expect them to continue paying me interest every 6 months like clockwork so long as the sun keeps shining and social entrepreneurs need a place to work.</p>
<p>Of course, investors need to evaluate the risk before they buy, and should only allocate a small portion of their portfolio to impact bonds.</p>
<p>What’s the downside?</p>
<p>Impact bonds are subject to three main risks:</p>
<ul>
<li>Liquidity risk: the investment is locked-in, usually for a period of 3 to 10 years</li>
<li>Duration risk: the interest rate is fixed, so investors won’t benefit if interest rates rise</li>
<li>Default risk: if the organization goes bankrupt, investors can lose some or all of their money</li>
</ul>
<p>Impact bonds are too small to be rated by traditional bond ratings agencies, so default risk can be hard to discern.</p>
<p>CSI and SolarShare have never missed an interest payment, but investors should be careful not to invest more than they are prepared to lose.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Tim Nash blogs as </em><a href="https://.sustainableeconomist.com/"><em>The Sustainable Economist</em></a><em> and is the founder of </em><a href="https://www.goodinvesting.com/"><em>Good Investing</em></a><em>. </em></p>
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<p>The post <a href="https://corporateknights.com/responsible-investing/impact-bonds-offer-safe-haven-investors/">Impact bonds offer a safe haven for investors</a> appeared first on <a href="https://corporateknights.com">Corporate Knights</a>.</p>
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