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"The state of corporate social responsibility in Canada" by Anne Golden In a speech to the Corporate Social Responsibility Conference last May, the CEO of the Board of Trade of Canada, Anne Golden, argued that there is a sound case to be made for Canadian companies to change the way they deal with their social responsibilities: it is not anymore just a matter of philanthropy, she says. It now raises the larger issue of sustainability: the globalization of communication, the unprecedented power embodied in multinational corporations and the very real threat to the environment all call for a new type of sustainable governance: “The long-term availability of natural resources, societal health and cohesion, and international stability are matters for which all organizations, public and private, must take responsibility,” she says. "Quand le dragon chinois a soif : le défi de l'eau en Chine" by Frédéric Lasserre Recently returned from a study-trip in northern China and the Far East, Frédéric Lasserre paints an incisive picture of the environmental impact — particularly on water — of China’s phenomenal economic growth. The country’s water resources, subject to pollution and to reckless deforestation practices, are increasingly scarce — while the demand is increasing exponentially — in rural and urban areas. Beijing is attempting to tackle the situation with projects to divert the Yangtze River, reforestation and environmental regulation, but in the short term, predicts Lasserre, the situation will get worse. In the north, there is some concerted action and coordination with neighbouring countries that are getting worried about the situation, Russia in particular. For now, however, the Chinese authorities’ political priorities are elsewhere, principally in economic growth. "Sustainable development and Kyoto implementation in Canada: the road not taken" by Douglas Macdonald and Debora VanNijnatten Since 1992, Canadian governments have been developing and implementing policy intended to meet their international commitments to sustainable development, but with little success. In this article, Douglas Macdonald and Debora VanNijnatten explore the reasons why Canada has been unable to rise to the challenges of sustainable development and climate change, and the obstacles that the Martin government climate plan faces. Is policy failure inevitable? they ask. No, is the short answer. But to meet the formidable challenges involved in inducing change on such a massive scale by firms, institutions and citizens, money will not be sufficient. As with the elimination of deficit financing, there is “a need for policy that will inflict pain.” For climate policy to have any chance of being effective, Ottawa must do three things: restart the federal-provincial policy process; change its approach to industry by adding the stick of regulation to the carrot of spending; and put in place a comprehensive set of economic instruments and incentives, both positive and negative, to reduce consumption of fossil fuels. "Le Québec à l'ère du développement durable" by Corinne Gendron Since the beginning of the 1980s, thanks to the work of the World Conservation Union and the Brundtland Commission, the principle of sustainable development has had phenomenal reach, and is gradually becoming established as a real development paradigm. Corinne Gendron, holder of the Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development Chair at UQÀM’s École des sciences de la gestion, presents an overview of the origins of the concept and the recent debates surrounding it, and examines to what extent Quebec’s Sustainable Development Plan, introduced in November 2004, can help meet the objectives of sustainable development. "Provisioning cities - a new urban agenda" by Roy Woodbridge Last February, the federal government took a major step in the implementation of its New Deal for Cities and Communities when the prime minister announced that he would transfer $5 billion from the gas tax to Canadian cities. Unfortunately, says Roy Woodbridge, there is no compelling vision underlying theses transfers: Ottawa’s new deal “risks providing cities with more money to continue doing the things that caused them to need more money in the first place.” Cities’ financial problems, he says, are the result of outdated planning precepts based on few people and abundant environmental resources. The financial and ecological implications of this pattern are real, even though they are not incorporated directly in city budgets but rather in costs imposed on citizens and the environment. Woodbridge makes the case for a new urban agenda where urban development would be based on four self-reinforcing strategies: increased population densities, mass transit systems, green buildings, and a policy of recycling everything. "L'automobile libre-service et le transport en commun : en route pour un nouveau paradigme en transport urbain" by Benoît Robert Given the growing ecological consciousness of the Canadian population, why is most of the increase in demand for mobility being captured by the private automobile? Benoît Robert, founding president of the first and largest car-sharing company in North America, explains this paradox by the increasing diversity of people’s movements, a diversity that cannot easily be filled by traditional forms of public transportation. To help fill these needs, he proposes to add car-sharing to the basket of services offered by public transportation entreprises. In this article, he outlines the principle of car-sharing, presents a snapshot of the situation in Canada and elsewhere, and offers several ways that can help us rise to “the challenge of integrated intermodality,” be it at the transportation company, municipality or government level. "Socially responsible investing: the maturing of financial analysis" by Brenda Plant Can one get rich by being responsible? Yes, one can: “To look beyond the investment bottom line does not imply forgetting profits,” says Brenda Plant. To help shed light on this issue, she reviews the state of socially responsible investment in Canada, the evidence regarding its economic performance and the strategies available to implement it. She observes that the financial community remains skeptical and ill-prepared to provide that type of service and that, overall, Canada is lagging behind. To keep pace with other jurisdictions world wide, she recommends that Canada amalgamate the multitude of securities regulators into a single national body. "Un commerce pour réduire la pauvreté : le modèle du commerce equitable" by Chantal Blouin and Jared Penner Born largely as a reaction to the crisis in the international markets for commodities and agricultural products, fair trade aims to reduce poverty by decreasing producers’ vulnerability to the vagaries of the world commodities market. This sector has seen tremendous growth over the past decade or so, but has also had to contend with several challenges, principally because the demand for the products is lower than the supply. The North-South Institute’s Chantal Blouin and Jared Penner take stock of this movement and how it can contribute to reducing poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals, agreed to by the international community. A part of the solution to the problems of traditional trade as highlighted by fair trade, they conclude, would be to revise international commercial regulations and practices, especially developed countries’ generous agricultural subsidies and the lack of competition in the processing and resale of products. "L'encadrement juridique du commerce équitable : pour éviter qu'une philosophie de commerce ne devienne qu'un simple outil de marketing" by Marie-Claude Desjardins and Aude Tremblay In the wake of the consumer craze for fair trade products over the past few years, a number of Canadian businesses have started to use the fair trade label. But, note Marie-Claude Desjardins and Aude Tremblay, there is presently no way to verify the accuracy of these labels and the conformity of the products, because the practice is hardly regulated in Canada. To protect consumers against potential exploitation, as well as the credibility and the market share of fair trade products, they argue that legislative oversight is essential. From this perspective, they say, it is important to find a consensus on the exact meaning of fair trade, so as to distinguish them clearly from ethical, ecological and charitable practices. Once this is done, they recommend the creation of a federal certification system and the creation of an independent body that would develop specifications, oversee the use of the label and sanction those who contravene the regulations. "Building green: moving beyond regulations and voluntary initiatives" by Raymond J. Cole Because buildings are responsible for approximately 40 percent of total energy use worldwide, and because the construction industry has a considerable impact on the environment, “wide-scale improvements in the environmental performance of buildings would be a significant, even a necessary, step toward Canada meeting its Kyoto obligations” says Ray Cole, professor at the UBC School of Architecture. In this article, he takes stock of the evolution of green buildings in Canada. Though they have promoted higher environmental expectations and positively influenced the performance of buildings, assessment methods, he says, have dwarfed all other mechanisms for establishing environmental issues within the building industry. Yet, he says, “meaningful infusion of sustainability thinking into the building process cannot effectively be achieved solely through the regulatory framework or through stand-alone methods and ad hoc assessments.” To fulfill its role in the sustainability agenda, the building industry has to shift from the production of green buildings to those that support sustainable patterns of living. "La recherche et l'innovation comme moteurs du développement durable" by André Lemelin and Hélène P. Tremblay Will the adoption of an integrated vision of human activity that seeks to reconcile social equality, economic efficiency and environmental integrity mean abandoning development and prosperity, as a good number of the opponents of such a vision would lead us to believe? On the contrary, say André Lemelin and Hélène P. Tremblay of the Conseil de la science et de la technologie du Québec. But the reconciliation of these elements will only be possible with a massive injection of research and innovation. Looking at the Quebec experience, they describe what science, technology and innovation have contributed to the quest to achieve sustainable development goals, and emphasize the importance of strengthening this support. “The production of knowledge allows us to continuously improve procedures and make them ‘cleaner’ and more efficient. It also facilitates the development of alternative methods that will have to offer, eventually, the same level (or even a greater level) of economic performance than the classical methods,” they say. "Le marché canadien des produits biologiques à l'heure des choix" by Sami Ben Salha and Josée Robitaille The food crises that have devastated several countries over the past few years have greatly contributed to the growth in the demand for organic products. In Canada, however, the market remains modest, and there is an increasing gap between the supply and the demand, a production deficit that is filled by imports from the United States and Europe. Sami Ben Salha and Josée Robitaille paint a portrait of this young industry, pointing out the principle obstacles and constraints that Canadian producers and processors of organic products will have to overcome if they want to improve their production, satisfy the fast-growing internal demand, bridge the existing gaps with the United States and the European Union, and improve their competitiveness vis-à-vis rising countries like China and Brazil. "The social economy: finding a way between the market and the state" by Nancy Neamtam What is today called the social economy, or social entrepreurship, includes some very old organizations such as credit unions, agricultural co-operatives, and the YMCAs. In this article, Nancy Neamtam describes an emerging cohort of young social entrepreneurs who are combining social goals and entrepreneurial strategies with brio. In Quebec, the social economy — which includes local and community economic development organizations; and the women’s, social housing, labour, and environmental movements — accounts for over 10,000 organizations, employs over 100,000 workers and has sales of over $4.3 billion. Yet public policy has a way to go to fully embrace this diverse sector, which is still seen largely as philanthropic and outside the economic sphere, says Neamtam. The social economy is a manifestation of positive and active citizenship that governments need to recognize and support. "Organic food and farming systems: taking stock of the benefits" by Rod MacRae and Ralph C. Martin The Canadian food and agriculture sector is facing significant environmental and financial difficulties, which are affecting perceptions of Canadian food, both domestically and internationally. There is growing evidence that more widespread adoption of organic agricultural systems would produce benefits that might solve some of Canada’s agricultural problems. While Canadian governments largely treat the organic products sector as a niche market, in other nations the rapid growth of the organic products industry has forced governments to rethink their approach. In this paper, Rod MacRae and Ralph C. Martin present scientific data to argue that organic food and farming is more than a niche market. Citing possible health benefits, gross margins that are at least as good as if not better than conventional systems, environmental benefits, and the potential for rural revitalization, they conclude that “Canadian governments would be wise to allocate more resources to organic farming development and adoption.” "L'Europe sans vélo" by Alain Noël [summary not available] "Separating church from state" by Joseph Heath [summary not available] |
