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 Corporate Social Responsibility
Industry Canada Actions and Partnerships
Industry Canada's CSR Activities
Industry Canada's CSR Activities
Industry Canda focuses on growing a dynamic economy and
contributing to productivity growth, employment growth, income growth, and
sustainable development. It works with a wide ranges of partners including
consumers, business and investors to address the concerns of Canadians.
The promotion of sustainable development and CSR is an important part of the
department's work role as is the expansion of the related
knowledge-capacity. Industry Canada promotes CSR and sustainable
development-related policies, programs and activities through a range of policy vehicles and over a wide scope of CSR elements:
Suite of Policy Instruments Being Employed
In the past, the department's CSR and SD mandate has been implemented through
the use of a range of policy levers including legislation and regulation (e.g.
the Canada Business Corporations
Act in the area of corporate governance), economic instruments (e.g. Technology
Partnerships Canada is a technology investment fund that supports industrial
research and precompetitive development in environmental technologies), information
instruments to build knowledge-capacity (e.g. Strategis as a broad-based web
site that provides CSR-related information to corporations and consumers), and
voluntary codes, standards and other initiatives to encourage corporate performance
beyond legal necessity (e.g. development of Voluntary
Codes Guide to inform stakeholders of necessary conditions for effectiveness
and steps for implementation of voluntary approaches).
During the last few years, IC has addressed CSR-related challenges on
responsibilities such as those respecting corporate governance and marketplace climate,
environmental protection and sustainable development, human resource management
practices, community development, consumer protection, innovation, and smart regulation
through a continuing and further use of its wide range of policy levers. It
is anticipated that this wide-ranging deployment of policy levers will continue
in departmental efforts to find the optimal and most effective balance of their
use.
Scope of CSR Elements Addressed by IC
In some cases IC advances CSR progress on an overarching basis but more frequently it
has pursued progress on a focussed basis. Examples of the former include the
development of the recent CSR-oriented OECD Guidelines for Multinationals that
the Minister of Industry endorsed with the Trade Minister and the Labour Minister
in June 2000, as well as the CSR initiatives that were part of the department's
last SD Strategy that was tabled in Parliament in early 2001. The following
examples provide an indication of departmental CSR-related initiatives:
- Environmental Protection: IC works to encourage corporate progress
with respect to environmental protection via a number of channels. For example,
it does so through the sustainable development strategies that are tabled
in Parliament every three years. An illustration of this is the eco-efficiency
and environmental technology action items that the department has committed
on delivering in the last SD strategy. Activities under Technology
Partnerships Canada, the
Sustainable Cities Initiative, Technology
Roadmaps, web sites on Strategis (e.g. on Sustainable Development, Canadian
Environmental Solutions, Eco-efficiency) and other areas support the improvement
of corporate performance on environmental protection.
- Corporate Governance: Industry Canada has
responsibilities within the federal government for setting marketplace rules -
including those in domain of corporate governance. For example, in 2001 the
Canada Business Corporations Act was amended to enhance the capability of
shareholders to communicate among themselves and influence corporate
decision-making. This amendment made it possible for the Canadian Coalition of
Good Governance to recently establish itself (i.e. a group of large
institutional investors aiming to influence governance practices).
-
Human Resource Management Practices: This
department works to improve human resource management practices of business
through a diverse range of program vehicles. For example, the department's
Service Industries Branch promotes the commercial training sector and other
parts of IC promote youth initiatives that seek to improve the levels of
skills and expertise for use in businesses. Aboriginal Business Canada is an example of a program
that helps to promote the growth of Aboriginal business and business
institutions across Canada.
-
Consumer Interests, Promotion and Protection: Through a broad continuum
of activities, IC ensures fair competition and efficient marketplace rules
for businesses and consumers. Responsibility centres such as the Competition
Bureau and the Office of Consumer Affairs play important roles. For example,
the former administers; and oversees the enforcement of Acts (and related
regulations) such as Competition
Act, Consumer Packaging
and Labelling Act, and the Textile
Labelling Act as vehicles for addressing anti-competitive marketing
practices such as abuse of dominant power, refusal to supply, price discrimination, false or
misleading advertising and labelling, and product misrepresentation. The latter provides services
and products to improve consumer awareness (e.g. information for
dealing with debt, privacy, improving purchasing decisions). The Office
of Consumer Affairs is playing a leading role in exploring
the feasibility of ISO standards on CSR. (please see study entitled The
Desirability and Feasibility of ISO Corporate Social Responsibility Standards). -
- Health and Safety: The Life Services Branch of the department promotes the development of
the pharmaceutical industry to serve Canadians more efficiently with health
products and services. This branch along with Spectrum, Information Technologies
and Telecommunications (SITT) also promote telehealth for the benefit of Canadians.
Other Examples and More Information on Specific Initiatives:
- The Ministers of Industry Canada, International Trade, and Labour endorsed
the revised OECD Guidelines
for Multinational Enterprises in June, 2000. These guidelines are
an important package of multilaterally agreed-to norms and principles for
corporate and social responsibility. Industry Canada contributed to the development
of these guidelines and anticipates that they will complement the best practices
of Canadian companies. New recommendations have been added on the elimination
of child labour and forced labour, so they now cover all internationally recognized
core labour standards. A recommendation on human rights has been introduced,
and new chapters on combatting corruption and consumer protection have been
added.
- The Canada Business Corporations
Act was recently amended to enhance the capability of shareholders
to communicate among themselves and influence corporate decision-making.
- The department has worked to advance the development of social indicators
as part of its work on sustainable development and corporate sustainability
indicators.
Stepping
Forward Corporate Sustainability Reporting in Canada
- Industry Canada recognized the importance of corporate social responsibility
in its last Sustainable
Development Strategy that was tabled in Parliament in early 2001.
- The department has also developed: an online Voluntary
Codes Research Forum to facilitate discussion about environmental,
human rights, consumer, worker, corporate social responsibility, business
ethics, and other voluntary initiatives of interest to governments, the private
sector, non-governmental officials, academics, and others; a Guide for the
Development and Use of Voluntary Codes; and, an evaluation framework for identifying
where existing voluntary codes can be improved.
- Studies have been supported by Industry Canada that contribute to understanding
CSR:
- The department delivers a number of programs that have a strong social
dimension and produce social benefits for Canadians. For example, programs
such as the following have a strong integration of the social dimension:
- In addition, the department, like other departments, has a range of initiatives
for its employees with respect to such matters as human resource management,
skills development, ethics counselling, health and safety, employee engagement,
and sound environmental practices.
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