Vancity – a Force For Good

Vancity, Canada’s largest community credit union, has achieved the title of Canada’s Best Corporate Citizen for the second year in a row.

Progressing Past the CSR Plateau

Corporate social responsibility is stuck. When it emerged on the scene 20 years ago, businesses and other stakeholders had high expectations for what a focus on CSR could deliver. But the reality is that neither business nor society are on track to enable nine billion people to live well within the boundaries of the planet by 2050 – let alone 2030.

Circular Economy Toolkit is guide for future-proofing businesses

Dell makes its computer cases out of plastic recovered from its computers. Caterpillar remanufactures oil coolers, engine blocks and other parts, recovering 93% of their core value. TerraCycle teams up with major manufacturers to invent ways of reusing difficult-to-recycle plastics—then shares their stories.

Social Purpose at the Core of Business Success

Mention the term “corporate social responsibility” and you might hear this: “It’s dead. CSR has stalled. CSR has not fulfilled its potential. It has failed us.” Why? Because even at its best, CSR is only a partial solution with incremental changes that are not putting society and business on a strong footing to enable nine billion people to live well on the planet by 2050.

The Bold Approach Of Transformational Companies

At age 27, I was the youngest director elected to Vancity Credit Union, the largest community-based credit union in the world. It was the late 1980s. I ran a seniors’ agency, was chair of a provincial social planning group and had been a recent board member of the local United Way. In two and a half words, I was a “social do-gooder.”