—HOW IT WORKS
Community investment standardized and verified.
Adopting and participating in the LBG Canada Standard gives your organization a trusted, independently verified framework for qualifying and reporting community investment. It makes your contributions and programs carry real credibility.
— THE STANDARD
Six valuation principles define what is truly community investment.
Despite being an activity worldwide, the value of community investment is far more than a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Community investment can creates tangible business value too – if this value isn’t accounted for, you could be overstating the value of investment into community, in your public reporting.
The LBG Canada Standard’s six principles are the foundation to a consistent, comparable framework that any organization can apply, regardless of sector or the nature of their programs. Contributions that meet these principles fully count as ‘100% eligible’ for reporting as community investment.
The standard reflects the real-world needs of the organizations using it and the communities they aim to support.
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It goes beyond daily operations.
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It provides clear community benefit.
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It reaches beyond your ecosystem.
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It helps recognized organizations.
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It comes at a cost to the company, not its stakeholders.
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It delivers demonstrable and proportional value.
*Expanded valuation principles and detailed guidance to assess full or partial eligibility and ineligibility is available to LBG Canada participants.
ACROSS THE YEARS
20+
Years of Methodology
$8B+
Contribution Dollars Audited & Verified
$29M+
Volunteer Hours Audited & Verified
—THE PROCESS
Three steps to verified community investment.
Each year, participants move through a consistent, structured cycle that produces reliable, comparable results.
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1. Adopt the Standard
The LBG Canada Standard works as a practical guide throughout your reporting year helping your team clarify eligibility, assess contributions as they arise, and track activity as it happens. Submit your activity with the confidence of having applied a consistent framework.
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2. Commit to the Annual Audit
Aligned with your reporting timelines, LBG Canada completes a detailed annual audit verifying eligibility of all community investment contributions presented, including cash transactions, in-kind donations, volunteering, program management, and more.
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3. Stand Behind the Results
Take away independently verified community investment figures your organization can confidently stand behind — internally and publicly. From board reporting to marketing materials and annual reports, your numbers are credible, defensible, and ready to use.
—WHAT YOU RECEIVE
Participation delivers tangible and actionable value.
Participation in the LBG Canada Standard delivers three concrete outputs your organization can put to work immediately.
Use of the LBG Canada Trust Mark
Once verified, your organization can display the LBG Canada trust mark, a credible and recognized signal backed by a third-party verification statement that your figures are accurate, eligible, and independently confirmed.
Insights & Opportunities Report
This useful internal report card gives leadership a clear picture of program performance, covering your audit summary, full results breakdown, and annual performance data, for evaluating progress and planning ahead.
Access to Peer Benchmarking Data
A dedicated participant portal gives your organization ongoing access to year-over-year performance trends and peer benchmarking. Useful for setting targets, identifying gaps, and making a stronger case for community investment.
—BEYOND THE AUDIT
More than a yearly check-in.
Participation in the LBG Canada Standard is a valuable, ongoing relationship for your community investment team.
Support & Resources
Participants have ongoing access to the LBG Canada team to assess eligibility and business value throughout the year. This enables the most effective use of budget dollars and the goal of maximum impact.
Evolve the Standard
The LBG Canada Standard is kept current via an annual vote in which all participant organizations are invited to weigh in on valuation principles and the guidance to apply them. Help decide what good looks like.
A Growing Network
You are among organizations that take community investment seriously, collectively raising the bar for credible reporting in Canada through shared benchmarking, peer knowledge, and a collaboratively governed standard.
—IMPORTANT TO YOUR ROLE
Across community investment
Explore how LBG Canada relates to your work
For Executives
Strengthen ESG credibility, satisfy stakeholder scrutiny, and demonstrate leadership in community and social investment with independently verified figures.
For Managers
Streamline your reporting process, get expert support on eligibility decisions, and benchmark your program against peers across Canada.
For Practitioners
Apply a clear, consistent framework to your day-to-day contribution tracking with access to a detailed eligibility library and year-round team support.
—FAQS
Learn more about adopting the LBG Canada community investment reporting standard.
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Community investment figures that aren't independently verified are increasingly subject to scrutiny from stakeholders, leadership, and the public. LBG Canada provides third-party verification against a particpant-vetted and standardized framework, giving your figures the credibility needed to withstand that scrutiny and the confidence to stand behind them both publicly and internally.
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LBG Canada complements your existing ESG framework rather than replacing it. Most ESG frameworks capture community investment as a category but don't define what qualifies or verify the figures. LBG Canada fills that gap, giving your community investment data the rigour and credibility your broader ESG reporting deserves.
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We request contribution records, transaction data, and supporting documentation for the reporting period. Raw or unstructured data is completely fine — we work with what you have and guide your team through the process from start to finish, so you're never navigating it alone.
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The audit is designed to be straightforward and minimally disruptive to your team. Most participants complete it within a few weeks, depending on the size and complexity of their community investment portfolio. Our team manages the heavy lifting throughout.
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LBG Canada works with organizations of all sizes across a wide range of industries. If your organization makes voluntary contributions to the community and wants to report them credibly and consistently, the standard is built for you.
Organizations with a community investment budget of $1M+ will find the most value due to the likely complexity of their activity.
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There is an annual participation fee to use the LBG Canada Standard. This fee includes the full audit process and its outputs, use of the LBG Canada trust mark, and ongoing participation in the standard.
Unlike many standards, the fee is scaled based on the size of your organization’s community investment budget, not its revenues. This ensures the cost remains proportionate to the scope of your program.
For most organizations, the fee represents a small fraction of their overall community investment budget, while enabling them to verify, defend, and stand behind the full value of that investment. Because each organization’s portfolio is different, we provide fee details directly. Get in touch and we’ll walk you through what it would look like for your team.
Find out if LBG Canada is right for your organization.
Book a short introductory call with our team. We'll answer your questions, walk you through the process, and help you assess whether the standard is a good fit — no commitment required.
—GET IN TOUCH
