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#SVM2020 is fast approaching, the case for measuring social impact, Orange Shirt Day, and more LBG CDA news!

Social Value Matters 2020 Conference

Get your tickets now – less than one week to go before the Social Value Matters 2020 conference! Beginning September 28, Social Value Canada is hosting the Social Value Matters 2020, an international conference that will convene speakers from around the globe to bring about transformational change in the way that the world accounts for value. This conference offers unprecedented opportunities to engage directly with experts who are leading the way in the realms of sustainability and social impact.
For community investment professionals, this conference presents meaningful insight into Indigenous economic inclusion, the SDGs, community development, impact measurement, the state of philanthropy, social enterprises, stakeholder engagement, and much more. For your colleagues in CSR, supply chain and Indigenous relations, there are even further opportunities to join the dialogue on how we plan, measure and benefit from reporting on social and environmental impact alongside financial impact and ROI.
This is why LBG Canada has partnered with Social Value Canada to offer a discount to our members.
Head to summit.socialvaluematters2020.com and use code ThFDNYrI when registering for 25% off. Early bird pricing ends September 24.

We can’t wait for these sessions!

The Rise of Inequality as a Corporate Concern
How can companies can effectively integrate social impact, anti-racism and environmental accountability into their corporate culture and prioritize the development of shared value? Join exceptional speakers from the Capitals Coalition (Mark Gough), Globescan (Chris Coulter), SASB (Sonal Pandya Dalal), the Shift Project (Caroline Rees) and BIPOC Executive Search (Jason Murray) to find out.

Panel Discussion: Indigenous Economic Empowerment
The Indigenous economy is growing at an exponential rate and is forecast to soon reach $100 billion annually. This panel discussion will bring together experts Clint Davis, Carol Anne Hilton, Shannin Metatawabin and The Hon. Marc Miller to dive into the opportunities this growth presents and explore how Indigenous economic empowerment can fundamentally reshape the Canadian economic landscape.

So Many Standards! How to Use Global Sustainability and Impact Standards
B Lab, CDSB, GIIN, GRI, IFC, IIRC, IWAI, OECD, PRI, SASB, SVI, UNPD, UNEP, UNGC, WBA … The proliferation of global sustainability standards makes it challenging to know which ones are most relevant and meaningful for your company. This session lays out how ‘standardization across standards’ will enable companies, investors and policymakers to make better decisions by measuring and reporting on corporate social and environmental impacts.

Mobilizing Private Sector Capital Towards Achieving the SDGs
As 2030 approaches, global progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals has become ever more critical, yet measurable change still seems out of reach. This session will explore the challenges in implementing the SDGs within the corporate sector and sets out a roadmap for how companies bring about meaningful impact that benefits both businesses and communities.

 

Is your year-end October 31?

For companies whose fiscal year ends on October 31, audit time may be approaching. LBG Canada can deliver your company audit results on a timeline that meets your reporting needs. We will be reaching out in the next month to companies with an October 31 year-end to discuss your company reporting requirements – stay tuned!

 

On the Radar

  • Volunteer Canada Webinars: Volunteer Canada’s free Summer School Series is available until September 30 – make sure to take advantage and access these great learning opportunities! Coming up on October 15, Volunteer Canada is also hosting a session on “Effects of the pandemic on employee community engagement programs in Canada and Ireland.”
  • Orange Shirt Day: September 30 is Orange Shirt Day, a time of commemoration that draws attention to the experience of residential school in Canada. This day recognizes the devastating legacy of residential schools on Indigenous communities and honours survivors. The September 30 date was chosen as it is the time of year when children were taken from their homes to residential schools.
    Individuals and companies can get involved in virtual events happening across the country, and films like Indian Horse or the Wawahte documentary offer opportunities to learn about the impacts of residential schools in Canada.
  • Racial Equity and Corporate Citizenship: The Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals will host a webinar on October 15 exploring how companies can use corporate philanthropy to drive progress toward racial equity, justice, and opportunity.

Bright Ideas

Measuring social impact: The two articles below offer an academic and a corporate perspective on the emergence of social impact valuation. You can learn more about this topic by joining Rob Zochowski (Program Director of the Impact Weighted Accounts Initiative at Harvard Business School) and Marcelo Lu (President of BASF Canada) at their #SVC2020 session on “Where Impact Accounting Meets Financial Accounting.”

A fascinating article on fundamentally rethinking sustainability, ESG and impact reporting. To date, there has been no way for companies to account for their benefits and costs to society and the environment. Accounting for impact took a major step forward in July with the publication of the cost of the environmental impact of 1,800 companies by the Impact-Weighted Accounts Initiative (IWAI) at Harvard Business School.

An interesting case in Corporate Knights for improved measurement of corporate social impact. According to the article, Canada is poised to assign similar weights to societal and environmental considerations as it does to the economic benefits a company or a sector provides.

 

The state of philanthropy in Canada: At a time when many say the need for the help and services that Canada’s roughly 86,000 registered charities offer is greater than ever, a new public opinion survey from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute – in partnership with Cardus, Charitable Impact, Imagine Canada, Philanthropic Foundations Canada, United Way, and Canada Helps – finds Canadian donors are giving less than they were before the pandemic. Nearly two-in-five (37%) Canadians who donated to at least one charity in the last two years say their donations have decreased since March, when COVID-19 first gripped the nation.

The lingering after-effects of the WE Charity Scandal appear to be compounding the crisis, as the poll finds a majority of donors of the opinion that the scandal raises questions about governance, transparency, and management that are relevant for the charitable sector as a whole.