Canadian CSR strategy for extractive industry

Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway announced new measures to help Canadian mining, oil and gas companies meet and exceed their social and environmental responsibilities when operating abroad.

“Canadian companies are often instrumental in bettering the lives of people in the communities in which they operate. These complementary initiatives will provide the tools, guidance and advice they need to meet and exceed their obligations with respect to corporate social responsibility,” said Minister Day.

The specific initiatives are:

•         Creating a new Office of the Extractive Sector Corporate Social Responsibility Counsellor to assist in resolving social and environmental issues relating to Canadian companies operating abroad in this field. A competency-based selection process will be launched shortly to identify qualified candidates for this position.
•         Supporting a new Centre of Excellence to be established outside government as a one-stop shop to provide information for companies, non-governmental organizations and others.
•         Continuing Canadian International Development Agency assistance for foreign governments to develop their capacity to manage natural resource development in a sustainable and responsible manner.
•         Promoting internationally recognized, voluntary guidelines for corporate social responsibility performance and reporting.

More information in the press release.

A Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Strategy for the Canadian International Extractive Sector [HTML]