Overview of Canadian Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives Underway

Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) – e3 Plus
The CSR Committee of the PDAC has been developing the e3 Plus Principles and Guidelines over the past two years. The e3 Plus initiative is at the stage where the principles and guidelines need to be test-driven in order to determine how they can be made operational and evaluated using consistent measures. AME BC has been asked to help by seeking out companies with operations in Africa, Latin America and here in BC that will agree to participate in this test and will be supporting the process as part of the team as it unfolds. For more info see http://www.pdac.ca/pdac/advocacy/csr/index.html

Canadian Institute of Mining (CIM)
The CIM supports the Canadian Centre of Excellence in CSR. Planning meetings are being held across the country to determine the scope, mandate and level of commitment for the proposed Centre. An Interim Executive Committee is steering the planning and implementation; the federal Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has provided seed funding to CIM and is participating directly in these planning sessions. THE AME BC CSR committee is contributing to this initiative. For more information on the Centre, see http://www.cim.org/csr/MenuPage.cfm?sections=67&menu=69

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) - The Office of the Extractive Sector Corporate Social Responsibility Counselor
The DFAIT implemented a CSR Strategy that created a new office with a CSR ‘Counselor’ who is tasked with supporting socially responsible practices of Canadian-based companies operating overseas and host governments (e.g. Africa, Latin America). This followed a large consultative series of roundtables on the subject. DFAIT also is producing a regular newsletter on CSR topics and issues.

The Office of the Extractive Sector Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Counselor was established in 2009 as part of the Government of Canada’s CSR Strategy for the International Extractive Sector. Broadly speaking, the Strategy is designed to help Canadian mining, oil and gas companies meet their social and environmental responsibilities when operating abroad.

For more info, see http://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/ds/csr.aspx