Calian CARES™
Embedding sustainability in everything we do.
What is Calian CARES?
Calian CARES is our ESG vision statement that builds on our mission, values, historical commitment to social responsibility and key competencies.
- Collaboration—Working hard and working together for a common purpose or benefit.
- Advance—Moving the world forward in a purposeful, innovative way.
- Resilience—The ability to adapt in the face of adversity.
- Excellence—A quality, which is unusually good, surpassing ordinary standards.
- Sustainability—Meeting Calian needs without compromising future generations.
Materiality assessment
In 2023, Calian conducted its first formal materiality assessment of ESG topics to quantitatively measure stakeholder priorities. The assessment will be repeated every three years to align to the Calian strategic plan cycle.
Conducting the assessment
To ensure we are applying best practices in conducting a formal materiality assessment, Calian engaged an independent third-party. Calian’s goal was to ensure we understood the topics most material to our stakeholders in order to establish prioritized action plans.
- Develop universe of ESG topics: Research was conducted to establish a broad list of 25 ESG topics most material to Calian activities.
- Data gathering: Calian engaged two groups of internal stakeholders and seven groups of external stakeholders through surveys, and reviewed documentation regarding enterprise risk management (ERM), client requests and investors’ priorities.
- Validate and report on findings: The results are summarized in a materiality matrix considering the importance to external stakeholders and impact on the business (internal stakeholders).
Informing the strategy
The materiality assessment yielded 12 topics as most material to Calian, which were used to inform the sustainability strategy, and to articulate the sustainability priorities of Calian to its stakeholders. Strategic differentiators should be seen as top corporate priorities to manage closely for optimization of business outcomes, while focus areas are important topics to take into account when making decisions.
- Priorities for internal and external stakeholders are aligned, with top 10 topics being the same.
- 75 per cent of employees and 70 per cent of independent contractors ranked the three most prioritized topics as: business ethics, customer satisfaction and cybersecurity/data privacy.
- The most material environmental topics for customers were responsible supply chain, waste management and lifecycle management.
- All stakeholder groups ranked governance and social topics higher than environmental topics.
- Indigenous respondents, 23 in total spanning all stakeholder groups, ranked two environmental topics in their top three: material use and lifecycle management.
- There was minimal variance in the response from the different geographies.
Identifying opportunities for action
Calian is addressing the Tier 1 and Tier 2 material topics through several targeted initiatives. We have focused on the Tier 1 strategic differentiators to identify actions in four areas:
- Policies
- Documented commitments
- Key performance indicators
- Assigned responsibility
In addition to the materiality assessment, ESG priorities were identified by our operating segments in the three-year strategic plan and are further refined in the annual plan. Climate-related risks and opportunities have also been documented as part of the company enterprise risk management process.
Materiality matrix
Environment
Understanding our own carbon footprint is an important first step in establishing decarbonization plans, enabling us to set reduction targets and work with our stakeholders to achieve our respective environmental goals. Together, we believe we can create a more sustainable future.
Social
By leveraging our core competencies, we believe we can create a more resilient, sustainable world.
Governance
A global call to action
Impact stories
2023 annual reportPDF
Resources
Terri Dougall
Vice President, ESG & Industrial Development
Calian Headquarters – Ottawa
770 Palladium Dr (4th floor),
Ottawa, ON K2V 1C8
News & media
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