On behalf of the CBSR Board of Directors, I am proud to welcome three new Directors onto CBSR’s Board. We received an abundance of impressive applications, which made this decision very challenging. We thank everyone for their volunteerism and interest in board service with CBSR. 

Join me in a big congratulations to Sydney Wanchulak, Marie Jurcevic and Meryem Baskoun! These three new directors will bolster our already amazing and committed Board. We look forward to working with this incredible team to support CBSR’s mission to advance business leadership on sustainability in Canada.  

Meryem Baskoun

Director – Corporate Sustainability Communications and Reporting

Air Canada

Meryem Baskoun is the Director – Corporate Sustainability Communications and Reporting at Air Canada in charge of publishing the company’s corporate reports: CSR Report, TCFD Report, Annual Report, AIF, etc. She is also a member of the Transition Implementation Group on IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 (TIG) that informs the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) about potential implementation questions that could arise when companies implement IFRS S1 and IFRS S2. Before joining Air Canada, Meryem worked as a VP – Sustainability Advisory Services at ISS Corporate Solutions advising North American issuers on their ESG reporting, strategies and performances. She also worked for more than 10 years with Vigeo Eiris (known today as Moody’s ESG Solutions) in different positions in their ESG Research team rating companies worldwide on ESG as well as negative and positive screenings. 

Marie Jurcevic

Sustainability Lead

Arc Resources

Marie Jurcevic is the Sustainability Lead at ARC Resources where she oversees ARC Resources’ ESG disclosure efforts and supports the development and integration of sustainability strategy within the organization. She is also the co-founder of Diversity in Sustainability, a network initiated by diverse sustainability professionals aimed at increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion within the field of sustainability. Marie has been a corporate sustainability practitioner for about 15 years. She has held sustainability roles at Enbridge and CBSR. Prior to working in the energy industry, Marie worked in the non-profit sector. She specialized in youth engagement and supported youth in various capacities, most notably she was involved in a youth-led anti-racism initiative called Youth Reach Out Against Racism.

Marie has a BA in Sociology from the University of Calgary and an MSc in Responsibility & Business Practice from the Faculty of Management at the University of Bath.

Sydney Wanchulak

Masters of Business Administration Candidate

University of Victoria

Sydney is Cree Métis and Ukrainian from Treaty 6 territory, St. Albert, AB and is a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta. She currently resides on the traditional and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, also known as Vancouver, BC. 

Sydney has worked in the construction industry for a decade, ranging from onsite positions to most recently Sustainability Manager. Sydney completed her Bachelor’s in Construction Management at British Columbia Institute of Technology, and is currently completing her MBA in Sustainable Innovation at the University of Victoria.  

Sydney has led corporate sustainability strategy, reporting, materiality assessments, and greenhouse gas accounting in her roles with a key focus on building relationships across organizations and industries. 

The values that lead Sydney and her work are building connections, sharing knowledge, and having fun. Her curiosity lies at the intersection of sustainability, Indigenous knowledge and ways of being, and economies. She is curious if there is a better way forward for business through these lenses. 

Learn more about them and our full board here.

Warmly,

Martha Hancock

Executive Director

CBSR

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“I am thrilled that Sydney, Marie and Meryem are joining CBSR’s Board of Directors. They will deepen the skills and experience of the board in a meaningful way.  

They bring a wealth of experience in key topics like sustainability integration in business practices, Indigenous Truth and Reconciliation, and Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI); all important areas where CBSR would like to grow and mature.  

I encourage you to reach out to Sydney, Marie and Meryem to say ‘Hi’ and give them a warm welcome to CBSR!

I also wanted to thank our re-elected board members: Alanna Boyd, Nancy Bradshaw, Geoff Pegg and Eric Saarvala. We are grateful for your ongoing contribution and commitment with CBSR.” 

Ted Ferguson,

Chair of the Board

CBSR

CBSR is proud to have successfully completed its first year of the Sustainable Procurement Fellowship (SPF) program. This program was created to educate professionals on sustainable procurement — a commonly overlooked opportunity to lower greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) — and to provide tools, resources and collaboration that can turn net-zero ambitions into reality.  

The SPF was created in partnership with HP, and with support from an incredible group of advisors including Bob Willard (Sustainability Advantage), Monica Da Ponte (Shift & Build), and Frances Edmonds (HP).  

We asked graduates from our first-ever SPF cohort to reflect on their learnings and takeaways from the program. Here’s what they shared:  

1. Strategy & support from leadership is an important first step when trying to implement sustainable procurement at your organization. Clear and consistent communication about sustainable procurement goals and net-zero priorities enables action and collaboration between all functions of the organization. Support from the top leaders of an organization solidifies company-wide alignment. 
2. Identify focus areas and hot spots for action. Pinpointing GHG emissions hotspots where action can have the greatest impact can help you figure out how to efficiently allocate resources. Tim Reeve from Reeve Consulting taught the cohort how to identify High Impact Procurement Opportunities (HIPOs) to identify a starting point for their sustainable procurement initiatives. 
3. Leverage existing processes and success stories to inform your organization’s journey and to build a business case. Build on existing sustainability efforts; you don’t have to start from zero. Whether it is adding more weight to sustainability metrics in RFPs or borrowing from case studies of organizations who have successfully implemented sustainable procurement, leveraging the work that is already underway strengthens the business case to invest further
   
4. Approach sustainable procurement strategies holistically. Sustainable procurement reaches beyond “just” the procurement function at your organization. All teams and functions make purchases that could be supporting the organization’s net-zero journey – it is important that everyone at the organization is aware of the importance of sustainable procurement, and that they have access to resources and knowledge to support improved decision-making for organizational purchases.
5. Effective communication strategies are vital to long-term success. Without proper communication, it will be challenging for your sustainable procurement initiative to gain traction. Efforts should prioritize (1) internal capacity building focused on the significance and directions for incorporating sustainable purchasing criteria into the procurement process, and (2) external supplier engagement to clarify expectations and align on a pathway forward that meets your organization’s sustainability requirements.  

Sign-up for updates on the next cohort of the Sustainable Procurement Fellowship or explore the SPF Fellows from the 2023 cohort.  

We spoke with GLOBE Series’ President, Elizabeth Shirt, for insider insight into GLOBExCHANGE 2023 (taking place February 27th – March 1st at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel), including her take on how we can accelerate a net-zero future through inclusive collaboration and partnership — both at GLOBExCHANGE and beyond. 

What are this year’s themes of GLOBExCHANGE and who will be there? 

GLOBExCHANGE builds on our 10×10, which are the 10 areas where we need to take action in the next 10 years to get to net zero. We very deliberately took note of what our community was telling us at GLOBE Forum, and the 10×10 captures the action areas that they think need to be prioritized. We built the GLOBExCHANGE program to drive the critical exchanges of ideas, skill sets, solutions, policies, regulations, and dollars that will help us make progress in these areas. 

The “who” is something I’m feeling excited about. GLOBExCHANGE is where we’re leveraging the GLOBE community’s “big tent.” We’ll see government of all levels; Indigenous leaders; civil society; NGOs; young changemakers; not-for-profits; leaders from Canadian and multi-national corporations; solution and service providers who are bringing the innovative technologies and processes that we need; and the financial community. We’re actually partnering with the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative to host their North American member roundtable so we’ll see the finance community coming out to this event. It really is all of these folks that we need at the table to make action happen. 

How is GLOBExCHANGE different to GLOBE Forum and GLOBE Capital?  

Historically, GLOBE Forum happened on even years in Vancouver, and GLOBE Capital would be hosted in the intervening years in Toronto. GLOBE Capital was a little more narrowly focused on sustainable finance. GLOBExCHANGE is essentially an evolution of GLOBE Capital. Yes, we need to drive exchanges of capital to reach net zero, but there are also other critical exchanges that need to happen – and individuals and organizations beyond the finance sector have a role to play in driving those exchanges and transactions. The other big difference is that deliberate connection between the outcomes from GLOBE Forum (the 10×10) and the accountability at GLOBExCHANGE to deliver on them. 

What are you most excited about at GLOBExCHANGE? 

Folks who know me know that I’m an off-the-charts extrovert, so I can’t wait to be together with our community in Toronto. One of the things I’m excited about is the investments that GLOBE has made with our partners to increase the accessibility of GLOBExCHANGE and support the participation of folks who might not otherwise attend an event like this. We’re ensuring that youth are in attendance by partnering with Leading Change Canada, and we’re making sure that Indigenous thought leaders and young people, including from more remote areas of the country, are there by partnering with organizations like SevenGen and Yukon University. And we’ve partnered with groups from civil society and leading ENGOs to deliver diverse content and perspectives. We can always do better. But I’m excited to look around the room and see the growing diversity of faces in our GLOBE community and know that it’s not just the usual suspects who have a seat at the table. 

  Plus, the sessions are much more action oriented than ever before – we said no panels and we stuck to it. We have many more open-door workshops, curated roundtables, and carefully planned but informal networking moments and business-to-business connections. We’re very intentionally creating these moments so that there’s a two-way and multi-way flow of dialogue and also opportunities for action. 

How can people get the most out of their GLOBExCHANGE experience?  

Take a look at the program because, man, is it cool. We’ve got some really diverse content that’s being led or delivered in partnership with a huge variety of organizations – from Microsoft to World Wildlife Federation to MakeWay to SNC Lavalin to Environmental Defence Canada. So don’t forget to look at the program and attend a bunch of different sessions – you might uncover things that you never thought you needed or wanted to do! We’ve also got meetups designed around those critical action areas from the 10×10, so step outside your comfort zone and maybe show up at a networking event that you might not typically go to. 

Do you have any final words on GLOBExCHANGE for the CBSR community? 

Mitigating climate change is a team sport – we can’t reach net zero alone. This year we’ve incorporated more CBSR programming, speakers, and leaders throughout the event than even before. This really speaks to that opportunity for collaboration and partnership. Keep fighting the good fight, and thanks for being leaders who always strive to do better and for being a part of this GLOBE community. Now let’s get down to business at GLOBExCHANGE!