Ryerson CSR Institute Session: Sustainability Reporting and Communication - Understanding the Evolving Landscape

This talk is co-sponsored by the Ryerson Corporate Social Responsibility Student Association, the Ryerson Commerce and Government Association, and the Ryerson Law and Business Student Association, and is supported by the Trade Commissioner Service of Global Affairs Canada.

It is now well understood that firms -- pressured by investors, insurers, communities, non-governmental organizations, consumers, workers, governments, and others -- are not only committing to address an increasing range of "non-financial" environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, they are also reporting on same and communicating on same as never before. But beyond the mere fact of increasing non-financial reporting and communication, are many questions: which ESG indicators should firms report on?  Are communications limited to a single report or is more of a multi-platform, continuous inter-active two-way engagement approach needed? Which ESG issues are "material"?  Which reporting standard should be used?  Are there too many reporting standards in play? Is it time for rationalization and consolidation of reporting standards? How comparable and useful is the reported ESG data from one firm to the other? What role can SMS, social media and messenger services play in company-stakeholder communications and interactions? What are the costs and challenges associated with sustainability reporting and communication?  

This session brings together experts who prepare CSR reports on behalf of firms, as well as senior company officials charged with the ongoing responsibility of CSR reporting and communication, and digital innovators in company-stakeholder interactions. 

The purpose of this session is to develop a more in-depth and sophisticated understanding of the changing nature of sustainability reporting and communication, and to "peak under the hood" concerning the nature and challenges of developing and implementing an effective approach to ESG communication.

Wesley Gee leads The Works Design Communication’s sustainability practice, where he provides guidance in stakeholder engagement, materiality and performance measurement, as well as CSR/sustainability communications and reporting. Wesley contributed to the development of the GRI G4 guidelines and serves on sector working groups with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. He is a judge for CPA Canada’s Corporate Reporting Awards, is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events, and lectures for the CSR/Sustainability certificate and MScSM programs at the University of Toronto.

Arisa Goldstone is the Director of Business Development at Ulula. Located in Toronto, Ontario, Ulula is a social enterprise that equips organizations with technology, data, and analytics to monitor risks of human rights abuses in order to create more responsible supply chains across diverse sectors including manufacturing, mining, and agriculture.  Arisa supports and drives new strategic partnerships to scale impact and compliment partner solutions. Since joining Ulula in 2015, Arisa has worked across diverse functionalities of the company in addition to designing and implementing select client worker voice projects in diverse sectors including agriculture and manufacturing. Prior to Ulula, Arisa worked for a Gates-funded program designing and implementing global health community engagement frameworks in East and West Africa.

Steffen Kramer is the CSR Manager for B2Gold, and has been developing the “Social” content for B2Gold’s annual Responsible Mining Report for the past three years. As CSR Manager he works with B2Gold mine site teams to develop and implement strategies and plans for the material socio-economic issues that could impact local communities or pose risks to the company. B2Gold’s Responsible Mining Report builds from selected GRI indicators to incorporate stories illustrating the challenges and progress in managing those material issues, which include resettlement, security and artisanal and small-scale mining. Steffen previously was a sustainability consultant at Stratos, primarily working with Canadian mining companies in designing and implementing social management systems. He has also worked in international development in countries including South Sudan and Moldova.

Katharine Partridge is president and managing partner of Stakeholder Research Associates Canada, which has been providing CSR strategy, communications and stakeholder engagement services for nearly two decades. After a 20-year journalism career, Katharine now works exclusively in this space, supporting the transparency initiatives of companies such as Target, Visa International, Regeneron (biotechnology), Omnicom, McCain Foods and New Balance Foundation. She earned her MBA from Schulich School of Business at York University in 2001, with a speciality in corporate sustainability. 

Marina Proskurovsky (Advisor, Sustainability and Environment, at Centerra Gold) is an experienced ESG and sustainability strategist. She has previously worked on the sustainability, social compliance and ESG reporting mandates for companies in the retail, fashion and mining sector including Hudson’s Bay Company and Canada Goose. Marina is currently focused on ESG strategy and disclosure at Centerra Gold, a TSX-listed gold producer with operations in Canada and the Kyrgyz Republic. She is GRI-certified and has a MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University.