Our social goal: building greater mutual trust and respect with the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada.
We asked some of our community partners why it’s important for Suncor to have a social goal. Here’s what they had to say.
Suncor’s first long-term social goal recognizes the value of relationships, and focuses on changing the way we think and act so we can strengthen our relationships and increase the participation of Aboriginal Peoples in energy development. This isn’t work we do ‘to’ or ‘for’ Aboriginal Peoples. We must learn from, and with, partners and communities. The goal outlines four areas where we can work together to advance greater involvement over the next 10 years, to 2025, and beyond:
- Strengthening relationships between Aboriginal Peoples and all Canadians, starting with Suncor. We can do more to learn about the history and experiences of Aboriginal Peoples.
- Partnering with Aboriginal youth to develop their leadership potential through meaningful connections within and outside of Suncor.
- Significantly improving our Aboriginal workforce development at Suncor through focused efforts on hiring, retention and advancement of Aboriginal employees across our business.
- Increasing revenues to Aboriginal businesses and communities through mutually beneficial marketing arrangements and procurement of materials and services.
We believe we can make a difference by looking at opportunities across our business, encouraging a mindset of creativity and innovation, and inspiring our own employees to take everyday actions.
The path forward
This goal won’t be easy to achieve. It will require us to further foster a culture of humility, honesty and willingness to learn within our organization. It also isn’t a one size fits all approach. We know that individuals and communities have different interests and capacity. We will start where we have relationships and where there is interest. We believe in a country where all peoples can achieve their potential and share prosperity. This is not the work of a small group in Suncor. This is the work of all of us.
Check out our Report on Sustainability for details on our recent environmental progress, and in supporting and working with communities. We will provide more detail on how we’ll achieve this goal in the coming weeks and months, and report on our progress yearly in future sustainability reports.