The Burnaby Board of Trade’s sustainability pledge is going global.
The board was named a finalist in the 2015 World Chambers Competition in the Best Corporate Social Responsibility Project category.
“It’s huge for us,” Paul Holden, board president and CEO, told the Burnaby NOW. “It’s the biggest chamber of commerce competition in the world. To reach the final four is a phenomenal achievement.”
The board officially launched the Pledge for a Sustainable Community program two years ago. Currently, 120 organizations have signed on.
“We really appreciate the support of our pledge takers,” Holden said, adding the amount of community involvement helped the board place as a finalist. “Having 120 pledge takers shows businesses were prepared to step up.”
Holden attributes the success of the program to the lack of barriers for participants. This means businesses taking their first steps towards being environmentally sustainable companies can sign the pledge, as well as those who have completed many sustainability initiatives.
But the board works with participants to ensure companies take action to be more sustainable once they sign on, he added.
There is a wide variety of businesses on board, from small businesses to large tech companies.
At Monday night’s council meeting, Coun. Paul McDonell congratulated the board on being a finalist.
“That’s quite a feat for our little village here in Burnaby, with a population of 230,000,” he said.
The other finalists in the category are Santa Cruz-Cainco Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Bolivia, the Finland Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Asharquia Chamber of Commerce in Saudi Arabia.
The previous winner was the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry in United Arab Emirates.
The board will present its project to judges at the ninth World Chamber Congress in Torino, Italy this June.
The board is also working on licensing the sustainability pledge out to other boards and chambers of commerce, with a U.S. chamber receiving the first licensed version of the program this June, according to Holden.
