By: Fred Pinto – Board Member, Oakville Community Foundation
The Oakville Community Foundation is proud to be a signatory to the Canadian Philanthropy Commitment on Climate Change.
The Canadian Philanthropy Climate Commitment, is a joint initiative of Community Foundations of Canada (CFC), Environment Funders Canada, Philanthropic Foundations Canada, and The Circle on Philanthropy and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada and calls on all funders, from coast to coast to coast, to come together and commit to act on climate change, regardless of their mission. Canada is already experiencing the drastic effects of climate change including wildfires, droughts, storms and melting permafrost.
This commitment makes clear that while provinces, territories, municipalities and communities across the country face different challenges, we must work together to address climate change. While Canada is a large emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG’s) due to its energy sector, a long-term solution needs to consider a robust transition to a cleaner economy for all stakeholders.
In fact, the Responsible Investment Association of Canada (RIA) recently put forward its Investor Statement on Climate Change and my organization, NEI Investments, was extremely proud to be a founding signatory.
Climate change impacts the work that funders are doing to advance other aspects of our communities, like equity, health, poverty alleviation and Indigenous and human rights. Philanthropic foundations and funders have the power to encourage and enact change.
In leading our internal review process, with the help of other volunteers and their skills, The Foundation has signed on as part of our commitment to our own identified UN Social Development Goal priorities, one of which is SDG #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, our focus on Community resiliency and charitable sector recovery.
As part of the commitment, signatories commit to seven key action-areas. The Commitment allows us to think about our current range of activities as part of a comprehensive plan:
- Education and Learning
- Commitment of Resources
- Integration
- Endowments and Assets
- Operations
- Influence and Advocacy
- Transparency
The Canadian Call to Action builds on the International Commitment which called on international philanthropic organizations to use their resources, independence and influence to act on the growing climate crisis.
To learn more about the Canadian Philanthropy Climate Commitment, click here.
The Oakville Community Foundation is aligned to five UN Social Development Goal priorities that include: SDG #4: Quality Education; SDG #8: Decent Work and Economic Growth; SDG #10: Reduced Inequalities; SDG #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities; and SDG #17: Partnerships for the Goals.
