Altis People & Planet

• Our clients want to know more about how we are supporting people and the planet.  

• Our candidates want to know how an employer supports people, planet and governance before even applying for a job.  

• ESG skills (read: DEI, Sustainability and Governance) are increasingly in-demand.

So, we’ve prepared a brief update on our ESG experience, along with some practical steps to help you get started on (or enhance) your ESG plan. It includes:  

• Our actions in planet, people and governance

• How we kickstarted ESG at Altis in seven steps

• Why ESG is important for employers: Recruitment and retention

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Altis ESG snapshot: What we’re doing in planet, people & governance

Five practical actions we’re taking to support the planet

Under the “E” in ESG (Environmental), we’ve already started reducing our environmental footprint in multiple ways. For example, as a remote-by-choice organization, our team members commute less often, so as a company, we’ve reduced our greenhouse gas emissions. Here are five more things we’re doing:

‍1. We’ve committed to the federal government’s Net-Zero Challenge, which is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Read about it here.

2. We’re reducing electricity use in our offices by:

• Reducing unused office space

• Switching to laptops instead of large tower computers

• Installing energy efficient appliances

3. We’re recycling more items and reducing the amount of garbage in our offices.

4. We’re being more responsible about our consumption by:

• Implementing a supplier diversity program

• Reducing waste by avoiding single-use things like paper/plastic cutlery, dishes, straws, decorations for our events, etc.

• Increasing water efficiency by switching to energy efficient appliances

5. We’re reducing printing in all our offices.

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‍You may be wondering…

‍“Can my organization join the Net-Zero Challenge?” All companies operating in Canada, including domestic and international companies and corporations and small- and medium-sized enterprises, can join the Net-Zero Challenge. Read more about how you can join here. Check out which 200+ companies across Canada have already committed to the challenge on this page.

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Five practical actions we’re taking to support people

People are core to everything we do at Altis—after all, we connect talented people to meaningful work every day.  

‍Here are five things we’re doing under the “S” in ESG (Social)—which encompasses all things people (i.e., DEI, community giving, gender equality, poverty reduction, training and education, the elimination of bias etc.).

1. We remove systemic barriers in recruitment by offering our team ongoing training on unconscious bias in the hiring process.

2. We provide paid work experience to talented newcomers through our Newcomer Apprenticeship Program.  

3. We offer our team ongoing training and upskilling in critical areas such as AI, ESG and DEI.

4. We donate to organizations that foster the success of people from underrepresented groups in society. For example, we regularly donate to Christie Lake Kids (CLK), an Ottawa-based charity that supports children and teens in need. Last year, through our Bocce Ball tournament, we raised more than $45,000 for CLK. Read more and register for our next Bocce Ball tournament (in Ottawa) here.  

5. We offer a paid spiritual day, so team members can celebrate their preferred religious/cultural day, in addition to all statutory holidays.

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‍You may be wondering...

‍“How is ESG different from DEI?” Since the “people” part of ESG (the Social element) is all about human rights, all-inclusive diversity, equal opportunity for all, meaningful work, skills development, and more, it includes all things DEI. In other words, DEI is a subset of people strategies aimed at the health of humanity. At Altis, we’re incorporating our extensive work in DEI into our ESG plan.  

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Five practical actions we’re taking in governance

We realized it’s not enough to just say, ‘Yeah, we’re committed to the planet and people.’ We have to prove it. Here are five things we’re doing in governance:  

1. We’re measuring our progress on all ESG actions and reporting on them regularly to assess our impact.  

2. We pledge to communicate openly and transparently with our clients, candidates, community and team members.

3. We’re conducting regular audits of our ESG actions. Are they effective? What could we do better?

4. We routinely update and improve our Guiding Principles and Code of Conduct and provide training on both to keep our staff up to date.

5. We’re improving executive accountability by embedding ESG throughout our organizational strategy and enrolling our executive team in every element.  

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‍You may be wondering... Does procurement fall within ESG?

Yes, it does. In fact, we’re completing our Sustainable Procurement Policy—a framework that will enable us to have a positive environmental, social and economic impact through transparent procurement activities.

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Altis ESG planning in seven steps

Not sure how to get started in ESG at your organization? We began by looking at what we already do well, what we could do better, and then appointing someone to lead the charge at Altis.  

Here are some of the ways we kickstarted planning. Contact us to learn more, we’d love to share.

1. We started by exploring best practices of other companies by reading their ESG reports —companies large and small, in our industry and beyond. Here are some company examples and takeaways:  

• Sustainability at EVS: This global video broadcasting company installed beehives at their HQ.

• TOMS Impact Report: This shoe company donates one-third of its profits to drive sustainable change.

• Canada Goose ESG Report: Their slogan reflects their values, “Keep the planet cold and the people on it warm.”

• Sustainability at Roots: This Canadian clothing brand uses organic and recycled materials in over 90% of their activewear.

• Loblaw Companies Ltd. ESG Report: The Canadian grocery and pharma giant is on a mission to send zero food waste to landfill by the end of 2030.

• AECON Sustainability Report: This construction company has been running the Aecon Women in Trades (AWIT) program for five consecutive years to boost gender diversity in the nuclear industry.

• ESG at Grant Thornton LLP: This accounting and advisory firm has set up supplier codes of conduct, mapped ethics and performance parameters, and sourced environmentally friendly office supplies.

• ESG at BDO Canada: This professional services firm has a goal to halve its emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

• Marsh McLennan ESG Report: This global professional services firm has seen a 45% reduction in their Scope 1 and 2 emissions since 2019.

2. We contacted organizations that are very active and established in the ESG space, crowdsourcing best practices to help us set realistic and achievable goals. The biggest lesson we learned is to be realistic in our commitments. For example, Altis started by matching our ESG initiatives to the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals before realizing that a more realistic approach is to start off by targeting 4-5 of them, and then add one more at a time as we achieve success.

3. We asked ourselves a series of guiding questions:  

• What do we already do to support people? What could we do better?  

• What impact do we have on the planet? How could we reduce it?  

• Does our work matter? How could we make it matter more?

• How can we set measurable, achievable goals in each area, so we can report on them?  

4. We’re conducting focus groups with our team members to get their ideas and input on ESG.  

5. We appointed a Project Manager who regularly reviews our ESG initiatives with our executive team, incorporates their feedback and ensures we have their commitment.

6. We developed an introductory training module for all our employees, including a short video describing what ESG is and why it’s important. We need everyone’s commitment!

7. We’re offering regular training on our ESG Policy, Code of Conduct, Core Actions and more.

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Why is ESG important for employers? In a word: Talent.

Aside from the direct benefits of supporting people and our planet, having an ESG plan can help employers recruit and retain top talent, especially millennial and Gen Z candidates.

Candidates look for organizations with an ESG plan.

• In a recent global survey by Deloitte, 59% of Gen Z and 55% millennial respondents said they research companies’ environmental impact and policies before accepting job.

• And 63% of workers across all generations prioritize employers with strong DEI platforms (the “S” in ESG), according to a global survey by EY (the results are even higher for Gen Z and millennials).

Employees are proud to work for organizations with ESG plans.

• In a US study last year, SHRM found that 86% of workers surveyed said they’re proud to work for an employer with ESG goals and that it makes them more inclined to stay there.

ESG jobs are on the rise.

• 25% of LinkedIn’s “2024 jobs on the rise” in Canada are ESG related (5 out of 20), including Sustainability Manager.

• One study found the green transition could create 30 million jobs by 2030.‍

• Trending roles we're seeing include:
  • Officer, ESG Integration
  • ESG Data Analyst
  • Chief Sustainability Officer
  • Director, ESG, Program Design
  • ESG Analyst
  • ESG Consultant
  • ESG Engineer
  • ESG Researcher 
  • Sustainability Manager
  • Corporate Responsibility Officer
  • Social Impact Analyst
  • ESG Risk Manager
  • ESG and Climate Reporting Manager
  • ESG Strategy Manager

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What’s next?

We know the work we’ve done so far in ESG is only the tip of the iceberg.  

Just as our commitment to all-inclusive diversity is ongoing and constant (it’s one of our Guiding Principles as a firm), so too is our commitment to all things people and planet, transparency and accountability, and above all, ethics.  

Over the coming months, we look forward to sharing more of our key learnings and notable milestones with you. If you have questions or ideas to share, please contact us: hrtopics@altis.com.  

‍And if you’re looking to grow your ESG team, we have candidates with in-demand skills ready to get started! Please reach out to learn more.