ESG Governance
Providing the foundation for ethical, sustainable business
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About
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MyEDC account
Manage your finance and insurance services. Get access to export tools and expert insights.
Providing the foundation for ethical, sustainable business
With a mandate to help Canadian companies do business in countries around the world, it’s critical that we have strong policies, guidelines and controls. Our commitment to good governance and high ethical standards is one of our core values. It is also integral to our reputation and our ability to deliver value for Canadians.
Corruption is a significant risk in many international markets. This page is your resource for essential information that can help your business adopt anti-corruption best practices and become a leader in corporate sustainability.
Find out how environmental, social and governance practices can shape the future growth of your business.
Use this guide to learn more about sustainability management and managing a company’s strategies and performance related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
Our ESG governance approach begins with our board, which provides oversight of our ESG efforts and contributes to the ongoing evolution of our ESG strategy. Our governance is strengthened by our ESG Advisory Council and the policies, procedures and controls we put in place to guide our actions and decision-making. These are informed by international best practices and by the perspectives of our wide range of stakeholders.
EDC’s ESG priorities are also shaped by our shareholder, the Government of Canada, through various mechanisms. This includes the annual Statement of Priorities and Accountabilities from the Minister responsible for International Trade to EDC’s Chair of the Board of Directors and the government’s review and approval of our annual Corporate Plan.
Business integrity is critical to trade and to EDC’s role in helping businesses expand beyond Canada’s border. Our Code of Conduct, policies and procedures hold us to the highest ethical standards and help us navigate the complexities of the global trade environment in a way that prevents and mitigates financial crime and corruption.
We’re part of a much larger trade ecosystem that is dedicated to working together to help Canadian companies achieve their international business goals. Engagement with our stakeholders, from customers and financial partners to industry associations and civil society organizations, is key to supporting and developing Canada’s export trade.
Composed of prominent experts across a variety of fields, our ESG Advisory Council strengthens our governance approach through the perspectives and expertise we receive from our members.
A number of policies, reports and frameworks guide our approach to responsible, sustainable business. Find them, and additional ESG-related resources, on our policies and reports page.
Transparency and disclosure are integral to facilitate accountability and oversight, build trust and promote meaningful dialogue with our stakeholders. We’re also bound by specific rules about how and when information about EDC is released to the public.
EDC’s mandate, powers and objectives are established by statute of the Parliament of Canada through the Export Development Act. As a commercial and financial Crown corporation, EDC is governed by a Board of Directors whose representatives are primarily from the private sector. Discover more about our overall corporate governance on our Management and Governance page.
Measuring and monitoring our performance is key to understanding where we’re doing well, where we need to improve, and what we want to achieve in the future. Details on our 2024 performance and plans are available in our integrated annual report.
Of new employees received sustainable and responsible business onboarding
Of board members hold an ESG Competent Boards certification
Of relevant employees received financial crimes training
EDC is guided by a number of agreements and standards that form the foundation of our view of best practices when it comes to governance issues, such as the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance, the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, and the Canadian Centre for Ethics and Corporate Policy.
Explore policies, reports and other reference materials related to ESG governance at EDC
All employees are expected to honour and comply with our Code of Conduct, which helps us navigate the complexities of the global trade environment.
Explains the measures we take in our due diligence process to align with legislation and international standards.
Sets out the framework for how we disclose information about our business in a manner that balances the confidentiality required by our customers with the information sought by interested Canadians.
Discover how EDC performed in 2024 and how we’re thinking about the future.
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