With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/325830
bcbusiness.ca July 2014 BCBusiness 145 D on't tell British Columbians that the bottom line is all that matters in business. As our readers can attest, a clean conscience on social and environmental matters is a vital part of making money, both here and abroad. Our survey asked readers how important it is to do business with countries with democratic govern- ments, and how important a country's human rights and environmental records are. More than 60 per cent of respondents said those factors are very important. Fewer than five per cent said any of those issues aren't important at all. B.C. companies have seen how social conflict over environmental or human rights issues can delay or derail business ambitions. Tens of thousands of Colombians took to the streets in their country to fight Vancouver-based Eco Oro Minerals Inc.'s gold-mining project last year over fears the miner would contaminate their water supply. Similar protests have been held in Greece, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Slovakia, Roma- nia and Israel. Closer to home, the federal govern- ment rejected Taseko Mines Ltd.'s proposed gold and copper mine near Williams Lake this spring after it failed an environmental review. B.C. miners shouldn't feel singled out—Enbridge Inc.'s Northern Gateway pipeline proj- ect through B.C. faces continued local opposition despite federal government support. The lesson is to engage communi- ties and address social and environ- mental issues from the outset—an approach executives at Calgary-based Enbridge admit they failed to do well in the beginning. If you don't build relationships, conflicts will erupt. Karina Briño, president and CEO of the Mining Association of B.C., says the province has long been focused on the triple bottom line: social responsibil- ity, environmental stewardship and economic sustainability. "We have at least a couple of decades of experience in engaging in these conversations in a meaningful way." She argues that stringent environ- mental rules don't harm companies' competitiveness in her industry, and she has no desire to lobby for looser restrictions. "What affects our com- petitiveness, I think, is a lack of clarity in terms of the regulatory process," she says. "If those rules are clear, I think we can demonstrate that Brit- ish Columbia can be a leader when it comes to environmental stewardship and social responsibility." ■ An Ethical Quandary How important is a country's human rights record when deciding whether or not to do business there? How important is a country's environmental record when deciding whether or not to do business there? How important is a democratic government when choosing what countries to do business with abroad? very important 70.0% Not important at all 4.5% Somewhat important 25.5% vERY iMpORTANT 74.9% vERY iMpORTANT 60.6% SOMEwhAT iMpORTANT 22.8% SOMEwhAT iMpORTANT 36.9% NOT iMpORTANT AT ALL 2.3% NOT iMpORTANT AT ALL 2.5% The triple bottom line has long been part of the cost of doing business n=597 n=597 n=597 p138-146-HSBC_advertorial.indd 145 2014-05-29 10:07 AM