Indigenous Reconciliation & Closing the ESG Gap
For many Canadian companies, fulfilling their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals means taking climate action or diversifying their workforce. While these are helpful steps, there’s one glaring omission - advancing Indigenous reconciliation.
Fewer than one in five Canadian organizations have an Indigenous Truth and Reconciliation plan in place and only 27% include policies around Indigenous relations in their ESG framework, according to a recent PwC report.
While awareness around reconciliation efforts is growing within the public sphere, it seems that awareness isn’t being reflected in the boardroom. Companies are missing out on the opportunity, not just to engage and support First Nations communities, but to demonstrate social responsibility and lead the way as impactful changemakers.
Answering the call to action
The 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Report contains over 90 calls to action, some of which directly address the role of businesses in driving change. Canada’s corporate landscape is encouraged to, “ensure that Aboriginal peoples have equitable access to jobs, training, and education opportunities in the corporate sector, and that Aboriginal communities gain long-term sustainable benefits from economic development projects.”
NATIONS Translation Group (NATIONS) isn’t just Canada’s largest privately-owned language services provider, we’re also 100% Indigenous-owned and a member of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. Our name says it all. We’re an inclusive provider that represents all nations, from First Nations, Quebec and Acadia, to Canada and beyond.
NATIONS promotes and support Indigenous reconciliation in several ways:
Developing partnerships with Indigenous contractors and organizations and using their services where appropriate.
Sponsoring and supporting Indigenous initiatives, particularly those relating to Indigenous youth.
Providing translation in 34 Indigenous languages so companies can make their materials more accessible to First Nations communities. Our extensive library of Indigenous languages includes Inuktitut (all dialects), Southern Algonquin, Denesuline, Dogrib, Eastern Ojibway, Michif French, Mi’kmaq – Pacific, Oji-Cree, Plains Cree, Stony (Nakota), and Swampy Cree.
Actively working for the preservation of endangered Indigenous languages.
Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) at NATIONS
NATIONS isn’t just instrumental in helping clients meet their ESG goals, we’re also firmly committed to doing our part to elevate and support social causes. Our actions have an impact - on our staff, on our local community, on future generations - and we take that responsibility very seriously.
That’s why we go the extra mile to empower our employees, regardless of their background, building an inclusive and diverse team that reflects the communities we serve.
Promoting economic opportunities for Canada’s Indigenous communities is also of great importance for the company. NATIONS’ policy on contracting services of third parties is always to give priority to Indigenous contractors or organizations. We regularly sponsor or donate to Indigenous initiatives and organizations, particularly those involving Indigenous youth.
From the office environment, to wider environmental concerns - NATIONS values the importance of conserving our natural assets for future generations. Our corporate philosophy embraces the principles of environmental responsibility and sustainable development. To that end, we’ve committed to reducing waste and using renewable energy sources where possible.
We are proud to have led our competition in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In 2006, we became the first translation agency in Ottawa – and one of only 11 organizations in Ontario – to participate in the Pembina’s Wind Power program. NATIONS also partners with Bullfrog Power, one of Canada’s leading green-energy providers, to produce wind power for use at our office.
We are committed to ensuring no waste from the NATIONS office is sent to landfills. Every day, we continue to minimize and recycle all paper waste. We estimate that our paper recycling program now saves 109 trees per year. NATIONS exclusively uses recycled paper containing 100 percent post-consumer waste.
For more information on our ESG policies and achievements, contact our team.
Indigenous partnership
It’s not just our Indigenous credentials that put us at the forefront of the market, of course. At Nations, we marry our commitment to reconciliation with our commitment to provide best-in-class service.
That focus on quality and value has helped us establish relationships with some of Canada’s largest corporations and public sector entities. Our clients include the Royal Bank of Canada, with whom we’ve partnered for many years, translating their annual Indigenous Partnership Report.
The 2021 Report, A Chosen Journey, involved translations into an Algonquin dialect, Blackfoot, as well as Inuktitut. Dale Sturges, national director, Indigenous financial services at RBC in Toronto said: “We chose to work with NATIONS because we support Indigenous-owned businesses as part of our procurement commitment to reconciliation and honouring the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Call to Action 92. But NATIONS is more than a translation company. They are helping to ensure Indigenous languages are living languages that not only belong, but thrive, in the world today.”
Partnering with NATIONS doesn’t just help clients like RBC fulfill their ESG obligations, it signals a true commitment to uplifting Indigenous communities across Canada - through economic empowerment and the preservation of their unique and eclectic languages.
Whether you’re looking to translate your marketing materials into Cree, your technical documents into French, or your corporate content into Mandarin, our team can help. We work across a range of industries to provide superior translation of any and all content. Contact us today to learn more about our language solutions.
