Social impact

^{ESG | Social | Human rights |} ^{Inclusive trade | Inclusion, diversity and equity} ^{| Our communities}

^{ESG | Social | Human rights |} ^{Inclusive trade |

Inclusion, diversity and equity} ^{| Our communities}

Removing barriers

Historic injustices and systemic barriers continue to hold too many people back. We’re taking deliberate action in our workplace, communities and our customer relationships to help build a more equitable and inclusive society that respects human rights and enables people to flourish.

News and highlights

Women in Trade Guide

Our free guide is full of insights and advice to help Canadian women-owned businesses succeed internationally.

View the guide

Implementing ESG

An ESG strategy can improve the value of your company’s products and services while decreasing negative impacts on people and the environment.

Learn more

ESG survey: The SME perspective on sustainability

Discover key insights from 350 small- and medium-sized enterprises on how ESG/sustainability affects their business.

Learn more

Picture of business colleagues including differently abled woman discussing a project representing goal of making global trade more inclusive, diverse and equitable

EDC is committed to making global trade more inclusive, diverse and equitable

We care about people and strive to make the communities we live and work in better. We work to ensure our efforts are influencing better outcomes for people through our own actions and those of our customers.

A timeline of human rights at EDC

As an export credit agency, we have a responsibility to respect human rights across our operations. We continue to evolve and strengthen our practices in line with best practices and the changing trade landscape.

2008

Released our Human Rights Statement

2011

Started embedding human rights risks into our environmental and social due diligence practices

2015

Assessed our practice against the UNGPs

2017

Aligned our environmental and social due diligence practices with the UNGPs

2018

Began review of our Environmental and Social Risk Management Policy Framework

2019

Issued our first board-approved and dedicated Human Rights Policy

2020

Developed and approved Principles on Leverage and Remedy. Disclosed our Due Diligence Framework: Human Rights

2021

Developed due diligence tools on leverage and remedy.

2022

Completed a review and update of our human rights policy, as part of the Environment and Social Risk Management (ESRM) policy framework review.

Launched leverage and remedy toolkit and training course for relevant employees.

2023

Released our updated human rights policy as part of our wider ESRM policy framework review to strengthen and clarify our commitments and processes. We also established a defence and security position to guide our due diligence and kicked off a saliency exercise.

Customer stories

Cyril Owona, President and Chief Executive of ISCI Inc.

Cyril Owona: How a career detour led to becoming founder of ISCI Inc.

How EDC helped this Black-owned business grow internationally

Women entrepreneurs offer top tips for exporting to the U.S.

Owners of three women-led companies in the food-processing sector give tips for exporting to the U.S.

Women entrepreneurs beat challenges to grow globally

How women entrepreneurs overcome challenges to grow global sales

Women entrepreneurs discuss the challenges and opportunities of doing business internationally.

By the numbers: Putting our social commitments into action

We believe that good social practices are key to EDC’s sustainability, to the long-term success of Canadian companies and to our country’s international competitiveness and continued prosperity. As an organization, we aim to lead by example on diversity, equity and inclusion. In 2023:

16%

Of transactions underwent enhanced human rights risks screenings

$8.7B

Women-owned and -led business facilitated to date

$563M

Indigenous-owned and -led business facilitated to date

36%

The percentage of EDC employees identifying as visible minorities

8%

The percentage of persons with disabilities in our workforce composition

$381,128

Total donations in support of communities

ESG agreements and memberships

EDC is guided by a number of agreements and standards that form the foundation of our view of best practices when it comes to environmental, social and governance issues. We’re also a contributing member of organizations setting the standard for sustainable, responsible business. Learn more about our commitments.

Learn more about our agreements and memberships

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