FEBRUARY 13, 2023

Introducing Tridel Takes Action with Maggie, Asal & Aiman.

This blog series will serve as a valuable resource for learning more about Tridel’s commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility and our evolving ESG initiatives. 

Meet Tridel’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) team: Maggie Hall, CSR & Impact Manager, Asal Afshar, Manager for Employment & Community Partnerships, and Aiman Khan, CSR & Employment Coordinator. Together, the CSR team focuses on initiatives that engage our Tridel employee community to support the communities where we build. The team has crafted a new blog series – Tridel Takes Action –to share new and exciting updates surrounding our company’s CSR vision, our commitment to our employees and the communities where we build, the impact of our efforts and more.  

In this blog series, they will discuss topics from community economic development to how Tridel is working with local talent to make its communities healthy, vibrant, and sustainable for everyone who lives there. They will invite “special guests” from Tridel to share new programs that inform and inspire. By sharing our community-first approach, ‘Tridel Takes Action’ will offer new perspectives on CSR and to show you that when you think global and act local, you too can make a difference in your community. When we work as a collective to Take Action together, we can support a more engaging and prosperous future for everyone.

Tridel is proud of the work we do to go beyond the ‘bricks and mortar’ to build homes and communities where people feel welcomed, empowered, and healthy. We know that what we create shapes how people live, work, and play and will impact communities now and into the future.

"Corporate Social Responsibility, and now, ‘ESG’ (Environment, Social, and Governance) are emerging as important themes for our industry, customers, employees, and members of the community. It’s fun and engaging to be learning and exploring this movement.” - Maggie Hall, Corporate Social Responsibility & Impact Manager 

What is CSR?  

Before diving in, let’s talk about what Corporate Social Responsibility actually is. The concept may be unfamiliar for some, and there are many ways– and names – for how companies may choose to implement CSR within their business, such as “corporate giving”, “philanthropy” or “corporate sustainability”, or even a newer term: “ESG” (which stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance). 

However, an organization chooses to adopt CSR into their business practices, it signals that a company is looking to play a positive role in community, society and the environment by aligning their business processes and decisions. This is sometimes referred to as the ‘triple bottom line’ – bringing people, planet, and prosperity all together. CSR is becoming more common practice in the business community, as customers and partners are expecting corporate entities to go above and beyond ‘business as usual’.

PEOPLE + PLANET + PROSPERITY

What is CSR at Tridel?

Our strategy is guided by one central statement: we believe doing good is good business. We know that when we positively contribute to the communities where we build, we can all thrive.

At Tridel, our CSR strategy is guided by our ‘WISE Vision’ – where our efforts are concentrated on impacting our Workplace, Industry, Society and Environment. Our mandate embraces sustainable business practices and includes initiatives like community economic development and engagement, corporate giving, employee development, our customer experience, innovation, and reducing our environmental impact.

Workplace - Our people are the strength of our company. It is our responsibility to continue to be a best place to work and cultivate a culture where employees choose to dedicate their time to always doing the right thing.

Industry - We take our leadership role seriously. Everything we do has an impact on condo living in the GTA so we need to continue innovating and carving out the path for the next generation of homebuilders.

Society - Being Built for Life means going beyond building quality homes, it is contributing to strong and vibrant communities that will positively impact society as a whole. It’s about community building, promoting health and wellness, supporting the lifestyle of each of our residents and neighbours, and much more.

Environment - Every decision we make today will have a great impact for generations to come and because of that, we are committed to being an environmental leader in our industry. Understanding the impact we have on the environment is a priority and we build communities that are environmentally responsible, safe and healthy places to live.[RL1] I wont be able to do image and text side by side with new blog layout, so ill drop the images below the text instead.

The Future of CSR – What is ESG?

Within the last few years, the concept of CSR has been evolving in the corporate world into what is more recently known as “ESG”. But what exactly is ESG and how is it different from CSR?

ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. It’s the idea that you (typically investors) incorporate non-financial factors into the analysis of risk and growth factors for the company.

Reporting on ESG differs from CSR because progress towards ESG-related goals is typically included in an annual report and benchmarks under different institutional standards that are a component of the report. These institutions include the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), to name a few.

Source: CFA Institute

The concept of ESG, shifts from a collection of stories or initiatives with their impact, to one that streamlines projects and activities in a more strategic manner. ESG includes clear reporting on performance indicators and progress against the core goals which are in alignment with industry or global best practices. Essentially, this creates stronger accountability for organizations to be open and transparent about what they’re doing, why they’re doing it and what progress they’re making.

At Tridel, we remain dialed in to ESG and how our organization’s corporate strategy can be inspired, guided and informed by this work.

Tridel Takes Action With Maggie Asal & Aiman.

At Tridel, we’re always looking for new, innovative and effective solutions to make communities healthier, more engaging, and sustainable. Our CSR team, led by Maggie and Asal, plays an important role in driving our team to do what’s right.

Together, Maggie and Asal bring a wealth of experience and skills to our CSR team, and their collaboration ensures that Tridel continues to lead the way in CSR. Maggie focuses on promoting health and well-being, diversity and inclusion, Indigenous reconciliation, and fostering engagement of our employees and community stakeholders. Asal, on the other hand, focuses on developing relationships with our partners to identify opportunities that benefit residents from all our communities. Aiman, the newest member of the CSR team, supports in all of the above. Aiman’s community-based experience coupled with her educational background enables her to help out using an equity-informed lens.

Follow our CSR Journey.

This blog series will serve as a valuable resource for learning more about Tridel’s commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility and our evolving ESG initiatives.

From hosting events and learning exercises to raise awareness about Indigenous People at Head Office to partnerships with organizations like Toronto Community Housing that support residents in several meaningful ways, including the annual Backpack & School Supply Drive, we’re committed to building communities where everyone feels welcomed, empowered, and healthy.

Stay tuned for more exciting updates and insights into Tridel's CSR initiatives and join us in our commitment to building a better world, one community at a time.

Interested in learning more?

Our team looks to share as much information about our CSR initiatives with our employees, communities, and other stakeholders as we can. If you are interested in learning more, we invite you to explore the resources below to see our work in action:

Tridel’s CSR Microsite – Visit our dedicated microsite to learn more about the different initiatives under each of Tridel’s WISE pillars.

Tridel’s Digital Impact Report 2021 – To see the highlights from 2021 & 2020, read our condensed impact report.

Tridel Community Worx – Our team has created a dedicated website for residents of Toronto Community Housing neighbourhoods to get engaged with our team and to learn about new training and employment opportunities.