Beneva (Canada) is actively involved in community engagement and has laid out comprehensive plans for future growth. The company supports local communities through various outreach programmes, funding for social causes, and partnerships with community organisations. These initiatives aim to enhance social well-being and foster inclusivity. Beneva also encourages its employees to participate in volunteer activities, providing paid time off for volunteering and organising corporate volunteer days where employees can contribute to community projects such as environmental clean-ups, charity events, and educational programmes.

Despite its strong commitment, Beneva faces several challenges in its community engagement efforts. Ensuring the consistent impact and effectiveness of its programmes across diverse communities with varying needs is a significant challenge. Additionally, measuring the long-term impact of community initiatives and maintaining sustained engagement over time can be difficult. Another challenge is aligning community projects with the company’s core values and business objectives while meeting the expectations of community members and stakeholders.

To overcome these challenges, Beneva has set ambitious future goals. The company plans to deepen its community involvement by increasing funding for social causes, expanding volunteer programmes, and forming more partnerships with community organisations. Beneva aims to enhance the impact of its community initiatives by implementing more robust measurement and evaluation frameworks to assess the effectiveness and long-term benefits of its programmes. By fostering strong relationships with community stakeholders and continuously improving its programmes, Beneva aims to create lasting positive impacts on the communities it serves.

Co-operators (Canada) has embarked on a comprehensive and evolving sustainability journey, marked by significant initiatives and strategic programmes addressing environmental and social challenges. This journey is deeply rooted in the organisation’s history and values, reflecting a long-standing commitment to environmental responsibility and community support. At the heart of Co-operators’ efforts is the concept of “catalysing” change, which encapsulates their proactive approach to fostering positive transformations within the communities they serve.

In recent years, Co-operators have introduced several innovative programmes designed to tackle contemporary sustainability challenges. These forward-thinking initiatives focus on climate action, resource efficiency, and community engagement. The organisation is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting renewable energy, and optimising resource use to minimise waste and create a circular economy. Co-operators’ emphasis on community engagement fosters a collective sense of responsibility and action towards sustainable practices, ensuring that their initiatives lead to meaningful and lasting impacts.

Additionally, Co-operators place a strong emphasis on social equity and economic resilience. They believe that the benefits of sustainability should be equitably distributed across all segments of society, and their programmes aim to improve access to sustainable resources for underserved communities. By supporting local economies and fostering sustainable business practices, Co-operators is helping to build resilient economic systems capable of withstanding environmental and social shocks. This holistic approach ensures that their sustainability efforts remain relevant and effective in addressing emerging challenges.

Thrivent, a fraternal benefit society with over 120 years of history, is dedicated to empowering lives through service and faith, particularly within the Lutheran community and broader Christian demographic in the United States. Thrivent’s sustainability initiatives are deeply rooted in its core values of empathy, impact, authenticity, gratitude, and commitment. These values reflect Thrivent’s mission to generate meaningful and positive outcomes, evidenced by its long history of community support and disaster response, such as the founding response to a local catastrophe in the 1800s.

In the contemporary context, Thrivent is navigating a complex regulatory landscape in the United States, characterised by a polarised political environment and varying state and federal requirements related to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) standards. Thrivent has adopted a transformation strategy centred around three key pillars: driving impact, delivering value to clients, and growing sales. This strategy is supported by a “growth playbook,” which provides a structured framework for integrating ESG considerations into all aspects of the business. Key initiatives include launching ESG-focused investment products, such as an ESG ETF and an ESG index, reducing the physical footprint of its corporate headquarters to support a hybrid working environment, and engaging clients in volunteer activities through programmes like Thrive in Action Teams.

Financial education, gender equality, and diversity are also integral to Thrivent’s sustainability strategy. The organisation offers a range of programmes to improve financial literacy and stability within communities and prides itself on a diverse workforce and board of directors. Thrivent continues to refine its approach to sustainability through regular materiality assessments, engaging various stakeholders to understand their priorities and expectations. Recent assessments have highlighted business ethics, data privacy, and human capital as top concerns, guiding Thrivent’s ongoing sustainability efforts to ensure they align with stakeholder values.

Session speakers:

• Christelle Lim-Severe, Sustainability Practice Leader, Beneva (Canada)
• Chad Park, Vice President, Sustainability & Citizenship, and Tom Ewart, Associate Vice-President, Sustainability, Co-operators (Canada)
• Cindy Nigbur, Vice President, Governance Strategy and Deputy Corporate Secretary, Thrivent (USA)