about TELUS
staying ahead for communities
At TELUS, delivering a friendly future extends beyond our traditional business and the services we provide to ensuring we deliver on our corporate social responsibilities. In support of our vision to become Canada’s premier corporate citizen, we are committed to improving the economic, social and environmental well-being of the communities in which we live, work and serve. We are staying ahead...
... by supporting our communities
With a focus on young Canadians, we look for opportunities to use our technology and expertise in ways that positively influence communities. To ensure our support has the greatest impact, our community investment efforts are focused in three areas – arts and culture, education and sport, and health and wellness. Below are some examples of our 2005 initiatives.
- TELUS Tour for the Cure – TELUS partnered with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation to bring this tour to 26 communities and 200,000 people in British Columbia. The goal of the program is to save lives through interactive education and prevention awareness programs.
- Science Alberta Foundation – TELUS supported special Alberta centennial education programs through leading organizations like the Science Alberta Foundation.
- Bloorview Kids Rehab – TELUS supported this leading children’s rehabilitation hospital in Toronto by funding its Electronic Aids to Daily Living program, which provides the customized tools and cutting-edge technology needed to enable young Canadians to lead richer, independent lives.
- Share the Warmth Foundation – In Montreal, TELUS partnered with this Foundation to help youth overcome hunger and poverty. We supported the Foundation’s Build the Future project to raise funds for food, better educational programming and recreational programs for marginalized youth.
- National Arts Centre Trust – TELUS is the founding partner of the National Youth and Education Trust, which provides funding for the National Arts Centre. Our support helps develop programs that nurture the creative talent of young people in the Ottawa region and across Canada.
corporate social responsibility
To ensure our support has the greatest impact, our community investment efforts are focused on arts and culture, education and sport, and health and wellness. To find out more about our efforts in these areas, visit telus.com/socialresponsibility.
... by encouraging life-long learning
TELUS formed partnerships with five science centres across Canada to help promote technological innovation and learning in science and technology. Over the next 20 years, we are investing $43 million in the TELUS World of Science® centres in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton, and the Ontario and Montreal Science Centres. These partnerships will help foster educational opportunities for young Canadians through the innovative use of technology and ensure these facilities remain leading-edge for future generations.
... by actively listening to our stakeholders
In 2005, we established seven TELUS Community Boards – in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Rimouski. The boards, which include key community representatives and senior team members from TELUS, meet quarterly to discuss local giving opportunities and strategically allocate approximately $3.5 million annually to local charities. In doing so, the boards help TELUS determine where and how to invest resources to best optimize the benefits that flow to the communities.
... by making a difference through giving
At TELUS, we have a long history of giving. Since 1995, TELUS has been an Imagine Caring Company, a designation by the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy that means we donate more than one per cent of our pre-tax profits to charitable organizations each year. Over the past five years, TELUS and its team members have contributed more than $62 million of financial and in-kind assistance to charitable organizations across Canada. In 2005, TELUS and its team members contributed more than $11 million of financial and in-kind assistance to charitable organizations.
Each fall, we normally launch an Employee Charitable Giving Campaign, where TELUS matches team members’ charitable donations dollar-for-dollar. To ensure the Canadian charitable organizations were not affected by the labour disruption, TELUS provided 100 per cent of the funding, $2 million, in lieu of the 2005 campaign.
Through the TELUS Volunteer Involvement Fund, TELUS donated $160,200 to Canadian charitable organizations in recognition of the 801 team members who volunteered a minimum of 60 hours of their personal time.
...with a dedication to social responsibility
TELUS maintains a long-standing commitment toward social responsibility and to operating in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner. With a focus on being a good corporate citizen, we are implementing business practices that support long-term sustainable growth while protecting the environment and improving the quality of life in the communities we serve.
For the fifth consecutive year, TELUS was named to the global Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), a worldwide corporate sustainability ranking that recognizes economic, environmental and social leaders. TELUS was once again the only North American telecommunications company, and one of only 12 Canadian companies, to make this international list.
TELUS was recognized as Canada’s seventh best corporate citizen in the Corporate Knights’ annual ranking of the Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada, up from 39th place in 2004.