growing with the community

TELUS is committed to being Canada's premier corporate citizen. We are supporting Canadians by leveraging funding, technology and expertise to help make a difference. In 2006, TELUS launched a number of philanthropic initiatives that are building a friendlier future for the communities where we live, work and serve. We are growing together...

...by reaching out locally

In 2006, TELUS continued to roll out Community Boards across Canada. We now have seven fully operational Community Boards serving the local needs of Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Rimouski.

Consisting of distinguished community leaders and local TELUS executives, the Community Boards seek out grassroots charitable projects and provide $500,000 annually in each community. Since 2005, we have provided $7 million, supporting 480 charities across Canada.

Community Board members bring valuable insight and local knowledge to decision-making, optimizing the benefits to the community. In addition to providing financial support, TELUS lends expertise and the power of its brand to help these organizations raise awareness, gain support from other organizations and be more sustainable. To apply for funding, charitable organizations can visit telus.com/community.

With a keen focus on maintaining good governance practices and top-level leadership on boards, in 2006, TELUS introduced Governance Essentials: A Program for Not-For-Profit Directors. The program, developed with the Institute of Corporate Directors and the Rotman School of Management, educates not-for-profit directors on key competencies and accountabilities associated with their role. TELUS also provides scholarships for eligible not-for-profit directors to underscore its commitment to accessible education.

...by pooling our collective energy

On Saturday, September 30, as part of the first-ever TELUS National Day of Service, more than 5,000 TELUS team members, alumni, family and friends donated their time and energy to approximately 1,400 volunteer projects and activities across Canada. Together, they donated about 15,000 hours of their time and participated in a variety of charitable activities.

These included preparing and serving meals at the Mission Bon Accueil in Montreal, helping to build a Habitat for Humanity project in Edmonton, doing garden maintenance at Vancouver's Canuck Place and reinforcing creek banks at the Toronto Zoo.

The TELUS National Day of Service celebrates the ongoing commitment team members have for making the future friendly for people across Canada. It also recognizes the tremendous impact thousands of TELUS team members can have, collectively, on their communities.

...by doing good in the community

The spirit of generous giving has a long history at TELUS. Over the past six years, TELUS and our team members have contributed more than $76 million to charitable and non-profit organizations across Canada. In 2006 alone, contributions totalled $13.5 million.

Through the TELUS Dollars for Dollars program, our newly revamped annual employee charitable giving campaign, team members and alumni donate funds to Canadian charities, which TELUS then matches dollar for dollar. Based on the latest campaign, TELUS and team members will donate $5.5 million to more than 2,800 Canadian charities in 2007.

As well, through the TELUS Dollars for Doers program, team members and alumni are rewarded for their volunteer activities - either individual or team efforts - with a donation to their charity of choice. In 2006, TELUS donated $441,800 to Canadian charities in recognition of the 2,209 team members and alumni who each volunteered more than 60 hours of their personal time. Collectively, our team members and alumni volunteered more than 390,000 hours of their time in 2006.

...through our leading volunteer program

In June, we launched the TELUS Community Ambassadors program, giving team members and alumni the necessary financial and organizational support to help them continue taking on volunteer projects in communities across Canada.

Under the new program, our team members and alumni are continuing to give through community programs such as Kits for Kids, which supplies backpacks of school supplies to children in need, and the Comfort Bears program, which provides teddy bears for children in traumatic situations.

...by focusing on social responsibility

TELUS has a long-standing commitment toward corporate social responsibility and helping to build sustainable communities. Using a triple bottom line approach, we strive to balance our economic growth with an unwavering dedication to our environmental and social goals.

This commitment continues to be recognized externally. In September, for the sixth consecutive year, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), a worldwide corporate sustainability ranking, recognized TELUS as a global economic, environmental and social leader. Once again, TELUS is the only North American telecommunications company included in this global index.

In January, for the second consecutive year, TELUS was named one of the 25 most respected corporations in Canada in an annual survey sponsored by KPMG and conducted by Ipsos Reid. In May, TELUS was named by Alberta Venture magazine as one of the most respected corporations in Alberta in two categories - Culture of Innovation and Community Involvement.