Vancouver, BC, January 14, 2022 – The role of Boards and its Board members has come under closer scrutiny in recent years with a growing attention given to how directors, both executive and non-executive, promote the long-term success of the organizations they lead. This is particularly true when it comes to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
The global pandemic and anti-racism movements over the past two years have resulted in Boards very quickly re-assessing their ESG position, especially the social and governance aspects. But these leaders can’t forget the E in ESG, given the climate change impacts we’ve seen this past year in BC with wildfires, floods, atmospheric rivers and now record snowstorms. Therefore, Synergy Executive & Boards Consulting Group (Synergy) is pleased to announce that it has received a $10,000 Community Partnerships grant from Vancity to challenge diverse boards to take responsibility and do their part to curb climate change and tackle social issues.
Synergy is a diversity-oriented executive and board recruitment, leadership, Equity & Inclusion consulting company that champions placements for Black, Indigenous and People of color (BIPOC). Synergy empowers BIPOC by providing access to necessary knowledge and tools to understand boardroom dynamics and effectively serve on boards of directors or C-suites.
Synergy’s “Governance with a Green Lens” project, funded by Vancity, will help corporate and non-profit organizations reflect on how ESG philosophies fit into their overall strategy and add value, while mitigating associated risks.
“We want to ensure that executives and board of directors have the information they need to bring not only a diverse lens, but a green lens to the tables they sit at,” said Trish Mandewo, CEO and co-founder of Synergy. “COVID-19 has shed light on inequities in our society, and the environmental events of 2021 have brought climate change to the forefront of everyone’s mind. We all need to do our part to keep addressing these issues at every decision-making table.”
Mandewo added: “With the support of Vancity’s funding, Synergy’s training will empower diverse professionals to transform their organizations to make decisions that have a positive impact on the climate and also contribute to their organizational sustainability goals.”
The business case for diversity in problem solving and decision making has been made over and over, and diverse leaders are in a great position to be climate champions, as well as social ones. Diverse boards are creative and deploy more innovative ideas and solutions, and climate change solutions will be no different.
“Addressing the climate crisis requires shifting how we all do business. Leadership and accountability at the board and executive level is critical to this shift,” said Jonathan Fowlie, Chief External Relations Officer at Vancity. “We’re pleased to support Synergy’s Governance with a Green Lens project and bring greater awareness of the opportunities of environmental and social governance to leadership teams.”
MEDIA CONTACT:
Trish Mandewo
Phone: 604-726-0856
Email: info@synergyonboards.ca
ABOUT SYNERGY EXECUTIVE & BOARDS CONSULTING GROUP
Synergy Executive & Boards is a diversity-oriented executive and board recruitment, leadership, Equity & Inclusion consulting company located in Coquitlam, British Columbia. We are championing and leading the way in Black, Indigenous, and People of color (BIPOC) placements and are committed to helping companies build diverse, world-class management teams through exceptional talent and solutions. Learn more about Synergy at synergyonboards.com.
ABOUT VANCITY
Vancity is a values-based financial co-operative serving the needs of its more than 550,000 member-owners and their communities, with offices and 55 branches located in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Victoria, Squamish and Alert Bay, within the territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw people. With $30.5 billion in assets plus assets under administration, Vancity is Canada’s largest community credit union. Vancity uses its assets to help improve the financial well-being of its members while at the same time helping to develop healthy communities that are socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.