Export Development Canada (EDC), Canada's leading provider of financing, insurance and bonding services for Canadian exporters, today issued its Annual Report on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

EDC, which serves as Canada’s official export credit agency, developed the report using the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) new G4 Sustainability Reporting Framework. The international framework is designed bring greater transparency to corporate reporting.

“There is a strong public expectation that EDC, as a Crown corporation that represents the Government of Canada, ensures that the business we consider is performed in a responsible and ethical manner,” said Signi Schneider, Vice-President, CSR, EDC.

“This report outlines how we deliver upon that expectation, particularly for our environmental, social and anti-corruption requirements, and also how EDC works with international counterparts to share best practices and keep pace with the evolving CSR landscape,” added Ms. Schneider.

The report highlights EDC’s CSR achievements in 2013 and the Corporation’s opportunities to integrate CSR practices with its business activities. To better demonstrate how this integration occurs, the report uses profiles of existing EDC business transactions and videos that provide more detail and context than policy documents can offer.

Highlights of the 2013 report include:

• The development of EDC’s first Green Bond offering;
• Playing a key role in final revisions to the revised Equator Principles framework (EP III), which guide how the financial industry looks at the environmental and social impacts of large infrastructure projects;
• A review of EDC’s internal anti-corruption risk assessment process, to strengthen our due diligence tools for higher-risk sectors and to incorporate amendments to the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA); and
• 5500 small-to medium-sized companies used EDC services in 2013 to undertake more than CAD 11.6 billion in international business.

The report is available exclusively online at EDC’s 2013 CSR Annual Report.

EDC is Canada’s export credit agency, providing financing and insurance solutions locally and around the world to help Canadian companies of any size respond to international business opportunities. As a profitable Crown corporation that operates on commercial principles, EDC works together with private- and public-sector financial institutions to create greater capacity for Canadian companies to engage in trade and investment.

For more information about how EDC can help your company, visit www.edc.ca.

Export Development Canada

Export Development Canada

EDC is a Canadian financial Crown corporation that helps companies go, grow, and succeed in their international business. We do this by providing financing, insurance, bonding, trade knowledge, and matchmaking connections to help Canadian companies sell and invest abroad. EDC can also provide financial solutions to foreign buyers to facilitate and grow purchases from Canadian companies. A financially self-sustaining corporation, EDC is a recognized leader in financial reporting, economic analysis. At EDC, we commit to carry out our mandate in a socially responsible manner consistent with our corporate values.

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