ILEO: Corporate Charter

The disruptions brought on by COVID-19 have had immediate and profound impacts on health, social and economic conditions in our communities. It is clear that this crisis will leave lasting scars – and that the burdens of recovery are disproportionately falling on already vulnerable people and neighbourhoods. At the same time, recent protests in response to violence and systemic racism towards Black and Indigenous people have galvanized citizens and organizations to action. This Charter signals a new and collective commitment to creating inclusive economic opportunity in our communities, and to advancing the goal of an “inclusive rebuild.”

The ILEO Corporate Charter expresses the shared commitment of its signatories to the mission of growing inclusive economic opportunity, and to taking action through their organizations. It does not prescribe what actions should be taken, but encourages a healthy competitive ambition and shared learning. The Charter also builds upon many of the existing commitments these organizations already have, whether to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals or to diversity and inclusion. Finally, while it binds together an initial group of signatories, it also opens the door to others that want to sign-on.

Designed to meet organizations at their various starting points while challenging all to do more, the Charter commits signatories to continuous action and improvement in building a more inclusive and prosperous region.

There are many ways to take action to create inclusive local economic opportunities. The Charter identifies five types of corporate initiatives that signatory organization can take to actively include people from vulnerable communities:

Signatories commit to taking action in one or more of these areas. Each organization determines what type of action(s) to take and how they will implement them.

We, as signatories of the Inclusive Local Economic Opportunity (ILEO) Charter, are committed to increasing economic opportunity that is shared and inclusive. We will take action to address growing economic disparity, which is one of the biggest challenges of our time.

Our organizations are drivers of economic and social well-being, and each of us have a stake in ensuring vibrant and equitable cities where everyone can thrive. We all win when every resident has economic opportunities that contribute to a fulfilling life.

It is our shared responsibility to ensure that we create benefits for all our stakeholders, including employees, customers, shareholders, students, residents and the broader communities in which we operate.

We pledge to review our practices and adopt new approaches to ensure that more people share in the prosperity of our economy. Together, we have many levers at our disposal to actively include people from vulnerable communities, such as:

Through this charter, we commit to taking actions through our organizations and in our spheres of influence that will bring more economic opportunity to more people in our communities. This is no small mission. We invite other leaders to join us.