Health Nexus (formerly OPC) is Ontario's leading bilingual health promotion organization.

- - - -

Main page | Web-coverage Day1 | Web-coverage Day2 | Newsroom | Speakers

Web Coverage - Day 2 - Morning concurrent dialogue

5A – How the private sector can help us paddle upstream

Panelists

Mary F. Sylver
mfsylver & associates
Board Member, Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse

Chris Lowry
Coordinator, Toronto Business Alliance for a Local Living Economy, BALLE

"The power of attraction: it is not about shaming everybody but it is about bringing everybody along."

Donna Morton
Co-Founder and Executive Director, Centre for Integral Economics (CIE)

"Hybrid organizations are as important to the economy as hybrid cars."

Session summary

Donna Morton championed tax policies to ensure that the corporate sector is contributing to healthier communities both environmentally and socially.

We have to hold companies to account and make tax policies align with what we care about
Never accept the line "it's job versus environment". The notion that the economy is sacrosanct and that it exists outside of our value system is a mythology
There is a need to separate good and bad businesses and to reward the companies who do the right thing using the tax system
At the moment, the worst ones are rewarded with tax shelters

Chris Lowry presented several principles to consider in harnessing the private sector's clout, influence and resources to create healthier communities.

Support businesses that are locally owned and operated
Amplify the organizations that are doing good work across sectors (focus on win-win).
Engage the arts and culture / the soul of the community
The diversity question is critical. We have a lot to learn from businesses stemming from different communities
Build a local living economy: embed value of social justice within the market place
Triple bottom line: Economic profit as well as environmental and social consequences
The calculation of profit of a business owner should include the money that they put back into charity/ donations/ air quality, etc

Some key communication messages that illustrate these principles:

"Healthy market place enables healthy communities."
"Hybrid organizations are as important to the economy as hybrid cars."

How to formalize the partnership between the private sector and the NGO sector?

Transparency is critical
Look for places where you overlap; don't get stuck in places where you diverge
Get the values up front early on
It is about listening an offering the private sector options that are interesting and beneficial to them.
Social capital is a word that business understands (use of common language)

We, as citizens, have to demonstrate first that it works and then the government will follow.