UN Evening Highlights Socially Responsible Individuals, Organizations Talisman Energy, Good Earth Cafe and Community Natural Foods honoured at reception Written by: Larissa Sommerfeld Date: October 29, 2009 On October 22, 2009, Talisman Energy was awarded the coveted United Nations Association (UNA)'s Calgary Branch Outstanding Contribution to the UN Global Compact Award. The award was presented at UNA's third annual wine and cheese awards reception at the Calgary Zoo in partnership with the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and Vibrant Communities Calgary. The evening was a celebration of United Nations (UN) Day (which was October 24) and recognized individuals, organizations and businesses committed to adopting and promoting corporate social responsibility in Calgary. Talisman Energy was recognized for being a strong example in the local and global community and for making efforts to incorporate and carry out corporate social responsibility within the organization. The award was accepted by Frank McShane, the Manager of Corporate Responsibility at Talisman Energy. Talisman, a global oil and gas company headquartered in Calgary, makes 'operating responsibly' a main component of its corporate strategy. This strategy is all-encompassing and is guided by Talisman's commitment to international standards including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and initiatives such as the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). Talisman's corporate social responsibility mandate is large: it is committed to conducting 'its business safely, in an ethically, socially and environmentally responsible manner.' Talisman Energy is making its mark as a leader in the Canadian oil and gas industry; it is the first Canadian company to join the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights initiative (supported by governments and companies committed to ensuring respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms). Talisman is also a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability (North America) Index - a tracker of the financial performance of sustainability-driven companies. In addition to its commitment to incorporating environmental factors into its decision-making, Talisman promotes and expects ethical standards in its business conduct. Talisman also has several programs that are centred on local communities where it has its subsidiary operations. For example, this past year it piloted a scholarship program for Vietnamese students to undertake courses at the University of Calgary, with the objective of supporting the Vietnamese oil and gas industry. The prestigious Outstanding Contribution to the UN Global Compact Award has also been awarded to Enbridge (2008) and Nexen (2007) - both headquartered in Calgary. Community Natural Foods was awarded the Vibrant Employer Award by Vibrant Communities Calgary and the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. Community Natural Foods stood out because of a high level of employee satisfaction and the variety of benefits it provides to its workers, such as tuition assistance and excellent wages. The award was accepted by General Manger Bruce Martin. The Outstanding Contribution to Community Programming Award (presented by UNA-Calgary) was awarded to Good Earth Cafe. This award focused on organizations that are practising corporate social responsibility on a local level. All of the Good Earth Cafes, for example, are 100 percent wind powered. As one of the first local businesses to sign up with Canadian energy provider Bullfrog Power when they extended their services to Alberta, Good Earth hopes to inspire other businesses to do the same. Founded by husband-wife team Michael Going and Nan Eskenazi in 1991, Good Earth Cafe continues to focus on a variety of local and global issues. When asked how her company chooses issues to focus on, Eskenazi emphasized that each cafe works on issues relevant to its community and 'in addition to that, we seek out partnerships with social and environmental groups that have a large enough geographic sphere of influence.' This includes groups such as Habitat for Humanity and individuals such as David Suzuki. As for advice to other businesses who want to integrate socially responsible values into their organization? 'Businesses are evolving just like our society is evolving. You don't have to perfect it immediately. Experiment and have fun and try out different things over the years.' Gary Holden, President and CEO of ENMAX, gave the keynote address of the evening. Focusing on how to build a sustainable energy market, Holden conveyed a message of optimism as he discussed climate change. Stressing that the era of coal is coming to an end and that renewable energy is a better choice, Holden emphasized that it is safe to move away from traditional ways of thinking. He highlighted that 'clean coal' is a myth and that current technology can provide an alternative to coal energy. Examples of this new technology include capturing heat waste from power plants and heating buildings with it, and promoting the use of stirling engines to power homes and electric vehicles. A visionary for the future, Holden highlighted that consumers must be engaged in the process of creating sustainable energy and set out realistic, achievable steps that can be taken now - and that it is the consumers' role to demand alternate and sustainable energy from their energy providers. For further information on the United Nations Association in Canada - Calgary Branch, see their website: http://www.calgary.unac.org/.