ESG & Indigenous Relations | Stratus Electrical & Instrumentation Ltd.

Indigenous led ESG

Stratus Electrical & Instrumentation identifies as an ESG & Indigenous Relations-driven company, an identity reflected in the values and actions of all Stratus team members. Stratus has collaboratively developed an Indigenous Engagement & ESG program with the input of internal team members, leaders, and external perspectives.

The value of this strategy is in identifying opportunities to increase awareness, improve impact, and to approach Reconciliation through advancing ESG initiatives, and measuring those actions.

The Stratus CIRCLE Strategy is aligned with the National Indigenous Economic Strategy for Canada 2022. The strategy signifies Stratus E&I’s response to the NIES Economic Prosperity Call to Action No. 29: Encourage all entities in Canada to establish Reconciliation Action Plans that are measurable and communicated publicly.

CIRCLE: the Stratus reconciliation plan

Indigenous relations and ESG are reflected separately though in a nested fashion within the CIRCLE strategy developed by and for Stratus Electrical & Instrumentation. ESG or the often-used synonym, “sustainability” can be linked to Indigenous worldviews, and contributes to Reconciliation in the following ways:

Ecological health – cost and liability avoidance, and sustainable management which supports long term operations.

Educational health – education paths to employment, career paths to growth and achievement, and leadership paths from mentee to mentor.

Economic health – employment participation, the growth of local economy through service jobs, the promotion small businesses and adjacent services, and the generation of monies which flow back into the community.

C-Creating Space

Stratus E&I is committed to a deeper understanding of North American Indigenous people through exposure of the “True history“ of the First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people. Only when the truth is heard, can true understanding and reconciliation take place.

I -Indigenous History and Context

Stratus E&I strives to build stronger relationships through the hiring and investment in Indigenous.

employees and using Indigenous owned companies to work alongside whenever an opportunity to do so presents itself.

R-Relationship Building

Stratus E&I is open and welcoming to Indigenous traditional ceremonies, customs, and protocols so

it can give its employees a safe environment to live their culture openly and freely.

C- Culture, Community, and Ceremony

Stratus E&I honors and respects the traditional Indigenous land in which we live and work and

understand the importance in preserving traditional Languages as the true way to pass on history and culture in its most authentic form. We provide tools for, support, and encourage a lifetime of learning in Indigenous history and understand it to be a major catalyst on our path to inclusion and reconciliation with the Indigenous people whom we live and work alongside.

L – Land, Language and Lifetime of Learning

Stratus E&I recognizes our responsibility to provide, support, and grow the knowledge of our workforce regarding Indigenous culture, history, and the proper steps towards inclusion and reconciliation. Education within our company leads to the growth of each individual and sends us on the right path to a better more inclusive place.

E- Education Leads to Reconciliation

The CIRCLE Strategy addresses ESG under the leadership “umbrella” of Indigenous relations as further extension of the interrelated nature of all things. As identified in the National Indigenous Economic Strategy, “Indigenous businesses are inherently sustainable and prioritize social responsibility.” (Ref 1) It is therefore reasonable and logical to lean on Indigenous practices and teachings to inform sustainability strategies and approaches. Through comparison of Indigenous worldviews to typical Western Corporate worldviews highlight significant differences which can greatly impact long-term outcomes of any decision.