New addition to C-suite reflects importance of green concerns

When Vancouver Port Authority officials sat down to mull over the ramifications of merging with two of its smaller counterparts in British Columbia's Fraser River basin, one thing they had to consider was the environmental impact of future expansion.

But instead of divvying up the responsibilities that go with the environmental management side of its West Coast operations, senior executives at Canada's largest port decided to package them up and hand them to a newly appointed chief sustainability officer.

This means that when Allen Domaas steps into his new job, likely in January, he will be responsible not only for the port's environment department, but also for corporate communication and liaising with 16 municipalities that surround the port operations.

"Having one person responsible for all that makes it much more certain that something is going to get done," says Gordon Houston, acting chief executive officer of what will be called the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority when the merger is complete.

By creating this new position, the port is following in the footsteps of U.S. companies, such as Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont. Both have appointed chief sustainability officers, not only to oversee the environmental compliance side of their businesses, but also to gain a competitive edge.

Analysts say such companies are building environmental sustainability into their core business models in response to a variety of factors, including pressure from environment groups, local governments and their own shareholders.

"Companies in developed countries are realizing that one of the things they compete on is brand," says James Tansey, a professor of business ethics at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business.

"Their reputation has significant equity invested in [the brand]. So they need to develop systems and have people working for them who are responsible for ensuring that the company's reputation is protected," he says. "What they have learned is that they ignore that at their peril."

The title chief sustainability officer is still a rarity in Canada, however.

Observers say Vancouver port officials may have created the position because of sensitivities surrounding its plan to expand its container handling facilities at Delta port, about 35 kilometres south of Vancouver.

"This could become a major focus of protest over the next five years," notes Mr. Tansey, referring to opposition from residents in nearby communities, who are concerned about noise and pollution as well as the loss of agricultural land stemming from a port expansion, which is occurring in a major flyway for migrating birds.

Mr. Houston says "mitigating" the environmental impacts of expansion will be a key part of the job for Mr. Domaas, who will report directly to the CEO of the merged port agency.

Mr. Domaas, who is currently president and chief executive officer of the Fraser Port Authority, says he was delighted to be named the new agency's chief sustainability officer.

"This puts me in an excellent position to ensure that there are good linkages between Vancouver Fraser Port Authority departments in making sustainable decisions," he explains.

In his new post, Mr. Domaas says he will be in a good position to communicate to the public the linkages between various aspects of Canada's Pacific Gateway plan, which aims to make B.C.'s ports a more attractive alternative for Asian container traffic entering the North American market.

Canadian executives with similar responsibilities -- albeit different titles -- include Ellen Pekeles, senior vice-president, strategy with Vancouver City Savings Credit Union, and Daniel Tremblay, senior vice-president, corporate and social responsibilities with Loblaw Companies Ltd. of Brampton, Ont.

Ms. Pekeles is overseeing a sustainability program that aims to make Vancity carbon neutral, by 2010, a process that involves subtracting its polluting emissions by purchasing emission reduction credits (carbon offsets) and using them to reduce its net climate impact.

Meanwhile, Loblaws is aiming to reduce by one billion the number of plastic bags entering Canadian landfills each year; along with its national program of selling reusable black grocery bags to customers, it has two "bagless" superstores (in Milton, Ont. and Langford, B.C.) that don't offer any plastic bags at all. "We are inviting customers to shop with reusable bags," says Mr. Tremblay.

David Runnalls, president of the International Institute for Sustainable Development in Winnipeg, says Vancity and Loblaws are considered leaders in the environmental sustainability field.

He says companies in other sectors such as mining have been slower to embrace the push to green, in part because financial analysts rarely ask them about their sustainability practices.

However, mindful of the need to retain their license to operate in developing countries, some of the larger Canadian mining firms are beefing up the environmental management side of their operations.

Vancouver-based Teck Cominco Ltd., for example, is handing an expanded role to its director of sustainability.

This position will soon be responsible for community engagement, community relations, human rights and aboriginal relations, as well as community investment programs.

A senior Teck Cominco official attributed the move to the fact that mining companies tend to operate in remote areas where interaction with communities and community leaders is often a complicated process.

"It doesn't matter whether you have regulatory approval - nothing can happen if the community is against the project," says Doug Horswill, Teck Cominco's senior vice-president, environment and corporate affairs.

Still, agencies such as the fledgling Vancouver Fraser Port Authority have yet to prove that handing over the responsibility for environmental sustainability to one executive is any more effective than dividing those responsibilities among a number of vice-presidents and departments.

It all depends on the authority the sustainability officer is given, says Pierre Sadik, a senior policy adviser to the sustainability program of the Vancouver-based David Suzuki Foundation.

If given the clout, a chief sustainability officer could stop a questionable project in its tracks just as easily as a chief financial officer could thwart a dubious financial transaction, Mr. Sadik says.

In the case of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, observers will be watching closely to see if its chief sustainability officer will be truly committed to mitigating the impact of the port expansion on ecosystems.

"To do this they are going to have to show that the position has teeth," says Mr. Tansey.