Creating value for our stakeholders
At Power Corporation, we firmly believe that for our business to prosper, so too must the societies within which we live and work. Employing diverse and talented people and investing in high-quality and responsibly managed businesses is helping us build and strengthen our business for the future, while enabling more sustainable outcomes for our people, communities and group companies' clients.
Responsible management allows us to generate long-term sustainable value for our enterprise, the economy and society at large. In our view, we can be successful as a business and create shareholder value only if we seek to serve all our stakeholders and create value for them as well. This involves conducting our business in a way that benefits the communities where we operate, while providing products and services that benefit society.
Clients
As a company in the financial services industry, we understand that we manage our clients’ savings and investments and guide them in building their futures and their families’ security and confidence. We take this responsibility very seriously and believe that in creating indirect financial benefits for clients of our group companies, we represent a positive force in society. We effectively enable these clients to manage their retirement and healthcare needs, accumulate wealth and achieve financial security through prudent investments and, through providing financial advice, help foster financial literacy. This provides an important contribution to a prosperous, empowered society.
Shareholders
Our mission is to enhance shareholder value by actively and responsibly managing our investments, so they generate long-term, sustainable growth in earnings and dividends. In 2023, $2.4 billion of dividends were paid to our shareholders and to those of our main publicly traded operating companies, Great-West Lifeco and IGM Financial. Major pension funds, mutual funds and insurance companies being amongst our shareholders, these dividends benefit millions of individuals who rely on them for their income.
Employees
We depend on the people in our group of companies for the success of our business. Together, we employed approximately 40,300 diverse and talented people worldwide at 2023 year-end.
We provide our employees with competitive compensation and rewarding careers and give them the resources to develop their expertise and leadership skills. Also, our investments in training and new technologies continue to develop local talent and the intellectual capital of our people. In 2023, together with our main publicly traded operating companies, we paid out $5.8 billion in employee salaries and other benefits. These funds flow through the economy, impacting hundreds of communities across Canada in which our employees live and work.
We also encourage and support engagement with the not-for-profit sector and personal giving by employees through our Employee Giving Program. The program recognizes and rewards employees’ efforts in two ways: by matching personal charitable donations and providing grants to eligible charitable organizations where employees volunteer.
Business partners and governments
The decisions we make on the procurement of products and services are based on our sustainability commitments and are aligned with organizations which share our values on this topic. Our commitment to responsible procurement focuses on integrating ESG considerations into our decision-making processes in a way that creates long-term and sustainable benefits. We also support local small- and medium-sized businesses by purchasing their products and services. For example, our local food catering is encouraged to use only natural and pesticide-free ingredients, and to purchase local products. As part of our Responsible Procurement Policy and Third Party Code of Conduct, we engage with our suppliers and contractors to influence the provision of environmentally friendly products and services for our business.
Our group companies source an array of goods and services from a broad spectrum of suppliers. This allows to build a strong and sustainable supply chain that collectively plays a responsible role in society.
Power Corporation, and our publicly traded operating companies, Great-West Lifeco and IGM Financial, made $4.2 billion in payments to suppliers and various levels of government in 2023, generating indirect benefits for all the companies in our supply chain and enabling governments to benefit from personal taxes paid by our employees and through the corporate taxes levied on our suppliers.
Communities
We hold dear the responsibility we have towards the communities in which we operate, which is why being active in our community is a natural extension of our will to generate a positive impact in the life of Canadians. We believe in the power of the voluntary sector and social entrepreneurs, working in partnership with governments and businesses, to build a better, more inclusive society with improved opportunities for all Canadians. Giving back and helping build stronger communities is a shared value across our group companies and amongst our employees at all levels.
Over the past ten years, through donations and investments, Power Corporation has contributed to more than 2,000 organizations working in the areas of community development, arts and culture, the environment, education and health.
Our substantial commitment to philanthropy across the country has earned companies in our group the designation of “Caring Company” from Imagine Canada, having consistently exceeded the minimum donation guideline of one per cent of pre-tax domestic profit to charitable causes. In 2023, as a group, Power Corporation and our subsidiaries Great-West Lifeco and IGM Financial made a total of $48.9 million of charitable contributions to approximately 1,800 community organizations in Canada alone. We are helping to break down barriers to social inclusion, while contributing to better health and education, community development, environmental protection, and access to arts and culture.
Power Corporation’s community investment microsite, Power Corporation in the community, showcases some of the exceptional work being done by the organizations we support.
Power Corporation encourages and supports engagement with the not-for-profit sector and personal giving by employees through its Employee Giving Program. The program recognizes and rewards employees’ efforts in two ways: by matching personal charitable donations and providing grants to eligible charitable organizations where employees volunteer. Power Corporation’s group companies also work diligently to make a difference in the communities they serve, through their respective community programs and initiatives, as well as employee volunteering activities and workplace campaigns.
Through its national corporate citizenship program, Stronger Communities Together, Canada Life is working to improve the financial, physical and mental well-being of Canadians at the national, regional and local levels. The company’s approach looks at all the ways it can support communities to help create positive change for the well-being of all Canadians. It aims to fund innovative programs that address gaps to support diverse, underserved and vulnerable peoples and communities. Canada Life also encourages its employees to give their time and expertise to a range of causes that help address many regional and local community priorities. The company recognizes employees’ efforts by providing financial support to the charities they care about, making their impact go even further. They recognize their leadership, commitment and contributions as caring members of communities across Canada. In 2023, Canada Life awarded $178,500 in community volunteer grants to charitable organizations where its employees volunteered. In addition, Canada Life provided community volunteer days to its employees, a paid volunteer day during which employees can use to volunteer with a community organization of their choice. In 2023, employees across Canada continued to volunteer with food banks, school groups, blood banks, animal rescues, shelters, healthcare organizations, and many more causes that they care about.
Each of IGM Financial’s operating companies implements its own community giving program, with its own guidelines and combination of centralized giving, directed from its corporate head offices, and decentralized decisions made by their people. At IG Wealth Management, the Empower Your Tomorrow program gives Canadians the resources and confidence they need to own their financial future. The Mackenzie Together program is invested in change to help create a more inclusive world. In 2023, IGM Financial and its operating companies contributed $7.4 million to community and charitable organizations across Canada. Among others, $1.6 million were raised through the IGM Gives Campaign, $6.2 million were raised during the IG Walk for Alzheimer’s supporting Alzheimer’s societies across the country, over $900,000 given by IG Wealth Management region offices to more than 300 grassroots charities throughout Canada, and$100,000 given to a community investment project across Canada through Mackenzie Top Peak, a call to action for ski communities to show how invested they are on and off the hill. . In addition, IGM Financial encourages its people to volunteer in their communities and it recognizes exceptional contributions through various community service award programs. Volunteer efforts at each of its operating companies are facilitated through planned events and, two paid volunteer days per year. In 2023, IG Wealth Management and Mackenzie Investments committed almost $9 million to their community investment programming, investing $7.4 million directly to local charities.
Through its sponsorship policy, GBL commits itself to supporting, for the most part, Belgium-based, sustainable projects with a long-term vision that have a positive effect on society. In 2023, GBL ACT continued its involvement in civil society, contributing €2.0 million to 30 projects in the fields of education, health & scientific research, social impact and the environment. For instance, GBL supports SUGi, a global platform dedicated to building biodiversity, restoring the ecosystem and reconnecting people to nature through the creation of ultradense, biodiverse forests of native species in urban areas. A long-standing partner of the organization’s, GBL has, since 2020, supported the building of 10 pocket forests in Wallonia and Flanders.