Advancing Corporate Stewardship on Ravine Land: A Case Study of Sanofi Pasteur in Toronto

Abstract

With the rapid increase in climate change, urbanization, expansion of invasive species, excessive foot traffic, and litter we have continued to see the health of our ravines decline significantly. In order to address this concern within Toronto, several strategies and programs have been established to support biodiversity through the enhancement, protection, and restoration of flora and fauna. Having engagement from the community in stewarding public natural areas has allowed individuals to get involved in managing their local natural spaces. Community groups and individuals are not the only ones jumping at the opportunity to ensure they’re doing their part in protecting, restoring, and enhancing the environment. Corporations often want to be seen as good public citizens, so stewardship is often the route they take, but most of the frameworks and guidelines for corporations for stewardship are centered around private land stewardship. This is the problem that Sanofi Pasteur Canada has faced, over the last 3 years in stewarding G. Ross Lord Park as part of the Sanofi Pasteur Ravine Stewardship Initiative. Fostering collaboration and partnership between Sanofi Pasteur and Toronto Nature Stewards is recommended to address the problem. Toronto Nature Stewards work to educate and promote stewardship in Toronto in order to improve the overall quality of natural areas. In order to track Sanofi Pasteur’s internal efforts for ravine stewardship, Brown’s typology and McKinsey & Company’s analytical tool was used as a baseline to measure where Sanofi Pasteur is within the organizational development phase and what kind of internal steps need to be taken in order to build its organizational capacity. By using the elements from the Toronto Nature Stewards Program and Brown’s typology and McKinsey & Company’s framework, Sanofi Pasteur can move towards the next stage in the organizational development phase. In order to accomplish this the following there needs to be proper outreach, to employees and local community groups. Followed by five stewardship activities which are (1) Invasive Species Removal, (2) Litter Removal, (3) Trail Maintenance, (4) Tree Care, and (5) Lunch and Learn Sessions.