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Calian Cares™: Corporate Social Responsibility

Calian Corporate Social Responsibility is driven by our strong desire to make a difference in people’s lives. It is rooted in our mission to deliver innovative solutions that help the world communicate, learn, lead healthy lives and stay safe. We are committed to conducting our business with integrity, uncompromising quality and professionalism. Calian embeds CSR in our organizational goals, core values and business code of conduct.

Our CSR Program follows the guidance provided in the ISO 26000 social responsibility standard and its seven core subjects: organizational governance, community involvement and development, the environment, human Rights, labour practices, fair operating practices and customers.

Organization Governance

Calian has well-established policies, processes and procedures to ensure we operate ethically and effectively in interactions with our employees and customers. Our mission, vision and values guide and support our performance, goals and expectations. The Calian values represent the common beliefs and attitudes we endeavor to put into practice every day: integrity, commitment, teamwork, initiative, innovation and uncompromised quality. Calian has adopted a set of “excellence” principles for organizational governance including:

  • Nurturing a culture of accountability and principles for ongoing feedback and improvements to corporate management
  • Providing customers and suppliers with the ability to bring forward problems for corrective actions and superior customer satisfaction
  • Fostering an environment of continuous process improvement, innovation, and a flat organizational structure
  • Reviewing internal and external feedback to ensure improvement and goal attainment for individuals and teams
  • Developing and nurturing a healthy, happy, high performing and rewarding corporate culture

Community Involvement and Development

At Calian we take great pride in our Canadian footprint with our largest locations in Ottawa, Kingston and Saskatoon and over 3,000 employees across the country. Beyond our volunteer activities and community financial support, Calian supports Canadian small and medium-sized businesses through our own procurement and supply chain.

Calian and its employees believe we have a responsibility to give back to our communities. We support community involvement and work hard to ensure our resources have the most impact. Employees are encouraged to take a paid day off to volunteer in activities of their choice and participate in company activities organized by our Spirit Crew. As a result, we have employees who are regularly involved in several local community programs.

Aligned with the Calian commitment to give back to the community, the company is a significant supporter of local charitable campaigns. Through our head office in Ottawa, we regularly support the United Way, the Ottawa Hospital Foundation, the Royal, Health Partners and the Ottawa Senators’ annual Canadian Armed Forces Appreciation Night. SED in Saskatoon is also actively involved in their community supporting fundraisers for cancer research, Stars Air Ambulance, Saskatoon Food Bank, and Care & Share Saskatoon. Advanced Technologies supports the growth of the Saskatchewan technical community by sponsoring events such as the Canadian International Rover Challenge, University of Saskatchewan Space Design Team, Space Camp for Kids and regional science fairs. In addition, we offer scholarships with the University of Saskatchewan, University of Regina and Sask Polytechnique.

Calian is particularly proud to be making a difference in the lives of military members, Veterans and their families. We are committed to being one of the country’s top Veteran-friendly employers, helping military members find high-quality jobs as they transition to civilian life. We are also committed to continue helping military families find a family physician. In 2015, Calian created the Military Family Doctor Network in partnership with Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services. This innovative program improves access to physicians for Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) family members by matching them with a physician within our national network of Primacy health clinics and our healthcare partners.

In addition to our volunteer and community support activities, Calian believes investment in innovation is foundational to our continued growth and purpose within Canada. We make significant annual contributions to support research on military family and Veteran health. Our Systems and Engineering Division is at the forefront of ground communications systems in Canada and internationally and we continually invest in advanced communications and space technologies.

The Environment

As part of the Calian commitment to positively impacting our community, we remain cognizant of our environmental footprint. Our Calian excellence framework includes leadership and governance drivers that emphasize social and environmental factors. We are committed to protecting the environment and reducing waste. In partnership with our property managers, we support energy efficiency, renewable energy and waste diversion programs.

Wherever possible, Calian promotes the efficient use of energy and natural resources and supports environmentally friendly disposal. To this end, Calian contract manufacturing services are managed to maintain our reputation as a good environmental steward. We meet all of our environmental laws and regulations, in addition to offering lead-free manufacturing capabilities in compliance with Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) standards. We constantly look for ways to reduce our environmental footprint through new processes and materials.

Human Rights

Diversity in our people is one of our core strengths. Building teams with widely different ethnic, racial and social backgrounds has accelerated our pursuit of excellence. For Calian, diversity refers to race and gender as well as family status, ethnicity, religious beliefs, education, age, sexual orientation and physical abilities. Diversity is the collective mix of people’s differences and similarities. Managing diversity means fostering an environment that lets Calian employees fully contribute to our collective success as well as their own. It is nurturing a culture where everyone is valued for the unique qualities they provide.

Calian is committed to equal employment opportunity and to complying with all laws related to workplace opportunity. Our Equal Employment Opportunity practice applies to all phases of employment—selection, promotion and demotion, transfer, compensation and benefits, layoff and recall, and termination. Calian strives for a workplace free of discrimination, hostility, and physical or verbal harassment with respect to personal characteristics protected by human rights legislation. Our respect for human rights extends internationally, with our Systems Engineering Division refusing to support the use of minerals linked to conflicts or human rights abuses.

Calian is at the early stages of developing an Indigenous Strategy to support the government's Truth and Reconciliation Commission “Calls to Action” and the desire for corporate Canada to build more meaningful, respectful relationships with Canada’s Indigenous communities. Through our emergency management and health services engagements, we continue to learn from our Indigenous partners and hope to continue to foster positive collaborations.

Labour Practices

Calian employees are our most valuable resource. To ensure we protect this resource we have defined labour guidelines, policies and practices. We want to ensure we create an environment of mutual respect that is free from discrimination, violence or harassment. Calian pays competitive wages for all employees and recognition program to support exceptional work efforts. We offer flexible vacation, flexible work hours and a benefits program.

We believe Calian employees are entitled to a work environment that excludes words and actions with even the appearance of disrespect. It is the responsibility of managers and every employee to maintain an environment free of disrespect or hostility. We encourage a healthy, open and inclusive working environment for employees, prospective employees, vendors, partners and customers. Our health and wellness policy applies to all employees, ensuring a safe and healthy workplace.

Fair Operating Practices

Calian and its employees are committed to moral and fair business practices, adhering to the letter and spirit of all applicable laws, and acting with integrity in all our interactions. Calian has several policies in place governing our operating practices such as IT usage, privacy, Calian securities trading, and public disclosure.

To ensure open feedback channels related to our business practices, Calian has instituted a policy entitled “Treatment of concerns regarding Calian Guide to Ethical Business Practices and accounting, internal accounting controls and auditing matters.” This policy formalizes Calian procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of any concerns received by the company regarding adherence to our Guide to Ethical Business Practices, as well as for any accounting or controls matters.

Customers

Core to Calian corporate culture is our unceasing focus on customer satisfaction. For this reason, Calian is proud to have many long-term customers in Canada and internationally. We attribute this success to our excellence in delivery and ability to adapt to the needs of our customers. We are driven by a simple truth: our success depends on the success of our customers.

The Calian team knows that the best way to achieve the highest level of customer satisfaction is to be responsive to customers’ needs, ensuring that all elements of service delivery are thoughtfully and expediently managed with the highest level of professionalism. The Calian management team closely monitors customer feedback and is committed to exceeding customer expectations. Annually, Calian conducts a customer satisfaction survey to measure our customer service and take action if there are any gaps. We value this measurement as an opportunity for Calian to never stop learning, improving and growing.

In summary, Calian can be proud of our accomplishments in support of our corporate social responsibility objectives. We are making a difference in numerous ways and will continue to evaluate how to ensure our growth objectives are achieved while adhering to the core elements of our CSR objectives.