TELUS launches National Sustainability Council

Toronto – In recognition of Canadian Environment Week, today TELUS launched a National Sustainability Council (NSC) to enhance the company’s sustainability governance and further entrench a culture of sustainability in the workplace.

The Council, which is made up of a diverse group of 15 employee volunteers from across the business who are passionate about sustainability, will align all sustainability initiatives with corporate strategies and priorities to foster a healthier, more sustainable workplace, and in turn, healthier and sustainability-focused team members.

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The NSC will support TELUS’ Green Teams and integrate sustainability considerations more broadly across the company providing the framework for tracking and coordinating all local and national initiatives across five main resource groups:

• Education and awareness
• Green Team support, growth and measurement
• Resource stewardship (waste and recycling, water)
• Communications
• Energy efficiency

Members of the council are dedicating up to ten per cent of paid working time to council activities in addition to any volunteer hours. These additional hours can be used towards the company’s Dollars for Doers program where employees earn money to donate to their favourite local charity.

Andrea Goertz

“Creating a National Sustainability Council highlights our passion for fostering a harmonious relationship between our company, our team, our customers and the health and prosperity of the communities where we live and work,” said Andrea Goertz, Chief Communications and Sustainability Officer, TELUS. “The dedicated employees who make up our new council will ensure that we continue to advance our sustainability vision; I am proud of the team and the significant and important progress we are making toward creating a more sustainable future for all Canadians.”

TELUS has been nationally and globally recognized by numerous well-regarded organizations for its innovative approach to sustainable practices and creating a culture of sustainability within the organization. This week, the company received three additional accolades:

• TELUS was recognized by the Canadian General Counsel Awards (CGCA) with the 2015 Social Responsibility Award for its sustained commitment to making a difference in the community through the promotion of pro bono and/or diversity initiatives
• TELUS was in the top 10 on the 50 Most Socially Responsible Corporations list as announced in the June 15 issue of Maclean’s Magazine by Jantzi-Sustainalytics; our seventh consecutive year on the list
• Corporate Knights ranked TELUS in the top five on the 2015 Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada; our ninth time on the list

“TELUS is making great strides in sustainability and setting a high standard for other Canadian companies as they strive for better corporate citizenship,” said Toby A. Heaps, CEO, Corporate Knights Inc. “We are proud to applaud TELUS for both the launch of its National Sustainability Council and its laudable achievement as one of our Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada yet again this year.”

For more information, and to view our 2014 Sustainability Report, please visit: telus.com/sustainability.

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is Canada’s fastest-growing national telecommunications company, with $12.1 billion of annual revenue and 13.9 million customer connections, including 8.3 million wireless subscribers, 3.1 million wireline network access lines, 1.5 million high-speed Internet subscribers and 937,000 TELUS TV customers.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed more than $396 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered and more than 6 million hours of service to local communities since 2000.

Created in 2005 by Executive Chairman Darren Entwistle, TELUS’ 11 community boards across Canada have led the company’s support of grassroots charities and will have contributed $47 million in support of 3,700 local charities organizations by the end of 2014, enriching the lives of more than two million Canadian children and youth.

TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.   For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.