The BlackNorth Initiative has a business plan for change, and it’s already starting to pay dividends
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Signatories have also pledged to invest at least three per cent of corporate donations and sponsorships to promote investment and create economic opportunities in the Black community within the next five years.
Hall frames the business-first mindset in the context of the Environment, Social, corporate Governance (ESG) movement, which has found success in bringing the power of business to bear in solving societal problems.
“If we (the business community) decide we are going to work collectively to eliminate the barriers Black people face, we can make a significant difference in breaking down systemic racism in less than a generation,” Hall said.
BlackNorth is already having an impact.
In November, for example, Enbridge CEO Al Monaco, a BlackNorth signatory, announced the company was targeting having 20 per cent of its board members and 28 per cent of employees be Black, Indigenous or People of Colour (BIPOC) by 2025. The energy company also plans to link diversity targets to executive compensation and incentive compensation across the company, and to increase procurement from diverse suppliers.
