Social Responsibility

Water is life - this is a simple yet powerful statement, yet one that underscores the activities and values of OCWA. Our daily business activities have a direct connection to public health and the environment - areas we play a role in protecting. We greatly respect this relationship and pride ourselves on stepping beyond the basic business practices to embrace our responsibility to the people of Ontario.

 

In 2011, striving to be more strategic in our approach to social responsibility, OCWA formed a Social Responsibility Team (SRT) with representation from across the Agency.

 

Our employees are actively involved in their communities and are proud to represent OCWA whether it’s by hosting tours of the plants we operate, or working and volunteering with local charities. As an Ontario Agency we are committed to supporting our communities, public health and the environment. We pride ourselves in choosing community initiatives that align with our vision of being a world leader in water and that support our core values.

 

Support for Charitable Organizantions

 

We are strengthening our commitment to social responsibility by participating in new initiatives and partnerships that are making an impact in Ontario and around the world. In 2012, we began our partnership with GlobalMedic, a Canadian charity that provides clean drinking water solutions to people in crisis around the world. Last year we raised almost $50,000, which was used to supply water purification units to families in need in Somalia and Yemen. OCWA employees worked alongside GlobalMedic volunteers drilling and assembling these units for shipment.

 

 

 

OCWA President and CEO, Jane Pagel (left) and Social Responsibility Team Lead, Robin Kind (right) present a cheque for $5,000 to Rahul Singh, Founder of GlobalMedic at OCWA's fundraising kick-off event.

 

In 2012, we also invested over $23,000 to support local programs in education, arts and culture and organized sports. OCWA employees also raised $44,675 for health-related organizations and campaigns such as the Trillium Health Centre, the Federated Health Charities Campaign, CIBC’s Run for the Cure, and Movember, benefiting prostate cancer and men’s mental health.

 

Public Awareness and Education
 

As experts in the water industry, many of our social responsibility activities are focused on increasing public awareness of water-related issues. We believe it’s important to teach the future generations about the value of clean drinking water. Our employees participate in children’s water festivals, host facility tours, attend career fairs and visit schools to talk to youth about the role they can play in protecting our water sources.

 

OCWA has teamed up with the Clean Water Foundation to launch “A Prescription for Clean Water” to encourage average citizens to properly dispose of their unwanted medications by taking them back to their local pharmacy, where they can be collected and disposed of safely. Not only does taking back expired or unwanted medications help contribute to a clean environment, but it also decreases instances of accidental poisoning by children and prescription drug abuse.Unused or expired medications in medicine cabinets increase the supply of dangerous drugs that are a leading cause of child and teen overdose.



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