Canadian Chamber of Commerce is a strong contender for the “Dumb Climate Move of-the-Week” Award
While there’s no shortage of choices both north and south of the border, way up in the “WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?” category, the curious decision by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCOC) to celebrate Rich Kruger, the President and CEO of Suncor Energy as their “Canadian Business Leader of the Year” last week at a gala (of which Suncor was the lead sponsor) definitely stands out…
According to the CCOC website “Our Canadian Business Leader Lifetime Achievement and Business Leader of the Year awards honour executives who lead with impact, not only driving business excellence but who also leave a lasting impact on their communities and the Canadian economy”. The accompanying press release says, among other things that “As the world faces growing geopolitical and economic uncertainty, it is more important than ever to champion the Canadian business leaders who are driving our country forward. This year’s award recipients exemplify the bold decision-making, innovation, and commitment to community that define Canadian business excellence”, a quote credited to CCOC President and CEO, Candace Laing, who added “… what truly sets these leaders apart is their dedication to the greater good. They are not only building successful companies but also strengthening their communities and ensuring that Canada remains competitive on the global stage.”
The decision the CCOC made to declare an oil company CEO their “business leader of-the-year”, in the midst of a climate emergency defies belief!
They reference “geopolitical and economic uncertainty” – but that amidst risks listed there was no reference at all to climate change, once again ranked among the top global risks by the World Economic Forum, is shocking. Especially considering that by August 5th, forest fires linked to climate change had consumed forests in Canada equal in area to the size of all of New Brunswick (or 2.5 times the area of Nova Scotia – or equal to wall-to-wall forests across all of southern Ontario south of Algonquin park).
Here’s Suncor’s recent record though. Since Rich Kruger came out of retirement to take over as President and CEO of Suncor ~two years ago, the organization has publicly abandoned an effort to transition to renewable energy sources, refocused exclusively of extracting as much oil as possible – and over his tenure Suncor has made sudden, drastic changes to the Suncor Energy Foundation (SEF), which include abandoning firm commitments made to a number of charities and not-for-profits across Canada, including stiffing the group behind last year’s Clean50 Project of the Year, The Resilience Institute, for $500,000, with no notice until well after the fact.
Others are known to have also faced the same treatment but in the face of what could only be considered threats made by Suncor lawyers, have remained silent. The company has also backed away from climate commitments, and stripped its sustainability reports from its website, unreasonably blaming overreach by governments to prosecute greenwashers.
And despite Rebel’s celebration, hardly the conduct to which any “Business Leader of the Year” should aspire. And not even the conduct to which even Suncor says it aspires, including those listed on its website earlier this week: (our highlighting).
Stronger together: We are stronger together because this is what allows us to achieve amazing outcomes. We work hard to build trust with one another, stakeholders and Indigenous communities, be inclusive and use the experience of others in a positive way.
Act with integrity: We act with integrity in everything we do. We do what we say we’ll do and approach our responsibilities by being open, honest, respectful and transparent.
In my opinion, Suncor’s behaviour is not greenwashing, but it does qualify as “virtue-washing”.
The Resilience Institute, for example, does valuable work in concert with Indigenous communities to strengthen resilience to the impacts of climate change by providing direct support to communities, such as the Piikani Nation in Treaty 7 Territory where Suncor’s headquarters are based, as well as other First Nations in the Region of Wood Buffalo, where Suncor operates. Their work to unite partners in innovative exploration of nature-based solutions, rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing earned them the 2025 Clean50 Top Project-of-the-Year Award as voted upon by 144 sustainability and climate experts.
In our view, only one of those “of-the-year” awards seems deserved. The other? Not so much… Memo to the CCOC and all Board Members: If Rebel News is celebrating the conduct of your awardee’s company, might it be worth another look?
So, our question for the CCOC and their Board is “Did you know about the Suncor Energy Foundation abandoning recently re-confirmed pledges to charities before handing out the award?” If so, how on earth could this be something you celebrate as setting an example for other business leaders? Should all large profitable companies be able to make pledges and then take advantage of a loophole meant to protect pledges made by those who later become insolvent, and just walk away? Take the reputation win for making the pledge – but not follow through with the cash? And if CCOC didn’t know, why not”?
Awards should not be taken lightly. They signal peer validation for actions that demonstrate the kind of values that others should aspire to. As a group that hands out 100+ awards a year, I would never claim that we’re infallible, or that all of them are perfect choices. But we do our best to check first – and when we make a mistake, we fix it.
For example, last year, when we discovered false claims in a submission, we provided the offender a chance to make his case, and when he could not, we withdrew his award. And a few years ago, when a provincial Environment minister was caught with his hand in a completely unrelated cookie jar, we immediately pulled him off the list. When we celebrate leadership, we want to be consistent in identifying actual leaders, and people actually setting a positive example for the world. Not, you know, the other…
We reached out to the CCOC earlier this week asking for a media contact to reach back to us – and also to several members on the CCOC Board, and as we go to press, and still, nearly five days later, no one has yet responded beyond one Board member, to say the information provided was “well received” but with no further comment or explanation. Is it possible that the CCOC were not aware of the recent decisions under Mr. Kruger’s watch about how the Suncor Energy Foundation suddenly ended relationships with not-for-profit organizations mid-way through multiyear commitments?
A bigger question, though, is what is doing the right thing when it comes to how corporations end relationships with the not-for-profits it supports? If you think Rich and the Suncor Energy Foundation should do the right thing by honouring their commitments, I suggest you try writing the Suncor Energy Foundation at: sef@suncor.com or appealing directly to Mr. Kruger through social media such as LinkedIn. In the meantime, if you agree, and want to help at least one of the organizations that we know has been impacted by the recent changes, you can make a charitable donation to The Resilience Institute here.
