Sustainability

Community investment

Our goal and strategy

We seek to contribute to the social and economic progress of the communities in which we operate and believe that respecting human rights, managing our impacts and making valued social investments are integral to the success of our business and local communities.

Our focus areas

  • STEM Education

    Supporting programming that inspires and prepares youth to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers.
  • Indigenous reconciliation

    Establishing and maintaining respectful relationships to support strong Indigenous communities.
  • Environment

    Supporting innovation and collaboration to help reduce environmental impacts to land, air and water.
  • Healthy communities

    Supporting the people and communities near our operations.

    Why we invest

    Shared value is the foundation of our partnerships. While meeting community needs, we also use the following criteria to guide our investment decisions:

    1. Strengthens relationships with our community members and other external audiences
    2. Results in positive outcomes in our areas of operation
      • Ontario (Greater Toronto Area, Southern Ontario, Sarnia, Nanticoke, Ottawa)
      • Alberta (Edmonton, Athabasca/Fort McMurray, Cold Lake, Strathcona County, Calgary)
      • Norman Wells, Northwest Territories
      • Newfoundland and Labrador
    3. Offers employee engagement and/or volunteering opportunities
    4. Supports workforce skill development and inclusion and diversity
    5. Aligns with community investment focus area(s)

    Our grant application is currently closed. Please check back in February 2026 when the granting cycle reopens.

    2024 notable metrics

    $22 M

    invested in Canadian communities

    $3.22 M

    raised for United Way organizations across Canada in 2024
    • Supporting Indigenous youth on their education journey

      Imperial has been supporting Indigenous youth on their education journey for 20 years. Our support focuses on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and supporting students in the areas where we operate. We do this through partnerships with Actua, Queen’s University, Inspire and more – we’ve provided more than $2M to Indspire since 2003 to support their Indigenous scholarship program.

    • Advancing student innovation and STEM with $37M donation

      Imperial donated a state-of-the-art, 40,000 square foot lab space to the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), valued at $37M.

      To further support the donation, Imperial expanded its partnership with SAIT through a new $300,000 investment to create the Imperial Innovative Student Project Fund.

    • Expanding All in for Youth Tutoring Table

      Imperial’s $400,000 donation enabled the United Way of Calgary and Area and YMCA Calgary to expand the All in For Youth Tutoring Table program into science, supporting thousands of students.

    • Making an ImpACT; Employee volunteerism and giving

      Through our ImpACT program, Imperial provides matching company funds for employee volunteer hours ($25/hour) and charitable cash donations (1:1) to a combined maximum of $500 per employee, per year.

      Combined with the corporate match, Imperial and its employees gave more than $500K to 450 causes in 2024.

      Investing in the areas where we operate

      In 2024, Imperial supported 75 organizations in the communities where we operate. When combined with recipients from our ImpACT program, Imperial supported more than 500 non-profits and charities across Canada.*

      The map below depicts Imperial’s community contributions by showcasing our investments in local charities and not-for-profit organizations across the country. The size of the circle on the map reflects the number of organizations supported in each community.

      footnotes:

      *Every year London Benchmarking Group Canada audits our community investment portfolio and program to help us understand the total value to community of our cash and in-kind donations, our employee volunteer hours as well as our program management costs. Evaluation of our cash donations also reflects a portion of our community benefits agreements with Indigenous communities allocated to support community project funding including Indigenous leadership and capacity building.