The New Economy Roundtable

The New Economy Roundtable is a network of businesses and non-profit organizations working together to create decent work and a more inclusive economy in Ontario. This requires collaborative action in the following areas:

  • Employer Driven Strategies that provide supports and resources to employers to reduce barriers to creating decent work, and increase awareness of the benefits of decent work for employers and their communities.

  • Workforce Development Strategies to ensure workers have the appropriate training and supports for employment, while also connecting employers with potential employees.

  • Community Economic Development Strategies that support the development of cooperatives or social enterprises, and harness local economic opportunities to create decent work.

  • Policy Changes that remove barriers to decent work and create an enabling environment for employers, workers and the community.

To support these changes, the New Economy Roundtable works to:

  • Build and Share Knowledge to meet the information and training needs of stakeholders that will enable them to adopt policies and practices that advance decent work.

  • Catalyze Collaboration by working across sectors to advance decent work with public, private, and non-governmental stakeholders.

  • Influence Public Policy to foster an environment that supports the creation of decent work opportunities.

The Roundtable was established to further implementation of the recommendations of the Poverty and the New Economy Project and contribute to U.N. Sustainable Goal 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth. To learn more about decent work and the new economy, read the following fact sheets produced by the Roundtable.

  • Business for Inclusive Growth: What’s the B.I.G. Idea? Businesses have enormous potential to contribute to social progress through their normal business operations. As stated by the FSG Consulting Group: “…the most advanced companies have begun to look at social engagement through a different lens. Rather than seeing business and society in opposition, they recognize the enormous potential of business to contribute to social progress.” This is sometimes called an “inclusive growth” or “shared value” approach to business. This fact sheet provides some important ways your business can help build a better world while improving your business performance.

  • Doing Better by Being Better. Canadian business is a pillar of a thriving society and business has an important role to play in building a stronger Canada. Businesses can create good jobs, support diversity, leverage their supply chains for good, and offer products and services that meet the needs of all Canadians. By making small changes to business operations, many companies are actively improving the well-being of workers and their communities. Experience tells us they are also more successful. This fact sheet provides a few reasons why businesses are doing better by being better.

  • Ingredients for Success. Creating value for both the business and the community is the heart of inclusive growth. Experience shows that businesses that adopt inclusive practices are also more profitable, productive and competitive. Yet, many companies have yet to adopt inclusive growth practices and reap their benefits for a variety of reasons. Understanding the challenges will help overcome the barriers and open the door to a more inclusive and abundant economy. This fact sheet offers a few of the ingredients for success.

In June 2022, the New Economy Roundtable co-hosted a Webinar - Decent Work and the Labour Crunch: Attracting and Retaining Great Employees. Organized in partnership with the Tamarack Institute the webinar featured Ottawa restauranteur and living wage employer Devinder Chaudry and Dr. Anna Barford from Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership, University of Cambridge, who spoke about the business benefits of decent work.

  • View a recording of the Webinar here.

The New Economy Roundtable is a member of Business Fights Poverty, a global network of people, companies and organisations passionate about building an equitable and resilient future. For more information or to join the New Economy Roundtable email povertyinstitute@ambrose.edu.

This project has been made possible by the generous support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the McConnell Foundation.

Resources

Definitions

  • Decent Work: According to the International Labour Organization, decent work "involves opportunities for work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men." See International Labour Organization