What are Canadian businesses in your sector doing to manage those challenges?

You are working for a Canadian company from a sector of your choice (agriculture, manufacturing,
services, telecommunications etc.) based in Ontario. Jackie, who is the owner and CEO of the company,
was recently invited to a conference and heard a very inspiring talk on sustainability and how it was
becoming the “new normal” for businesses in the 21st century. She would like her company to do more
about it, but she is not entirely convinced that there is a business case and she is also afraid that this
could be something very difficult.
Jackie remembered that you had some training in CSR and assigned you to research the matter further.
She asked you to prepare a short research report on what sustainability is and how it relates to your
company, so that she can decide whether to further pursue the matter.
After some thought you decide that your research report should answer the following questions so that
Jackie can make an informed decision:
1. What is sustainability and CSR?
2. What THREE sustainability challenges are most relevant to businesses in your sector in
Canada and/or Ontario? Why are they relevant?
3. What are Canadian businesses in your sector doing to manage those challenges? Please
provide a description of THREE companies demonstrating best practices.
4. Based on the above, describe THREE sustainability actions you would recommend your
company undertake considering your research
● Company: You should choose a specific fictional (not real) company from the sector of your
choice (e.g. ACME Motors in the automotive sector).
● Audience: Remember that your audience is Jackie from the scenario. Not the professor. You
should explicitly address it to her as if you are working in the company of your choice.
● Question 3: When mentioning best practice examples, you should focus on what specific
businesses do (or say they do). You may refer to what other actors such as the government or
other organizations do to help businesses in this area, but this is not what is being asked here
Clarifications
● Company: You should choose a specific fictional (not real) company from the sector of your
choice (e.g. ACME Motors in the automotive sector).
● Audience: Remember that your audience is Jackie from the scenario. Not the professor. You
should explicitly address it to her as if you are working in the company of your choice.
● Question 3: When mentioning best practice examples, you should focus on what specific
businesses do (or say they do). You may refer to what other actors such as the government or
other organizations do to help businesses in this area, but this is not what is being asked here.
Assignment Structure
Note that it is the contents that counts, rather the length of the assignment. However, a thorough
examination of this topic will probably require 4-5 single-spaced pages (12-point font) to adequately
discuss this topic. Please do not exceed 5 pages. Figures are not part of the page count so feel free to
use them to support your report.
The body of the paper should be divided into appropriately numbered sections, sub-sections, sub-subsections, etc., each with descriptive titles.
Descriptive Title
The title of your report should be informative and specific to draw the reader’s attention.
Executive Summary (No more than 1 page)
Here you should summarize the main points of your report to give your reader a whole picture of the
proposal when they have no time to read it all. This should be at the beginning of the paper, but since it
is a summary of your paper, you should write this section LAST.
Introduction (No more than 1 page)
The introduction should provide the context for this report: why it was written (Jackie asked you! follow
the scenario!) and why the topic that you will present in the rest of the report is important. You should
also define the objectives that will guide the rest of the report. You should also describe the
organization of your paper so that the readers know what to expect.
Research Questions 1-3 (No more than 2.5 pages)
This is the main part of your assignment where you present the findings of your research. You may use
the research questions (1 through 3) as the basis to structure this part. Your description of your research
must be well-documented. Make liberal use of tables, figures, and diagrams (with appropriate captions),
and include literature references appropriately. Be concise and informative.
DO NOT REPEAT THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS ABOVE AS TITLE HEADINGS. YOU SHOULD COME UP WITH
YOUR OWN
Your Recommendation (No more than 1/2 page)
This section should present your opinions and viewpoints on the research that you conducted. This is
essentially answering the last research question.
SDG101 Research Assignment
3
References
At the end of the report you must provide a list of references used in the report. You should use MLA
Style to format your references AND in-text citations. It is expected that 5-10 references are adequate
for this kind of assignment.
Important- THIS IS NOT AN OPINION PAPER. You MUST support points made with outside research and
all information found MUST be referenced (see below instructions).
Notes on Plagiarism & Style
Please note that just listing the references at the end of the assignment is not adequate!
You should also provide proper (MLA style) and frequent citations throughout your text. Failing to do so
will result in missing marks and possibly a plagiarism case. Also, please note that through Safe Assign it
is extremely easy to see whether you have copied text (without proper citation) from web sources or
from other students. More information and help: https://seneca.libguides.com/mla
The following are examples of phrases that are signs of writing styles that are not appropriate for a
research assignment:
1. “I believe…”: when used in any part other than the “Your Recommendations” part. A research
assignment is based on your research findings rather than your beliefs.
2. “Research shows…”: when used without citations. What research? This is what a research
assignment is all about!
3. “CSR in Canada is adequate/non adequate…”: when this is not supported by your research
findings but only on your intuition or prior knowledge on the subject.