This collection of publications, reports and short papers dives into the environmental and societal challenges that demand our attention—and action. Let’s cut through the noise and get wise to what really matters.
Key Issues
There are many issues in the world that require our attention. Being informed is essential to be part of the solution.
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Water Pollution in Textile Production
Typically, when we think about the relationship between water and clothes it’s about which rinse cycle to use on laundry day. Think again! Water is used extensively in the textile industry, for…
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Water Crisis
Water is essential to life. Access to clean water is taken for granted in many places. Yet 1.2 billion people live in areas of water scarcity and 2.1 billion people lack access…
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Racism
Racism is an ideology that implies the superiority of one race over others. The Government of Canada defines racism as “any individual action, or institutional practice which treats people differently because of…
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Poverty
Poverty is the condition of living with serious lack of basic human needs – food, clothing, shelter, clean water, and the other necessities of life. “Fundamentally, poverty is a denial of choices…
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Healthy Food & Sustainable Agriculture
While the world produces enough food for every person on Earth to eat well, almost a billion people live with hunger and are under-nourished. Modern industrial agriculture emphasizes commercial efficiency rather than…
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Forests
Earth’s forests provide many environmental, social and economic benefits – producing O2 and absorbing CO2, conserving water and moderating weather; providing homes and food for humans and wildlife. Today, half of the…
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Extractive Industries
Mining and oil and gas developments are highly profitable, but if managed poorly, they cause devastating damage to the environment and public health. Those communities nearby extraction sites suffer from erosion, soil…
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Environmental Refugees
People whose homes and communities are destroyed by environmental disasters, either natural or man-made, are called environmental refugees. The world is experiencing more refugees from environmental damage than armed conflict. Decades of…
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Electronic Waste
Millions of tons of e-waste, including computers, printers, mobile phones and TVs are shipped to China, India and Africa for disassembling and disposing. Why? Economic efficiency trumps responsibility! it is cheaper to…
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Culture Loss
While many of us are aware of accelerating plant and animal extinctions, few realize that human cultures are disappearing at an even faster pace. Anthropologists predict that half of the world’s spoken…
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Climate Change
Climate change refers to a change in global or regional climate patterns over time. It includes changes in temperature, wind and ocean patterns and precipitation. While the Earth’s climate always has been…
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Child Labour
A chocolate bar often owes its existence to punishing hours of child labour. In Côte d’Ivoire and West Africa, the leading producers of cocoa, as many as 12,000 children are exploited for…
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Chemicals in Cosmetics
In 2016, the cosmetics giant Johnson & Johnson was fined US$72 million to settle with the family of Jacqueline Fox, who died from ovarian cancer, which the family claimed was caused by…
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Biodiversity
“The term biodiversity refers to the variety of life on Earth at all its levels, from genes to ecosystems, and can encompass the evolutionary, ecological, and cultural processes that sustain life” (American…
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Oceans
Oceans cover about two-thirds of the Earth’s surface. They influence our weather and climate and by producing oxygen and consuming carbon dioxide they create the atmosphere in which plants, humans and animals…
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Amphibians
Amphibians are a class of cold-blooded vertebrates, including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians. They spend their lives partly in water and partly on land. They must inhabit a moist environment to…
Publications
Thanks to the generous support of Harmony Foundation’s donors, I am pleased to make these valuable publications available to you for educational use at no cost. Any other use requires prior written permission from Harmony Foundation of Canada.
CSR Guide for Multinational Corporations in China 2013
A practical guide that helps forward-looking business leaders and CSR staff develop meaningful CSR strategies and programs which meet societal and business needs, and move away from public relationship based efforts.
Community Action Workshop Manual 2007
An indispensable 137-page tool for planning environmental projects in your community. Provides step-by-step instructions for analysing your issue, identifying local assets and needs, developing an action plan, and more!
Green Cities: a Guide for Sustainable Community Development 2005
A 124 page guide which provides a clear and comprehensive overview of Sustainable Community Development, inspiring community success stories and lots of practical information, including how to establish community priorities, encourage citizen participation and build local leadership. References, worksheets, facts on important trends and a foreword by Hon. Maurice F. Strong add to the rich content of this exciting guide, an official publication of United Nation’s World Environment Day 2005 and the San Francisco Urban Environmental Accords. A must have tool for community leaders.
Troubled Water 2002
A primer on fresh water for community groups. Includes a clear overview of the issue; profiles of successful community projects tackling water issues in Canada and internationally; and helpful resource listings.
Biodiversity – A profile for Community Action 2001
A 124-page primer on biodiversity for community groups. Includes a clear overview of the issue; profiles of successful community projects to tackle biodiversity in Canada and internationally; and helpful resource listings.
Climate Change: A Profile for Community Action 2001
A 73- page primer on climate change for community groups. Includes a clear overview of the issue; profiles of successful community projects to tackle climate change in Canada and internationally; and helpful resource listings.
Strengthening Our Community: A Guidebook for Community Youth Programs 1997
A 48-page guidebook which provides practical information including how to: choose project partners, design a mentor program, and coordinate community service projects.
Discovering Your Community: A Cooperative Process for Planning Sustainability 1994
This comprehensive 58-page workbook will provide your community group with all the information you need to organize and develop a successful sustainable development plan that involves the entire community. Includes success stories from other communities and helpful worksheets. A needed resource.
Workplace Guide 1991
A 176-page workbook to help organizations improve environmental practices. Includes 500 specific actions, 24 pages of worksheets, an action planner, plus sources for more information in target areas: energy, hazardous materials, waste, water, transportation, purchasing, property management, education and excellence beyond the workplace. Foreword by Maurice Strong.
Home & Family Guide: Practical Action for the Environment 1989
Eighty pages of practical, positive advice and action tips. The Guide takes a room-by-room approach to helping you save energy and water, reduce waste and find alternatives to hazardous products. Glossary and an index.
Reports & Papers
The following collection of reports & papers was produced by Harmony Foundation of Canada. The may be used for educational use at no cost. Any other use requires prior written permission from Harmony Foundation of Canada.
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Strengthening Canada’s Foreign Policy
We are pleased to provide you with a copy of our report, “Strengthening Canada’s Foreign Policy: Lessons from Our China Experience.” Harmony has been composing this report over the last year based…
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Don’t expect the dinosaurs to save us from extinction
“We possess the means to create a world where every man, woman and child can live free of hunger and discrimination and obtain the healthcare, education and opportunity to reach their potential…
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Canadian Mining Operations Around the World: Respecting People and the Environment.
Click Here to Download Furthering Harmony’s work to encourage business, government, and civil society to work together to improve CSR globally, we are pleased to share with you “Canadian Mining Operations Around…
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CSR: Time for Society’s Return on investment
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) goes by many names: corporate ethics, triple bottom line, corporate sustainability, corporate accountability etc. The difficulty is not what to call it; rather that, in most cases, companies…
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Unleashing the Power of Canadian Charities
Charities are essential partners in Canadian society, working to relieve poverty, safeguard our environment and health, assist children, seniors and others in need, and provide cultural, educational social and other valuable services.…