CEO Message

Aiming higher

Community matters.

A growing body of research shows that creativity and innovation flourish where bright, talented people rub shoulders every day.

Simply put, the quality of life is better in places where social networks are strong, where social trust and social participation are higher. Connected communities mean safer neighbourhoods - real and cyber - for our always curious children. More opportunity for them to grow into tomorrow's leaders.

On a broader scale, strong communities go hand in hand with economic expansion. Especially when ingenuity is the key driver - and decisive source - of competitive advantage in a knowledge economy.

For all these reasons, we at Bell Canada Enterprises believe corporations - as citizens of our larger society - have a clear responsibility to invest in communities. To help them solve problems and adapt to a world of high-velocity change.

Focused on our next generations

We believe our nation's future is being determined today by our ability to enable every child to reach his or her full potential. So that's where we focus our community investment. On Kids Help Phone which helped kids in need in 3,000 Canadian communities more than one million times last year. On Cyber Safety. On spreading the success of the Pathways to Education program, started in Toronto's Regent Park to help inner city kids stay in school.

Our investment extends to community sport that teaches life lessons. To groundbreaking work in telehealth. And to significant support for children's hospitals from Montréal, Ottawa and Toronto to Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.

And at every turn, we look for ways to minimize our impact on the air we breathe and water we drink. Reducing greenhouse emissions from our fleet and other operations. Managing a cell phone recycling program that reduces waste and helps women's shelters.

Setting higher objectives

This report is a snapshot of some of the hundreds of other ways we are acting as engaged corporate citizens. As employees of Bell, we know we must earn the right to serve our customers every day. As Canadians, we know we must help build a society that is sustainable - economically, socially, environmentally. It is not a luxury. It is the way we must work. It must be integral to the business strategy of our company.

We constantly set higher objectives, challenge ourselves to improve - not only to be more creative and more productive in the face of intensifying competition in the marketplace, but also as citizens in the broadest sense.

We've been doing it for more than 125 years. Connecting Canadians to each other and to the world.

A perfect 10

It starts with governance. Once again, in 2005, BCE earned a perfect 10 in a global corporate governance study - one of only two Canadian companies to achieve that. Why? Tighter financial reporting controls to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley for one thing. The voluntary adoption of a majority voting standard for shareholders for another.

Out of that discipline grows a business strategy focused on the customer. Improving their experience. Extending the reach of powerful new broadband networks. Delivering next-generation services to simplify and enrich their lives. And help their businesses become more productive, more competitive.

We invest heavily in initiatives that not only serve our customers but also have far-reaching economic impact. Through our partnership in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, for example, we are building a state-of-the-art infrastructure and creating jobs in British Columbia. The Alberta SuperNet brings the power of broadband access to communities in that province. Our pioneering EV-DO network and our Inukshuk joint venture extend innovative wireless applications to millions of Canadians.

People matter

Above all, we pay attention. To the community at large, to stakeholders, to individual customers and employees. Not only to what they want, but also to what they value.

And then we act. We take personal accountability. Take Sara Korzeniewski, a customer service representative.

One day, she took a call from Lt.-Col Sandy Robertson. His Canadian Forces unit was about to be deployed to Afghanistan. He wanted his mother to get the phone service she needed before he left.

Sara not only heard the request; she understood its importance. She went out of her way to make it happen. In gratitude, Lt.-Col. Robertson changed the name of his patrol from Charlie One to Sara One.

Citizenship in action. All in a day's work for Sara. All in the DNA of our company and its people. This report contains some of their stories.

Michael J. Sabia
President and CEO
BCE Inc.