page 36 Bombardier Inc. Annual Report 2003-04 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY and sustainability Bombardier prides itself on its reputation as a responsible corporate citizen and a force for  positive change in society. The Corporation realizes that operating in a socially responsible, sustainable manner is cru- cial to the long-term well-being of the organization, its stakeholders and, of course, society at large. Consequently, it strives to achieve continuous improvement with regard to all three essential  elements of sustainability—economic, social and environmental. Bombardier has always been a preferred employer, providing healthy and safe workplaces and leaving the legacy of a sound  natural environment to future generations. a presence—communities large and small that employees and their families call home. In Canada, the J. Armand Bombardier Foundation has long been a driving force in that regard. The Foundation was created in 1965  by the family of Bombardier’s founder to carry  on the humanitarian work he had begun. The Foundation focuses primarily on the areas of arts and culture, education, health and social serv- ices. The Foundation also continues to support the activities of the J. Armand Bombardier Museum and the Yvonne L. Bombardier Cultural Centre, both located in Valcourt, Québec, birthplace of the Corporation’s founder. sur les maladies infantiles, all in Québec, and the St. Joseph’s Foundation of Thunder Bay, Ontario, to name just a few.  Major charities also continue to benefit from the generosity of Bombardier and Bombardier people. In Montréal, the Foundation contributed  to Father Emmett Johns’ organization, Le Bon Dieu dans la rue, which supports youth homeless- ness and youth at risk. Furthermore, employees, together with the Foundation and the Bombardier family, contributed $1.3 million to the annual Centraide Campaign. It was a similar story at many other Bombardier sites, as the Corporation and its employees teamed up to lend a hand to the less fortunate. During fiscal year 2004, the Foundation pro- vided close to $8 million of financial support  for a variety of worthwhile recipients throughout Québec and Canada. Included were funding  for academic chairs and capital campaigns at leading Canadian universities, financial contri- butions to health-care research and hospitals, and support, among others, for underprivileged fami- lies, abused women, and for social reintegration in major urban areas. From an economic perspective, the Corporation is working harder than ever these days to make the very best use of the resources—people, plants, processes and raw materials—that go into its  innovative products and services. Further enhance- ment of the sustainability and competitiveness of Bombardier’s operations contributes to producing planes and trains that represent exceptional value for customers in terms of purchase price, oper- ating economics and total life-cycle costs, while delivering superior returns to shareholders. The Corporation also provides the sort of high-quality, rewarding jobs that enable it to attract and retain top-rated employees—and continues to make  positive contributions to the broader economic  and social fabric. From a social perspective, Bombardier makes a point of giving something back to the many towns and cities around the world where it has Many of the Foundation’s donations involve multi-year commitments of large sums, which enable recipients to proceed with capital projects or the establishment of academic chairs that require an assured source of funding over an extended period. The support to the Fondation de l’Université du Québec à Montréal for the  creation of a preparatory centre for studies abroad is one example of many such undertakings. Recent beneficiaries of the Foundation’s support in the health-care area include the Fondation québécoise du cancer, the Douglas Hospital Foundation, the Notre-Dame de la Merci health centre’s foundation, the Fondation de la recherche Indeed, Bombardier’s philanthropic activities are by no means limited to the Foundation. The Corporation itself, the respective business groups and individual sites around the globe are involved in a myriad of activities to support education, arts and culture and community involvement. In Toronto for instance, Bombardier Aerospace made its  suburban Downsview site available as the venue for a Rolling Stones concert that was staged to help revitalize the city’s economy—particularly tourism—in the wake of the SARS epidemic. The event attracted some 450,000 rock ’n’ roll buffs from across North America. Other less high-profile, but equally worthwhile community endeavours included Bombardier Capital’s ongoing support of a daycare centre for the children of low-income families in Jacksonville, Florida; Bombardier Transportation’s support of the Technology Challenge in Maryborough, Australia, which involved teams of secondary school stu- dents designing, building, testing and racing  CO 2 -powered vehicles; children’s workshops  sponsored by the Bombardier Aerospace Enhanced sustainability helps to secure  quality jobs and economic spin-offs Giving something back to communities