Who We Are

Incorporated in 1998, HIEA is a non-profit association whose members represent local private sector industries. HIEA provides an open forum for community representatives and local associations to discuss environmental concerns regarding their respective communities.

HIEA has an organizational structure that includes:

• a Board of Directors – made up of senior operating managers from each member company who meet twice per year to establish the annual budget and priorities for the organization;
• an Executive Committee – made up of the chair, vice chair, treasurer and technical committee chair who meet on an as needed basis to address arising questions;
• a Technical Committee – made up of key staff from member companies with environmental responsibilities who meet throughout the year to develop projects and initiatives; share best practices; strengthen communication networks and develop strategies to further HIEA's mandate;
• and a Community Advisory Panel – made up of local neighbourhood representatives and environmental advocates dedicated to improving Hamilton’s environment through their volunteer efforts who meet regularly to provide a forum for industry, individuals, neighbourhood groups, regulators and local environmental community-based initiatives to exchange information and discuss issues of concern.

HIEA Member companies remain dedicated to reducing their environmental footprint and have made a commitment to protect Hamilton's air, water, and land by:

• operating their facilities in a safe and responsible manner;
• having operational systems in place that monitor our environmental performance and adherence to key performance metrics;
• transparent and open communications regarding environmental performance and improvements;
• the conservation and protection of our natural environment;
• responsiveness to community enquires and/or concerns;
• working in partnership with residents and community associations to promote environmental awareness in Hamilton.

HIEA member companies are committed to improving their environmental performance and the maintenance of their facilities and work closely with provincial and city regulators to ensure all reasonable steps are taken to improve their processes and remain in compliance.

Each year, HIEA collects member-company data on environmental performance which is compiled and assessed against a base year of 1997 to evaluate environmental trends. An annual report to the community is prepared to provide information on the environmental performance of the members as well as the collective investments to the community.

The HIEA members view all residents of the city as stakeholders and therefore use many different ways to engage the community. HIEA maintains an email contact list of interested community members and utilizes this list to send regular "e-blasts" to inform the community of activities and information from our members. HIEA produces an annual report to the community to provide details of the years activities and the previous year’s environmental performance. HIEA also hosts an annual general meeting that is open to the public where the community is encouraged to come out and meet both HIEA member representatives and other interested community members. This meeting also provides an opportunity to showcase many of the projects that are being undertaken by local environmental organizations within the community.

HIEA works with the community to fulfil its mandate through it's Community Advisory Panel (CAP). CAP acts as a link between industry, neighbourhood groups and individuals, and local environmental community-based initiatives. Regular meetings allow CAP participants and representatives of the HIEA member companies to exchange information and discuss issues of greatest concern to the community.

The CAP mandate is: To identify environmental concerns and provide support to the Hamilton Industrial Environmental Association in their pursuit of a cleaner and healthier environment for the residents of the City of Hamilton.