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32 www.canadianlawyermag.com FEATURE GC PROFILE SUPPORTING GROWTH THROUGH SUSTAINABILITY Christy Elliott brings ESG goals to the forefront as Parkland Corporation continues its rapid growth trajectory SINCE JOINING Parkland Corporation six years ago, Christy Elliott has guided the Calgary, Alberta-based company through numerous acquisitions, allowing the business to grow fivefold. In 2021 alone, Parkland acquired 14 new companies and now boasts operations in 25 countries worldwide. Elliott started her career at a litigation boutique where she focused on corporate commercial litigation. She then had the opportunity in 2016 to take her skills to Parkland – a convenience store operator and fuel retailing company – as legal counsel. Initially taking responsibility for litigation, regulatory, and anti-trust work, Elliott grad- ually moved into the general counsel role as the company rapidly grew. Within her first 18 months at Parkland, Elliott saw the company go through two acquisitions that doubled its business, and the growth has not slowed. As the business grew, Elliott's role also evolved and expanded. She added sustain- ability to her role in 2018 when she also started to take responsibility for external relations and Indigenous engagement. "We've continued growing and continue to do a lot of acquisitions, and so as the business has grown, my team has grown, and our responsibilities have grown as well," says Elliott. As senior vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary, and chief sustainability officer, Elliott handles all legal and regu- latory matters for Parkland's operations across Canada, the US, and the Caribbean. Her mandate includes mergers and acquisi- tions, legal work around financing, corporate securities, and litigation. She also oversees compliance work locally in the company's various jurisdictions. Elliott also manages board and governance work as corporate secretary and ESG matters under her chief sustainability officer hat. "We've always done a lot around ESG as a business, but we didn't necessarily tell anybody about it, so we released our inau- gural sustainability report in 2020 and then followed it up last year with a more detailed report that includes all of our targets," says Elliott. The Drive to Zero 2021 sustainability report was just published in July this year, outlining the company's enterprise-wide sustainability and providing a framework for establishing baselines and targets. The report highlights progress, including goals for achieving zero safety incidents and spills, upholding zero tolerance for racism, discrimination, corruption, bribery, and unethical behaviour, and supporting the "We're passionate about operating in an environmentally sustainable way so communities can continue to thrive, while we're also providing them with the services that they need every day"