The Haliburton Highlands Land Trust (HHLT) has agreed to participate in the Centre for Land Conservation’s (CLC) certification program.
HHLT recognizes the importance of having clear policies and robust process controls in place to manage what we do. These controls range from our guiding principles to financial controls and to how we steward the lands entrusted to us. We also recognize that our funders, donors, other stakeholders and members want assurance that we are a credible organization with rigorous processes in place.
For these reasons, we have agreed to participate in the CLC certification program. In this program, the CLC will assess the degree of conformity of our internal controls to their Standards and Practices (S&Ps). According to CLC, the S&Ps are intended to outline the "ethical and technical guidelines for the responsible operation of land trusts in Canada." Conformity to the S&Ps is important for any organization holding conservation lands for the public interest. The S&Ps include 12 standards and 91 recommended practices, ranging from ethics and compliance to board accountability, financial management to land securement and stewardship.
We are one of a select few land trusts from across Canada to participate in this pilot phase of the certification program.
The assessment process is intended to validate that our control processes meet or exceed those set forth by the CLC. Determination of conformity will lead to certification, which will enhance credibility and build public, investor and government trust.