U.S. Steel donates $300,000 to environment fund

U.S. Steel Canada has given $300,000 to the Hamilton Community Foundation.

The donation was announced Tuesday — Earth Day — and will go toward the foundation’s Environmental Endowment Fund.

The foundation, which is matching the first $1 million in gifts, aims to build a $2-million fund. It will support a range of initiatives deal- ing with areas such as conservation, green technology, citizen engagement and programs related to air, water and food supply.

“Earth Day puts the spotlight on the importance of environmental well-being and sustainability but year-round, the lack of adequate and sustainable funding remains a threat to the environmental sector itself,” foundation president and CEO Terry Cooke said in a release, noting that the donation brings the matched total to more than $650,000.

“Through this fund, we hope to encourage all Hamiltonians to seek opportunities to exercise responsible stewardship over the planet we share with generations to come,” Michael A. McQuade, president and general manager of U.S. Steel Canada, said in the release.

U.S. Steel agreed in 2011 to make contributions of $3 million toward local community and educational programs as part of a settlement over a lawsuit launched by the Canadian government against U.S. Steel for failing to keep promises it made when it bought Stelco for $1.9 billion in 2007.