Corporate Citizenship & Philanthropy Briefs
2018
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Social Risk: Corporations’ New Convergence Zone
August 08 | Barie Carmichael, Senior Counselor, APCO Worldwide | Comments (0)Employee petitions, gender discrimination, #MeToo revelations triggering instant market value freefalls—boards of directors and CEOs are searching for how to get ahead of the next viral business disruption, but they are not alone. Their investors are, too. Increasingly, one source of that disruption is their employees.
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The Risks Companies Face When Their Political Spending and Core Values Conflict
July 31 | Bruce F. Freed, President and Founder, Center for Political Accountability | Karl J. Sandstrom, Of Counsel, Perkins Coie LLP | Comments (0)A new report by the Center for Political Accountability highlights the heightened risks – reputational and business – that companies face from political spending in today’s polarized political environment. Entitled “Collision Course: The Risks Companies Face When Their Political Spending and Their Core Values Conflict, and How to Address Them,” this report is the first examination of conflicted spending and the challenges that it can pose for companies from the public and stakeholders.
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Getting Syrian Students Back to School through Tech-Enabled Learning
July 24 | Michele Malejki, Global Head of Strategic Programs for Sustainability and Social Innovation, HP, Inc | Comments (0)The numbers are staggering: More than 65 million people around the world have been forcibly displaced. Only a small number of refugees—less than 1 percent of 17.5 million in 2016—will ever be resettled. In Syria alone, more than 5 million people have fled their war-torn country since 2011, 1 million of whom have settled in Lebanon. Nearly a quarter of those refugees are children not enrolled in school. Behind each of these numbers is a life that’s been put on pause.
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Is Your Company Prepared for the Next Disaster?
July 17 | Nicole Morrissey, Corporate Partnerships, GlobalGiving | Comments (0)Summer is upon us. Unfortunately, so is disaster season. Last year was unprecedented, with eight major disasters occurring within just a few short months of one another. Forecasters estimate hurricane activity to be higher than normal this year for the United States, and crises such as floods and volcanic eruptions have already devastated communities in Guatemala and Hawaii. Companies need to get strategic now to prepare for the next disaster.
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If You Don’t Measure Yourself, Others Will Measure You
July 10 | Jeff Hoffman, Institute Leader, Corporate Citizenship & Philanthropy, ESG Center, The Conference Board | Comments (1)Whether it’s the 24-hour news cycle, social media, annual reports, internal messages, or stakeholder requests, the need for clear, understandable, and relatable corporate social responsibility (CSR) information from companies is increasing. Some stakeholders want metrics, others want stories. Either way, timeliness and transparency are key. So, which data and disclosures are relevant and/or required?
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What’s the Purpose of Purpose?
July 03 | Mike Arauz, Founding Member, August | Comments (0)Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, started the year with a provocative challenge to the CEOs of the world’s biggest and most influential companies: What’s your purpose? As Fink framed it in his open letter, companies need to have a compelling long-term vision for how their business will sustainably benefit all of its stakeholders, including shareholders, employees, customers, and the community.
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As Political and Societal Crises Impact Brands, PR’s Role Is More Important Than Ever
June 28 | Tina McCorkindale, President and CEO, Institute for Public Relations | Comments (0)Brands of all sizes and in all industries are increasingly being impacted by America’s divisive political, social and cultural storms. This new reality makes the roles of communications leaders like CCOs and CMOs as strategic decision makers, planners and guardians of a brand’s goodwill more vital—and more challenging—than ever before.
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The Impact Genome Project and Benchmarking Social Outcomes
June 19 | Alex Parkinson, Former Communications Institute Co-Leader, The Conference Board | Comments (0)Earlier this year, The Conference Board and Mission Measurement announced a new partnership to benchmark social outcomes data. Using Mission Measurement’s Impact Genome Project® (IGP), the two organizations will collect and analyze data on the social outcomes of corporations’ charitable contributions. Companies are now invited to participate in the IGP and to share their impact measurement data.
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A Culture of Responsibility
June 15 | Jeff Hoffman, Institute Leader, Corporate Citizenship & Philanthropy, ESG Center, The Conference Board | Comments (0)“Culture” is the word of the moment: societal culture, organizational culture, corporate culture. The media blames culture—and rightfully so—when things at an organization go bad, referencing it as the reason for why people break the rules, disrespect others and go against societal values. But culture is also a good thing that leads to innovation, accomplishment and integrity. Managing culture is the responsibility of everyone in an organization and the board should set the tone.