7 CEOs Highlighted at Corporate Responsibility Officer Largest Summit Oct 6-7 in Chicago, Il

Corporate Responsibility Officer Summit Chair Jay Whitehead today announced that the speaker lineup for the 5th annual CRO Summit, held October 6-7 at the Union League Club of Chicago will feature a record 7 CEOs—leaders of the corporate responsibility movement in sustainability, governance, compliance and philanthropy.

Also included in the CRO Summit lineup is the 3rd annual CRO Magazine CEO of the Year Awards, which recognizes CEO leadership in 8 categories: large-cap, mid-cap, small-cap, private companies, social entrepreneurs, corporate foundations, government, and NGO/non-profits.  Featuring a corporate sustainability theme, the 5th annual CRO Summit is the largest such event for corporate responsibility practitioners in sustainability, governance, compliance, CSR and philanthropy.

CEO and senior leaders featured include Green Mountain Coffee Roasters CEO Larry Blanford, NYSE Global Markets Chief Walter Lukken, Silver Spring Networks CEO Scott Lang, ACORE CEO Michael Eckhart, CDP CEO Paul Dickinson, Hara CEO Amit Chatterjee, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, Interface Chairman and former CEO Ray Anderson.

CRO Magazine’s 3rd Annual Responsible CEO of the Year Awards, which occur from 7-9pm on October 6 at the Union League Club of Chicago, will be keynoted by “Confessions of a Radical Industrialist” author and Interface Chairman Ray Anderson.

Attendees include over 300 corporate responsibility officers in Russell 1000 companies, NGO executives and software and professional service providers to the field.  Registration information can be found at http://www.crosummit.com.   The CRO Summit agenda can be found online at http://www.crosummit.com/crosummitfall/agenda.asp.

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Young Witches and Sorcerers Unite To Fight Discrimination

The final episode of the popular Ecuadorian soap opera, Toque Mágico (Magic Touch) will be released this Wednesday, September 30, on PCI-Media Impact’s YouTube Channel.  PCI-Media Impact, co-producer of Magic Touch, is a not-for-profit organization that uses Entertainment Education to support social change movements in developing countries.

Magic Touch was first broadcast in 2008 in partnership with Colectivo Pro Derechos Humanos, a community organization specializing in human rights in Ecuador. The show educates youth by promoting gender equity, elimination of discrimination and the prevention of violence against women. In June of this year, PCI-Media Impact began the global re-broadcast this popular series, via the internet.

The story takes place in the School of Magic and Wizardry, and targets youth between the ages of 15 and 24.  Throughout the series, the young witches and sorcerers are forced to deal with issues of bribery, gender discrimination, teen pregnancy, and sexual assault.  The narrator, Amita, and her trusted assistant, Dictionary, guide listeners through the struggles faced not only by the radio drama characters, but by young children throughout the province of Manabí, Ecuador.  Listeners often called in after the show with questions, comments, and personal stories inspired by the educational soap opera.  

When Barbi, a young witch at the School of Magic and Wizardry, finally took a stand against her abusive father, the network received a call from 16 year old, Ana, “This radio program has  brought about change within my community, and specifically in my family.  Now my mom does not let my dad mistreat her because she knows there should be respect and equality.  And now, I know I deserve respect when I express myself, and I don’t have to be ashamed for being a strong female.”

During its original broadcast, Magic Touch was featured as the principle segment of the 60-minute live call-in show, Ponte Once (Pay Attention). Ponte Once, sought to decrease discrimination and violence against women in the province of Manabí, where they reached more than 50,000 listeners.  As a result of the show’s widespread popularity, the provincial government of Manabí sponsored the rebroadcast of Magic Touch on 20 additional radio stations throughout the region.

To watch all 16 episodes, subtitled in English, visit PCI-Media Impact’s YouTube Channel at  http://www.youtube.com/user/pcimediaimpact.

 

About PCI-Media Impact:
Since 1985, PCI-Media Impact’s programs have addressed the root causes of poverty and have encouraged people to make choices that lead to better health and sustainable development. Working with local partners worldwide, PCI-Media Impact produces carefully researched and culturally sensitive radio and television dramas that combine the power of storytelling with the reach of broadcast media. For more information, please visit PCI-Media Impact’s website, join their Facebook Fan Page, or follow them on Twitter.

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What Wall Street Can Learn From Distance Runners

by Chad Tragakis, Senior Vice President, Hill & Knowlton, Washington

Anyone who has ever run a 10K or 10 mile race (or longer) knows that you can’t start by going all out.  You have to work up to cruising speed.  And you need to leave something in the tank for the last part of the run.  This is seemingly common sense, but for many “running” on Wall Street and within the business community generally, it is a lesson that bears repeating.  Long runs require a sustainable pace.  And if a business or an investment is to enjoy long-term success, it must create sustainable value.

This is the subject of a new report prepared by the Aspen Institute Business & Society Program   – Overcoming Short-termism: A Call for a More Responsible Approach to Investment and Business Management.

The CFA Institute defines short-termism as: the excessive focus of some corporate leaders, investors, and analysts on short-term earnings guidance, coupled with a lack of attention to the strategy, fundamentals, and conventional approaches to long-term value creation.

That pretty much nails it, but as the Aspen report states, short-termism is not limited to Wall Street.  It pervades the entire web of business – corporate leaders, company boards, investment advisers, providers of capital and even government.  Therefore, the report concludes, meaningful reform will only come from comprehensive, system-wide change.

Built to Last remains the business world’s classic tome on the strength, success and longevity of visionary companies.  In its wake, there have been a number of notable books on the value of taking a longer-term and more holistic approach to business – the works of Christine Arena, Stuart Hart, Marc Gunther and Jeffrey Hollender come to mind.  And plenty of CEOs can be found espousing the merits of “taking a long-term approach to the way we do business” in speeches at CSR forums and in the letters that introduce corporate responsibility reports.

But under the current system, the current pressures, I wonder how well a CEO can truly serve two masters?

Take, for instance, a genuinely well-meaning (and in this case, fictitious) CEO who gives a speech to his employees on the importance of creating sustainable value for all stakeholders.  But then two hours later, this same CEO tells his sales managers that they need to hit their quarterly numbers… or else.  And then later that day, he tells his plant managers that they need to increase productivity… or else.  When interests compete, which ones win?  His conflicting messages may well contribute to poor decisions by managers and cutting corners that can irreparably harm a company – workplace accidents, questionable deals, not following established procedures.

Is abandoning short-termism expecting too much for today’s companies?  Is capitalism, or at least capitalism in its current form, diametrically opposed to thinking and acting in the long term?

I hope not.  There are many examples of companies who are trying very hard to strike that delicate balance between competing and often conflicting short and long-term interests.  Logic would dictate that these firms, the ones who do it best anyway, will be rewarded in the marketplace.  I hope that bears out.  The suggested solutions outlined in the Aspen Institute report, namely market incentives that encourage patient capital, seem very reasonable. They would be a great start.

The best expression of sustainable value that I have ever heard comes from the ancient Greeks.  And although they were speaking about the importance of taking a generational view of society, it applies equally well to business.

“A society grows great when its people plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.”

One could easily substitute the word “company” for “society.”  And if you look at the companies that have been around for 50, 60, 70 years or more, and others that are seemingly built to last, I suspect you would find this attitude to be prevalent… planning, thinking and decision-making with the next generation of employees, customers and stakeholders in mind.  It would be a fitting slogan to see posted in board rooms, in the C-suite and of course, all over Wall Street.

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3BL Media and the Centre for Sustainability and Excellence (CSE) Announce Strategic Partnership

3BL (Triple Bottom Line) Media and the Centre for Sustainability and Excellence (CSE) announced today a strategic partnership which will provide CSE clients with access to the world’s largest corporate social responsibility and sustainability news distribution network.  The partnership will bring global recognition to the sustainability initiatives undertaken by leading progressive businesses as part of their work with CSE.

CSE provides services for Sustainability Management and Reporting, Climate Change Solutions, including LCAs and Carbon footprint Strategy, Green Marketing, CSR Assurance and Sustainable Investment. CSE also conducts executive training workshops in more than 18 countries around the globe.

“In support of our global efforts to promote Sustainability, we consider our partnership with 3BL Media vital in enabling organizations to communicate their Corporate Responsibility commitments, as well as share best practices via a comprehensive distribution network,” says CSE Managing Director, Nikos Avlonas.

3BL Media’s communications strategies include the production and distribution of videos, podcasts, media advisories, press releases and blogs.  3BL Media produces “theCSRminute” which is viewed by media professionals, business executives and consumers, and is considered a major source of reliable issues and trends, of breaking news and profiles of businesses and organizations. 3BL Media news distribution reaches the largest, most relevant audience through a proprietary network that includes thousands of media points, social networks, bloggers, video sharing sites, affiliates, aggregators and partnerships with major news outlets worldwide.

“As a recognized leader in CSR and sustainability consulting worldwide, we are honored that CSE chose 3BL Media to communicate the important work that their clients are doing.  We look forward to working closely with CSE and helping to keep stakeholders informed,” says 3BL Media CEO, Greg Schneider.

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Trust Agents: Bestseller Good Fit for Nonprofit

In the index to Chris Brogan and Julien Smith’s new book, Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust, the words charity, nonprofit, and fundraising do not show up. I looked.

But still, Beth Kanter’s name is there. Through her blog (number one on the List of Change), Kanter has made a trickle of conversation about using social media for good causes into a river, the currents of which most of us now happily paddle.She has been a game changer, and is certainly a trust agent.

Kanter’s story shows up in Trust Agents within the context of “community.” For that is the subject of Trust Agents. Not how to make money, not how to sell shoes, not how to raise funds, but how to build communities.

Trust agents, for Brogan and Smith, are the glue that hold communities together. They are the pioneers of the social web, digital natives who have learned to communicate with (not to) people.

Brogan and Smith say trust agents exhibit these characteristics:

• Trust agents make their own game. They are comfortable enough to experiment, break the rules, and to fail.
• Trust agents are one of us. They act like us, talk like us, and are straight with us.
• Trust Agents know the secret to leverage. They build networks out of groups and markets out of niches.
• Trust agents are networkers. They know more people, can open more doors, and know exactly where the resources are.
• Trust agents are masters of soft skills. They work well with others, are empowering, and revel in social interaction.
• Trust agents know they can’t do it alone. They build armies to move mountains and motivate people to achieve together what couldn’t be done alone.

Brogan and Smith provide dozens of examples of trust agents, such as Oprah Winfrey, Robert Scoble, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Trust agents also sound suspiciously like change agents, social entrepreneurs, and a growing number of people who are transforming their nonprofits.

Trust Agents isn’t just for the business minded. Community is a universal concept, and one that is particularly applicable to social change.

At the end of their book, Brogan and Smith name six “games” that anyone can still create. One of those is: Master leverage and use it for good. Their example? Beth Kanter, their “patron saint of nonprofits and technology.”

Chris Brogan’s blog. Julien Smith’s website. Other reviews include those by Kivi Miller Leroux, and Frank Barry.

Joanne Fritz has worked in the nonprofit world for most of her 30-year career beginning with teaching at the secondary, college, and university levels. Fritz has served on numerous nonprofit boards and was chosen to participate in leadership programs in two cities. Joanne Fritz writes for Non-Profit Blog

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Socialised government: the rise of micro public service uninstitutions

Personal Democracy Forum

This post brings together two chapters of the recently published report Social by Social: a practical guide to using new technologies to deliver social impact.

Commissioned by NESTA, it provides a collection of tools to engage communities, offer services, scale up activities and sustain public service projects both from inside and outside government. It also gives insight into some real world examples of the use of social technology in making change happen, two of which I draw on here – Will Perrin‘s take on ‘What this means for government‘ and my article on ‘What this means for public services‘ as a whole.

“If you’re interested in using social media in your organization, and you should be, Social by Social is the real deal.”Craig Newmark, Founder of Craigslist

Whatever digital engagment, We.Gov or Gov20 means to you, there’s no doubting North American and European government has come a long way over the past 18 months in better understanding and implementing social technologies for social change.

Reaching the wider collective consciousness for the first time in the UK back in March 2008 on release of the interim Power of Information Report, social tech came of age during the course of the 9 month Power of Information Taskforce. As the Taskforce itself said at the time of publishing its final report, “the Taskforce brought together a group from government, industry and the third sector who all share a passion for using ICT to enable better public service delivery.”

As in the US, led by inspiring organisations such as the Sunlight Foundation, much of the review focused on what is seen by many as the foundation of open and social government – the release of public data for transparency purposes. As Will says in his Social by Social article:

Citizens are taking control of public sector information and repurposing it in a process known as data mashing. Clever coders are getting better and better at bringing meaning and clarity to vast quantities of incomprehensible information... Political leaders’ interest in what was an obscure geeky area has been redoubled after the expenses scandal, where very large quantities of previously unpublished data were unexpectedly made public and analysed by journalists. Changes to Freedom of Information and the 30-year rule as well as 21st Century interfaces such as Whatdotheyknow.com will bring more and more data out for analysis. The 2011 Census will even have its own API. Data mashing and the new semantic technologies will create far more transparency and analysis by machines for non statistical people.

Widespread data mashing will be a step change in transparency. The public sector needs to engage with people who might mashup its data and be prepared to respond to unexpected outcomes. In America Obama has seized the agenda with data.gov and in the UK, the Cabinet Office has brought in Sir Tim Berners-Lee to advise on opening up government data. But both countries face a huge challenge to bring data mashing to the entirety of the public sector.

Coupled with the release of data for transparency and (online) public service improvement purposes, online social media have brought about a change in how citizens in the UK have been able to interact with government. While again facing the same issues as laid out by Will above (ie not widely known about or used), steps are being taken in pockets of government to pilot new approaches to online engagement around public services and public policy. The recent Digital Britain report exemplifies the possible, published in a variety of formats including a commentable version, providing a forum for discussion and a range of communications channels including a Twitter account.

However what none of this does is fundamentally address the current (gaping) power inbalance between the government and its citizens. These initiatives, while a step in the right direction, remain very much on the government’s own terms, merely allowing citizens to comment on late stage policy documents published in incomprehensible and unengaging English. As such, many of the well documented cultural challenges (whether weak leadership, complex procurement or a lack of incentive to take “risks”) remain barriers to true and system wide change. Policy making remains very much the preserve of the ‘expert’, in the main only drawing on online tools for PR and political purposes to give a sense of listening and engagement at a point in the process which is too late for any true change to be made.

Thankfully this painfully slow and measured top down change is being challenged and turbo charged by truly disruptive, rapid and needs driven change from outside of government. While data may be the foundation to open government, Gov20 means technology that disrupts from both inside and outside of government, working hand in hand to make change happen. As I put it in Social by Social:

For many the speed and scale of this change is not enough and outside of government change is taking a very different form. Change is emerging from the bottom up, with citizens coming together around shared needs and interests and self-organising to resolve the challenges they face together… Communities of purpose (whether by geography or common cause) are coming together to take on what may have previously been seen as the role of the government in public service delivery, or otherwise acting to publicly hold the government to account on its service delivering… Enabled by the power of the web, public services are beginning to be rebuilt from the bottom up, formed around real rather than perceived need and with people speaking for themselves in their own words and through their own experiences and passions.

These nimble micro public service uninstitutions, from School of Everything to Enabled by Design to Patients Opinion (given a helping hand from iniatives such as Social Innovation Camp and Talk about Local), are redefining public services as we’ve come to know them, socialising them in the true sense of the word.

Without any shadow of a doubt, change is happening at an ever quickening pace driven by the power of the Internet. Whether driven by The Gov or We .Gov:

The web provides limitless possibility in every direction and it is now up to the government to work out how best to shape and support ‘public services 2.0’ – and define its own role within it.

via personaldemocracy.com

Posted via web from 3BL Media’s Posterous

CSR Minute: September 28, 2009 – Clinton Global Initiative Partners Green for All + Living Cities; Proctor & Gamble’s Sustainability Programs; UN Global Compact’s Climate Chang Run-up

Corporate Social Responsible News: Clinton Global Initiative Partners Green for All + Living Cities; Proctor and Gamble’s Sustainability Programs; UN Global Compact’s Climate Change Conference Run Up