CECP Insights Blog

By Carol Cone, CEO, Carol Cone ON PURPOSE  Few companies of any size would let marketing or operations coast for a year or two without strategic review. A lack of regular planning is an equally big risk when it comes to social impact initiatives. And, considering brands with a high sense of purpose have experienced a brand […]

Leading companies are laser-focused on corporate purpose. They explore what their purpose is and how it translates to their people and community and bring that purpose to life through intentional practices and strategies. They use a human-centered lens for all business operations because it helps them see around corners and delivers a competitive edge. All […]

Increasingly consumers are becoming more sophisticated in their ability to discern between true commitment to sustainability and action taken just for show. And they’re not afraid to call out that authenticity–or lack of it–on social media, in conversations with friends, or in any other channel. This has made some brands hesitant — afraid of the […]

Each day Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and media venues are bombarded with the idea of social impact and yet many do not understand the true meaning behind the movement. The business dictionary defines social impact as the effect of an activity on the social fabric of a community and well-being of individuals and families in that […]

The rural hospital where Endalew gave birth benefited from programs run by Safe Surgery 2020, an initiative funded in part by the GE Foundation. Image credit: Jhpiego/Karen Kamauski. The global health world periodically has rude awakenings that expose vulnerabilities in countries’ preparedness to handle health crises. The outbreaks of Ebola and Zika in recent years […]

Companies issue an annual report every year but where can you find information about the corporate sector as a whole? Sure, indices can tell you lots about stock price, market cap, and EBITDA. In this modern age, expectations of companies go much further beyond financial performance. CECP is thrilled to launch Investing in Society, a […]

In “Short-Termism is Harming the US Economy,” Jamie Dimon and Warren Buffett argue that executives who target quarterly, short-term results often do so at the sacrifice of long-term strategy and results. This, in turn, harms the sustainable success of companies and the economy as a whole. We agree. As part of CECP’s Strategic Investor Initiative, […]

Over the course of the past year, CECP has, with support from the Walmart Foundation, led an inquiry into the role and current practice of companies integrating Diversity and Inclusion into their Corporate Social Engagement. This effort has been propelled by a questioning of the role of companies in the midst of rising inequality, racial tensions, […]

Few of today’s CEOs earned their job because they were socially responsible and spoke out on hot topics. Yet key stakeholders increasingly want to know where companies and CEOs stand on critical social issues. It might be argued that speaking out is becoming a 21st-century requirement for the leaders of major companies. Data confirms a […]

Building Your Scorecard or Raising Your Ranking? Whenever I dive into the landscape of reporting standards, guidelines, ratings, rankings, indices…. I get dizzy very quickly. The ecosystem of companies measuring and reporting on how they are a force for good in society is alive and well. The nuts and bolts of how companies accomplish reporting can be […]

A leading media company is using its storytelling expertise to change sanitation and hygiene behaviours of beneficiaries in Mumbai slums; a transport finance company is training men and women to become truck drivers, providing them with livelihoods opportunities; an Indian conglomerate is implementing systemic socio-economic empowerment programs in villages around its factories. These are just […]

Three reasons innovative companies are investing in landscape-scale restoration As the world counts down to two degrees, innovative companies are taking the lead and filling the policy void. Businesses are voluntarily setting quantifiable climate change targets; many committing to carbon neutrality. Going even further, visionary corporate leaders are delivering on climate commitments through enduring solutions […]

On October 2017, Admical, a Paris-based NGO and the French Local Authority of the Global Exchange, published a first-of-its-kind study in partnership with the institute of studies Kantar Public, which aimed to understand French people’s opinion on philanthropy.   Built on a two-phase methodology, the qualitative phase was composed of two focus groups, and, through […]

This year, there have been more articles about the evolution and growth of CSR than anyone could read. On the first few days of 2018, I share here a few of the most thoughtful and important pieces I read from this past year. In total, they take only 45 minutes to read. In no particular […]

By far the best thing CEOs and their companies can do to combat sexism, gender discrimination, and sexual misconduct–in short, to support women–is to put diverse women into half of the positions of power and leadership. This is how we resolve a foul, permissive culture. Can you hear the roar in the corporate corridors? Just […]