CECP Insights Blog

Arriving on the heels of Hurricane Florence, Hurricane Michael proved again that companies are making significant commitments to relief and recovery efforts in the wake of natural disasters. Our round-up of Hurricane Florence corporate response efforts covered some innovative ways that companies are reacting to disasters. Unfortunately, we’re already revisiting the topic with a snapshot […]

Earlier in 2018, The Conference Board of Canada published the latest in their Canada 2030 series, titled The Defining Forces Disrupting Business. Written with an eye towards helping Canadian businesses and investors understand the disrupting forces likely to affect organizations over the next decade, Canada 2030: The Defining Forces Disrupting Business report encourages readers to address the […]

We are pleased to announce that this year’s Giving in Numbers report is now available! In keeping with tradition, this year’s report incorporates many of the classic analyses that have characterized this industry-leading report, including total giving by industry, employee volunteer data, and operations. New this year is an expanded section on international giving and […]

The Fortune 2018 Change the World list features 57 companies that are doing well by doing good. These businesses are trying to fix big problems and make money while doing it. That’s right, it’s not a list about charity (though many of these companies also have charitable efforts). It’s about how business—one of the most […]

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 […]

Taking a knee made Nike stand up. As brand activism becomes commonplace – even expected – it’s an optimal moment to unpack the factors that spur companies to stand up for something that matters. Enter Nike and Colin Kaepernick, with a contentious new campaign and profound tagline: “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing […]

“Two heads are better than one,” is a proverb ascribed to a certain John Heywood in 1546. But, what if instead of two, it was six, or twelve? At CECP, we believe that businesses are a force for good and their collective wisdom will make the world a better place. In 1999, Paul Newman had […]

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 […]

The past two years have witnessed a bold shift in leadership from the C-Suite.  Now more than ever, CEOs and senior executives at the world’s leading companies are speaking out on social policy issues that conflict with the core values of their business. This phenomenon, dubbed “CEO activism”, is on the rise – and right […]

Like many employees today, CSR professionals are facing the challenge of “too much data and not sure what to do with it.” If you’re interested in using data for your impact work with community partners and personalizing the employee experience of how they can live their purpose through the company…. Keep reading. Good intelligence needs […]

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 […]

Technologies like AI, blockchain, and cloud are enabling us to make significant progress on many thorny social challenges. But without thoughtful stewardship about how these powerful new technologies are designed, developed and brought into the world, they can also be disruptive in a negative way. Companies that are leading the way in developing new technologies […]