It’s hard to believe that we are already in the second month of 2017! So much has happened in the world and at CECP since the New Year, and even more since the launch of the Global Exchange back in September 2016. There is of course anticipation to see how the current political climate will impact our country and our relationships globally, but CECP is monitoring what is happening and is counseling our global companies on these challenges and opportunities, through the Global Exchange and other initiatives. Here are just some of the exciting developments for the year ahead.
In 2017, CECP and our partners will be reaching out to more companies headquartered outside of North America to participate in our Giving Around the Globe survey. This will culminate in analysis, key insights, and knowledge of new and recurring themes concerning how companies are coordinating more closely with the international development community and leveraging the Sustainable Development Goals to show the impact of their corporate societal engagement work.
After heading to London in October for the CR Reporting & Communications Summit, then onto Paris for the European Venture Philanthropy Association in early November, an enormous amount of content was synthesized and reported out to Global Exchange colleagues. There seems to be increasing interest around integrated reporting, impact venturing, and the use of big data and technology for impact analysis.
On the back of all this insight, and as a means to keep the connectivity alive, the Global Exchange has so far hosted two digital conference calls with over 20 participants from all corners of the world. Not only was this a great chance to meet the larger network of Global Exchange partners and Local Authorities, but it has offered great insight into CSR reporting, requirements, and practices and employee engagement trends. We look forward to more engagement and knowledge sharing in the coming year.
Given all of this, the Global Exchange is a growing network. As a first step, we have signed on four Local Authorities that act as local experts for the wider Global Exchange. Here’s what they are working on to promote corporate social strategy globally: Trialogue in South Africa, Admical in France, Dynamo Academy in Italy, and Comunitas in Brazil.
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Admical, the newest Global Exchange affiliate to join, is hosting their second annual conference in October covering topics such as collective impact, volunteering, impact investing, links between philanthropy and research, and more. With participant numbers expected to reach 500, mostly from NGOs, corporate, and private foundations, this is set to be a full and fruitful event. Following this, Admical is organizing its very own Tour de France des mécènes, the goal of which is to promote philanthropy all around France and to raise awareness among CEOs of small companies about the crucial social value in sponsorship. This is due to take place between 2017 and 2018, so we will keep you up to date. Best of luck, Admical.
A long-time CECP partner and Brazil Global Exchange Local Authority, Comunitas, developed Juntos for Sustainable Development, which is a coalition of business leaders to improve public management in Brazil. Present in 12 Brazilian cities, in partnership with City Hall, Juntos will seek to promote the inclusion of citizens and business leaders in discussions and decision-making processes about municipal priorities, in order to qualify and sustain the truly transformative impacts of ongoing corporate social investments. Comunitas also released their 10th edition of their BISC (Benchmarking of Corporate Social Investment), which is a tool created by Comunitas for the annual monitoring of private social investments in Brazil. The theme of last year’s research focused on SDGs and how companies are integrating them into their policies and corporate societal engagement activities.
This year, Trialogue will celebrate the 20th edition of its flagship publication, The Business in Society Handbook, as well as its 10th annual conference, The Business in Society Conference which will take place in Johannesburg on 23 and 24 May. The latest Trialogue CSI Handbook, launched in December 2016, features in-depth data and thought leadership on corporate social investment in South Africa, and is available for free download.
Dynamo Academy, which is launching its new website on February 6th (at www.dynamoacdemy.org), has formed a new collaboration with Bocconi University, on the first Italian research of its kind, Corporate Giving in Italy. The survey opens on February 1st and is modeled on CECP’s own reports, with special focus on contributions and donations, international giving, employee engagement, administrative management of donations, and impact evaluation. This report will be shared at the 2nd edition of Dynamo’s Business for the Common Good Conference, on June 18th and 19th, themed around “Investing with Purpose.” The event will include opportunities in the Tuscan hills for CEO-to-CEO exchanges and CSR professionals to network and convene around business and social strategies for long-term common good in Italy.
Other updates from esteemed members of our network include Korea Productivity Center, which is convening a dual international conference in late October 2017, featuring one to celebrate KPC’s 60th anniversary and the other as the prestigious Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) 10th annual international conference. And finally, Beyond Philanthropy will be launching their own corporate citizen benchmarking tool for 30 of Germany’s biggest publicly listed companies. Best of luck to all involved.
It has been my great pleasure to work with these esteemed partners and others in the Global Exchange, and I look forward to the coming months and year ahead as we support companies to advance the corporate sector as a force for good around the world.
