As the trends and challenges leading to the rise of the social enterprise became, in 219, even more prominent, CEOs and business leaders around the globe will have to lead the social enterprise  Tweet This!, beyond just practicing corporate social responsibility or engaging in social impact programmes.

The social enterprise: creating value for stakeholders, not just shareholders

A social enterprise is an organisation that focuses not only on revenue growth and profit-making, but also on the need to respect and support its environment and stakeholders, listening to the trends that shape today’s world. It is an organisation that accepts its responsibility to be a good citizen, serves as a role model for its peers, and promotes multilevel collaboration. Accordingly, leading a social enterprise means recognising that businesses must not just generate a profit and deliver a return to shareholders, but also improve the lives of workers, customers, and the communities in which they operate.

Why reinvent?

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is bringing disruption to the political, economic, and social fabric, impacting work, workers, and employers. Income inequality, wages, and the role of businesses in society, are under widespread debate globally. Deloitte’s 219 Global Human Capital Trends survey highlights key workplace trends and issues, including the following:

• In 218, the United States experienced 2 major work stoppages involving 485, workers (the most since 27), while income inequality is growing in many developed economies, including the United States – where the bottom 9 percent of earners have only seen a 5% wage increase over the past 18 years.
• Eighty-five percent of employees globally are not engaged or are actively disengaged from their jobs. They are working more hours, and problems of financial and mental stress seem to prevail. In the United States, over 4 percent of the workforce now works on a contingent basis.

Social enterprises perform better financially

Deloitte’s 219 Global Human Capital Trends survey revealed trends and facts that confirm the rising significance of the social enterprise:

• When CEOs rated their most important measure of success in 219, the number-one issue they mentioned was “impact on society, including income inequality, diversity, and the environment,” showing the urgency of this issue.
• According to 56% of the survey’s respondents, the social enterprise will become more important to organisations over time.
• Survey respondents confirmed the social enterprise’s positive link to financial performance: 32% of more mature social enterprises (industry leaders) expected greater than 1% growth in 219, compared to 218.

Five human principles for the social enterprise

There are five key principles that frame the “human focus” for the social enterprise, against which any action or business decision affecting people can be measured:

• Purpose and meaning: Giving organisations and individuals a sense of purpose at work, moving beyond profit and focusing on doing good things for individuals, customers and society.
• Ethics and fairness: Using data, technology, and systems ethically and fairly.
• Growth and passion: Designing jobs, work, and organisational missions to cultivate passion and a sense of personal growth.
• Collaboration and personal relationships: Building and developing teams, focusing on personal relationships.
• Transparency and openness: Sharing information openly, discussing challenges and mistakes.

78% of the world’s 25 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

FBRH GRI Standards Certified and ISEP approved Sustainability Course | Venue: London LSE

By registering for the next 2-day FBRH GRI-Standards Certified and ISEP approved Course you will be taking the first step in gaining the many benefits of sustainability reporting.

References:

This article is based on published information by Deloitte. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the publication’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:

https://www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en/focus/human-capital-trends.html

The post Deloitte: Organisations should reinvent themselves around a human focus appeared first on SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine.

Based on the findings of relevant surveys, the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) identified a number of key behaviour patterns in millennial consumers (18- to 34-year-olds) regarding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR):

• 81% of millennials would like companies to publicly commit to CSR values

• 92% of millennials would choose to buy from a company committed to ethical business practices

• 64% of millennial females bought, in the past year, a cause-related product

• 82% of millennials would strive to be employed by a company recognized for its commitment to business ethics

• More than 9 out of 10 millennials would change brands to a cause-related one

• 73% of millennials would pay extra for sustainable offerings – a significant increase from 50% in 2014

Moreover, according to the surveys, millennials would:

• buy environmentally or socially beneficial products
• offer voluntary support for a cause promoted by a trusted company
• express their views to a company regarding its CSR programs
• mention to their friends and family a company’s CSR initiatives

References:

This article was compiled using a publication by the Chartered Institute of Marketing. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses but made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the publication’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the links below:

https://exchange.cim.co.uk/infographic/millennials-love-csr/?utm_source=Exchange%20newsletter&utm_campaign=Exchange%20newsletter&utm_medium=Email&_cldee=c2ltb25AZmJyaC5ldQ%3d%3d&recipientid=contact-45545ffae8f4e4118103c4346bad1218-c1c53dcf21664731945075fba1549b47&esid=6f74b51b-5aaa-e611-80ef-5065f38bc591&urlid=2

https://www.philanthropy.com/items/biz/pdf/AflacCorporateSocialResponsibility.pdf

http://www.conecomm.com/research-blog/2015-cone-communications-millennial-csr-study

http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports/2015/the-sustainability-imperative.html

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Robert G. Eccles, Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim carried out a study exploring the impact of corporate sustainability on a company’s organizational procedures and performance, using a sample of 180 US companies divided in two groups: 90 companies identified as ‘High Sustainability’ companies, implementing environmental and social policies and initiatives over a number of years, and 90 companies identified as ‘Low Sustainability’, implementing no such policies or initiatives.

‘High Sustainability’ companies outperform ‘Low Sustainability’ ones

• According to the study, ‘High Sustainability’ firms ‘are able to attract better human capital, establish more reliable supply chains, avoid conflicts and costly controversies with nearby communities (i.e., maintain their license to operate), and engage in more product and process innovations in order to be competitive under the constraints that the integration of social and environmental issues places on the organization’.

• Stock market performance: The study is quite clear on how ‘High Sustainability’ firms outperform ‘Low Sustainability’ ones: ‘Investing $1 in the beginning of 1993 in a value-weighted (equal-weighted) portfolio of High Sustainability firms would have grown to $22.6 ($14.3) by the end of 2010. In contrast, investing $1 in the beginning of 1993 in a value-weighted (equal-weighted) portfolio of control firms would have only grown to $15.4 ($11.7) by the end of 2010.’

• ‘High Sustainability firms generate significantly higher stock returns, suggesting that indeed the integration of such issues into a company’s business model and strategy may be a source of competitive advantage for a company in the long-run. A more engaged workforce, a more secure license to operate, a more loyal and satisfied customer base, better relationships with stakeholders, greater transparency, a more collaborative community, and a better ability to innovate may all be contributing factors to this potentially persistent superior performance in the long-term.’

References:

1) http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/SSRN-id1964011_6791edac-7daa-4603-a220-4a0c6c7a3f7a.pdf

2) http://www.fbrh.eu/en/csr-sustainability-facts-and-research

Note by the editor: This article was compiled using published information by the Harvard Business School which is located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses but made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the article’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the original link: http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=47307

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Hewitt Associates, a human resources consulting and outsourcing firm, in the context of the 2010 Best Employers in Canada and Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada studies, surveyed more than 100,000 employees from 230 companies and organizations in Canada, as regards their employers’ commitment to environmental protection.

Canada’s ‘Green 30’

• As a result of the survey, a list of Canada’s ‘Green 30′ organizations was published: organizations whose employees have the most positive views regarding their employers’ environmental protection strategies and initiatives.

• Approximately 86% of ‘Green 30′ employees positively appreciated their employers’ environmental initiatives  Tweet This!, while at the 30 organizations with the least positive assessments, that percentage was 58%.

Green policies matter to employees

According to Neil Crawford, leader of the Best Employers in Canada study, ’employees really see the difference when their employer is focused on developing and implementing environmentally-conscious policies and practices’. In fact, as Crawford explains, ‘effective green programs and practices may persuade certain employees to join or stay with an organization’.

The ‘Green 30’ are doing more

‘The Green 30 are twice as likely as the 30 lowest ranked organizations to subsidize carbon offsets for business travel, sponsor programs to reduce green house gas emissions from business operations, host events to facilitate participation in Earth Day or Earth Hour, and subsidize the costs of bike storage and/or showers for employees who cycle to work. While there are significant variations in the use of some of these practices amongst the Green 30, they all demonstrate real passion and commitment to reducing the impact of their business on the environment in the eyes of their employees’ Crawford said.

References:

1) This article was compiled using a news release by CNW Group. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses but made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the news release’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the link below:

http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/employees-identify-the-green-30-organizations-based-on-eco-friendlyprograms-and-practices-539725631.html

2) http://www.fbrh.eu/en/csr-sustainability-facts-and-research

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According to new research, based on a survey of 1,800 professionals, as well as on 40 case studies and many interviews and focus groups, a diverse workforce drives both innovation and market growth for companies  Tweet This!. The research focused on two sorts of diversity, inherent – referring to characteristics one is born with, like gender – and acquired – involving characteristics gained with experience, such as language skills.

Key findings include:

• Companies with 2-D diversity (i.e. companies whose leaders showed no less than three inherent and three acquired diversity characteristics) outperformed and out-innovated the competition. Employees from these companies were 45 percent more likely to report that their company’s market share increased during the preceding year and 70 more likely to report that their company captured a new market.

• When at least one member of any team shares common characteristics with the end user, the whole team better understands the user: a team with a member who shares the same ethnicity with a client was found to be 152 percent more likely, compared to other teams, to understand that client.

• Creating a “speak up” culture is key to fostering innovation, as, according to the research, in such a culture employees were “3.5 times as likely to contribute their full innovative potential”.

References:

This article was compiled using a Harvard Business Review article. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses but made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the article’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the link below:

https://hbr.org/2013/12/how-diversity-can-drive-innovation

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A new study on workplace diversity, co-authored by MIT economist Dr. Sara Ellison, indicates that gender-diverse teams are more productive compared to single-gender ones  Tweet This!.

According to Ellison, “a more diverse set of employees means you have a more diverse set of skills,” which may well “result in an office that functions better” – despite the fact that individual employees may, in fact, be happier when working with people of the same sex.

Employees in single-sex offices “might be happier, they might be more comfortable, and these might be cooperative places, but they seem to perform less well”, Ellison said. Just as “a baseball team entirely composed of catchers could have high esprit de corps,” but, at the same time, “would not perform very well on the field”.

The study found that switching from a single-sex office to a gender-diverse one, would increase revenues by approximately 41%.

It is worth noting that, according to the study, employees “may like the idea of a diverse workplace more than they like actual diversity in the workplace” and that this perception, that a company embraced diversity, is not enough, to lead to improved performance. “In offices where people thought the firm was accepting of diversity, they were happier and more cooperative,” Ellison said. “But that didn’t translate into any effect on office performance.”

References:

This article was compiled using a publication by MIT News. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses but made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the publication’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the link below:

http://news.mit.edu/2014/workplace-diversity-can-help-bottom-line-1007

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The “Better Business, Better World” report by the Business and Sustainable Development Commission (BSDC) presents a sustainable business model, focused on the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, that, if embraced by businesses across the globe, will prove immensely beneficial environmentally, socially and businesswise.

“At a time when our economic model is pushing the limits of our planetary boundaries and condemning many to a future without hope, the Sustainable Development Goals offer us a way out.” (Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, and a commissioner.)

According to the “Better Business, Better World” report by the Business and Sustainable Development Commission (BSDC) sustainable business practices – with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, or Global Goals, as a point of reference – will, in the near future, create, for corporations, tremendous market opportunities in four economic systems.

These four economic systems are:

• food and agriculture
• cities
• energy and materials
• health and well-being

As the report stresses, the transition, by businesses globally, to a sustainable growth model will not be effortless or uneventful. Quite the contrary, it will be “disruptive, with big risks as well as opportunities at stake”. But very rewarding, too, as “businesses adopting this plan will transform their own prospects and could outperform those stuck in yesterday’s economic game: this is about return on capital, not just responsibility”.

Key points of the “Better Business, Better World” report by the BSDC include:

• “First movers” (companies that already act in accordance with the Global Goals) will enjoy a 5 to 15 year advantage

• Achieving the Global Goals will create, for businesses, opportunities worth US$12 trillion by 2030  Tweet This!, with more than 50% of these opportunities located in developing countries

• 15 of 60 market “hot spots” in the four economic systems identified by the BSDC account for 50% of this economic “prize”

• 380 million new jobs could be created by 2030, by achieving the Global Goals in these four economic systems – 90% of which in developing countries

• Progress on all Global Goals must be achieved for all the benefits to materialize

• Sustainability is profitable: attracting employees, investors and customers, creating, through innovation, new business opportunities, achieving cost savings and better financial performance are just some of the benefits enjoyed by sustainable businesses

• A number of innovative companies are already benefiting from the opportunities opened up by the Global Goals

Identify > Measure > Manage > Change, using the world’s gold standard for sustainability reporting to achieve your goals

GRI is a non-profit organization working in the public interest towards a vision of a sustainable global economy. GRI supports and guides businesses, governments and other organizations in perceiving, understanding and communicating the impact of business on major, critical sustainability issues. Issues such as climate change, human rights, corruption and many others.

The goal of GRI and sustainability reporting is to promote change towards a sustainable economy by helping organizations to set goals, measure performance, and manage change.

Key facts:

• Over 80% of the world’s largest 250 corporations issue Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reports using GRI’s Sustainability Reporting Standards
• GRI has global strategic partnerships with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Global Compact, with its framework enjoying synergies with the guidance of the International Finance Corporation, the International Organization for Standardization’s ISO 26000, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the Earth Charter Initiative
• GRI is focused on taking action on what matters where it matters: companies identify their impacts on the environment and stakeholders, measure, set targets, take action to minimize their negative impacts and increase their positive impacts, report the outcomes in their CSR report
• Under the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2010 the UN Global Compact adopts the GRI Guidelines as the recommended reporting framework for companies to communicate on progress made
• 17 Sustainable Development Goals: The guide “SDG Compass – The guide for business action on the SDGs”, jointly developed by GRI, the UN Global Compact and the WBCSD, details how companies can take action to solve our world’s most pressing problems.

Learn how Today’s Best-Run Companies are achieving Economic, Social and Environmental Success and How You Can Too, [CBC show=”y” country=”cy, gr, tr, il, eg, lb”] by joining the next 2-day FBRH GRI Certified Training Course [/CBC].
[CBC show=”n” country=”cy, gr, tr, il, eg, lb”] by joining the next 2-day FBRH GRI Certified Training Course [/CBC].

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

FBRH GRI Standards Certified and ISEP approved Sustainability Course | Venue: London LSE

By registering for the next 2-day FBRH GRI-Standards Certified and ISEP approved Course you will be taking the first step in gaining the many benefits of sustainability reporting.

References:

This article was compiled using a report by the Business and Sustainable Development Commission. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses but made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the links below:

http://138.197.42.254/uploads/BetterBiz-BetterWorld.pdf

http://businesscommission.org/news/release-sustainable-business-can-unlock-at-least-us-12-trillion-in-new-market-value-and-repair-economic-system

The post BSDC: Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals will create, for businesses, opportunities worth US$12 trillion appeared first on SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine.

This case study is based on the 2015 Plan A Report by M&S published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate that CSR/ sustainability reporting done responsibly is achieved by identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment and stakeholders and by measuring, managing and changing.

Abstract

M&S has launched a range of employability programmes aimed at unemployed young people.  Tweet This! M&S did this in order to give them the skills and confidence needed to find a job and, more specifically, took  action to:

• support youth employment at M&S through the Make Your Mark and Marks & Start programmes
•  promote youth employment outside M&S
• create vocational training and work experience opportunities for young people through Movement to Work

The post Case study: How Marks & Spencer helps young people into work by opening up vocational training and work placement opportunities appeared first on SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine.

In 2015 American insurance company Aflac & LightSpeed GMI conducted a survey, in which 6,000 consumers and 355 investment professionals were asked their views about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs and initiatives by businesses. Key findings were as follows:

• 79% of consumers believed companies committed to ethical business practices outperformed others in their sector

• 81% of consumers would choose to buy from a company involved in philanthropic activities constantly – not only in difficult times

• 92% of millennials (18- to 34-year-olds) would prefer to buy from a company committed to business ethics

• 69% of consumers would invest in an ethical company

• A company’s commitment to CSR and corporate ethics is the second highest priority – after salary – for consumers, as regards a potential employer

• 75% of consumers would prefer to work for a company with solid CSR practices

• 82% of millennials, and 74% of all consumers, would strive to be employed by a company recognized for its commitment to ethical business practices

References:

This article was compiled using a survey by American insurance company Aflac & LightSpeed GMI. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses but made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the survey’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the link below:

https://www.philanthropy.com/items/biz/pdf/AflacCorporateSocialResponsibility.pdf

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Four major consumer trends were recently identified by market research firm Mintel, affecting both consumer behaviour and how businesses engage with shoppers, and two relate to sustainability:

Bad business practices do not go unnoticed by consumers

• Consumers, increasingly aware of their rights, using digital platforms to express their views on companies, brands and products, pay greater attention to corporate practices and policies, feeling empowered to condemn and, possibly, change bad company practices:
  • Company policies, such as a company’s ethical treatment of workers (44%) significantly influence consumers in their purchasing choices
  • In the US, for 82% of restaurant customers the fair treatment of its employees will influence them in choosing a restaurant
  • In the UK, for 79% of consumers a clothing company’s returns policy will affect them in their shopping decisions

Consumers expect companies to care more about the environment

• Consumers across the globe increasingly care about emissions, urban pollution and the environmental impact of products, alongside a company’s environmental protection initiatives, using technology (relevant apps) that enables them to examine a product’s environmental performance:
  • 76% of UK adults consider the green credentials of products they buy, together with manufacturing and distribution practices and a company’s or brand’s reputation
  • 64% of US consumers expect companies to be more environmentally friendly
  • For 91% of Brazilian consumers, “green actions from companies can really have an effect on the world’s environment”
  • 41% of US consumers said they care about the environmental impact of products they buy

References:

This article was compiled using a report by Mintel. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses but made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the link below:

http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/social-and-lifestyle/mintel-identifies-four-key-uk-consumer-trends-for-2015

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