WIN-WIN PARTNER BULLETIN
This bulletin is made possible through support from the
Ford Foundation Corporate Involvement Initiative Summer 2002
CII Grantee Research/Reports
Corporate Involvement Reports
Partner Updates/Announcements
CII Grantee Research/Reports
Hard Work on Soft Skills- Successful Strategies for Incorporating Basic Employability Skills Into Training Programs
In National Association of Manufacturer's recent Skills Gap 2001 report, 69 percent of respondents said that inadequate basic employability skills (attendance, timeliness, work ethic, etc.) were the reason they rejected job applicants, and 59 percent said their current hourly workers lacked these skills. A new report from Public/Private Ventures (PPV) describes the efforts of four organizations that have developed sophisticated strategies that suffuse employability skill development along with job- skills training. Understanding and adapting to the norms of the workplace are important to long-term success in the labor market. These programs prepare participants to meet these challenges by incorporating work ethic, courtesy, teamwork, self-discipline and language proficiency in their training strategies. The report is available on Public/Private Ventures's Web site at http://www.ppv.org/pdffiles/softskills.pdf
The Business of Enterprise
The International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) has published 'The Business of Enterprise'. The report brings together a selection of case studies highlighting ways in which large companies are fostering local economic development by sharing their knowledge, skills and technology with small and medium sized enterprises. The book highlights the benefits that flow from these linkages between companies, provides a useful reference of examples of good practice and suggests frameworks within which new initiatives can be planned. The book includes 24 company case studies showing best practice around the world. For more information, go to: http://www.iblf.org/csr/csrwebassist.nsf/content/f1c2a3g4.html
Innovation through Partnership Report
Institute for Social and Ethical AccountAbility in association with Brody Weiser Burns released report Innovation through Partnership. The report includes 4 case studies from IBM, Tesco, LIFT and Verizon, which highlights the way in which companies have utilized their engagement with the community to be more responsive to the community and innovate new products/services. For a copy of the report go to: www.fordpartners.org
Corporate Social Responsibility and Competitiveness of Nations
Institute for Social and Ethical AccountAbility (AccountAbility) are currently conducting a project that is seeking to assert the competitive advantage that results to cities/regions/nations through corporate involvement in community economic development and corporate accountability. AccountAbility has published an exploratory first phase of work. They are very is currently expanding the research on this subject would like to hear from Ford CII grantees that have done some work in this area. For a copy of the first phase report, go to: www.fordpartners.org If you are interested in sharing your experiences in this area please contact AccountAbility at: +44 (207) 549.0400 or email John Sabapathy at: john@accountability.org.uk
The Private Sector's Role in Development a Response to Recent Criticism
Several critics have recently suggested that business should play no part in the United Nations led 'Financing for Development' (FfD) process - a global initiative to make progress on poverty reduction and other development goals in the least developed nations. They criticized multinational businesses in particular for encouraging and benefiting from lower labor and environmental standards that exist in developing countries, before and during the FfD summit in Monterrey, Mexico last month. These skeptics argue that until some form of global regulation comes into force, led by inter-governmental organizations such as the UN, the private sector will have a limited and largely negative impact on the future development of the world's poorest countries. For more information, go to: http://www.iblf.org/csr/csrwebassist.nsf/content/b1j2.html
Banking on Technology: Expanding Financial Markets and Economic Opportunity
Written by Bob Weissbourd of RW Ventures and Perpetual Motion was released by the Brookings Institution and the Financial Services Roundtable. This reports highlights the dramatic changes in financial services and the many ways that these changes can give rise to better access for low-income consumers. The report closely examines lower-income financial service markets and the many opportunities that are now available for increasing access to financial services for these communities. For copy of the report go to: www.fordpartners.org
The Role of Government in Advancing Corporate Sustainability
David Bell's paper lays out some of the areas where government action is now required. This article appeared in the May 2002 edition of SustainAbility Radar.
http://www.sustainability.com/news/articles/core-team-and-network/david-bell-government.asp
Digital Corporate Citizenship: The Business Response to the Digital Divide
The Ford Foundaiton provided funding to support the research for this book. Craig Smith of Harvard University closely examines the management innovations being achieved by the largest converged media corps (AOL Time Warner, Microsoft, AT&T, HP Compact, etc.) as they seek to extend their strategies to non-affluent populations through e-commerce and other technology. The author suggests that these companies are coming to understand that they need much deeper ties with governments and NGOs in order to extend their strategies beyond high-end markets.
Building Partnerships
The book is a product of a joint initiative of the UN Global Compact and the UN Department of Public Information in cooperation with The Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum. It illustrates how the UN System, private sector and civil society are working together on range of critical global issues. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the growing cooperation between the United Nations and the business community in tackling a range of development challenges in the pursuit of broad UN goals. For more information go to: www.iblf.org.
Corporate Involvement Reports
Industry as a Partner for Sustainable Development: Tourism Report
In anticipation of next year's World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, the travel and tourism industry is taking stock of what it has accomplished since the Rio summit. The Tourism Industry (with the assistance of Business Enterprises for Sustainable Travel - BEST) prepared a report on its role in furthering sustainable development. Tourism as a Partner for Sustainable Development outlines what companies, communities, and governments have accomplished since the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, and the strategies that are required in the future to ensure sustainability. For copies of the full report visit: http://www.uneptie.org/outreach/wssd/sectors/tourism/tourism.htm
http://www.uneptie.org/outreach/wssd/sectors/tourism/tourism.htm
Council on Foundations Study Shows Company Philanthropy Boosts Loyalty
According to a research sponsored by the (http://www.cof.org) Council on Foundations, favorable perceptions of a company's philanthropy are a significant factor in driving the behavioral loyalty of its shareholders, employees, and customers. Using a metric called the Corporate Philanthropy Index (CPI), the 2001 National Philanthropy Benchmark Study categorized its respondents into two groups -- High CPI and Low CPI -- based on whether they perceived a company's philanthropy favorably or unfavorably. Among shareholder respondents in the High CPI group, 63 percent said they were "truly loyal," meaning they would continue to invest in the company and recommend it to others as an investment, compared with only 25 percent in the Low CPI group. Similarly, 40 percent of High CPI employees were rated "truly loyal," meaning they felt positively toward the company and planned to stay, compared with only 10 percent of Low CPI employees. For more information about the study, visit: http://www.measuringphilanthropy.com
The Virtue Matrix: Calculating the Return on Corporate Responsibility
This article expands on a framework for corporate engagement in society that evolved during discussions at Aspen ISIB's Business Leaders Dialogue in July 2001. Roger Martin, Dialogue participant and Dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, authored the piece. The article contributes to the wide-ranging and important debate about the appropriate role of the global corporation. A summary of the article is available on Harvard Business Review's website, www.hbr.com.
CII Partner Updates/Announcements
Laufer Green Isaac Launches new "Win-Win" Website
Laufer Green Isaac launches www.winwinpartner.com for business executives and media. Winwinpartner.com highlights profitable investment of corporate resources in low-income communities. The new Web site features examples of major corporations' successful win-win strategies including American Express, Bank of America, Chevron, IBM, Pfizer Inc., Timberland, and many others. The site positions the Ford Foundation's CII Grantees (Partners) as value-added resources to business, offering descriptions of each organization, and upcoming research, publications, events, and relevant links to drive qualified traffic to Partner Web sites. Partners are asked to continue contributing to the Expert Resources and Publications section of the site by forwarding information on new research, publications, and events to lgi@lauferpr.com.
People and Profits: The search for a link between a company's social and financial performance
Dr. Jim Walsh of Michigan University and Dr. Josh Margolis of Harvard University wrote this report, which explores the links between social impact on management and the bottom line. This research work was supported by a grant from Aspen ISIB under in connection with their program to support innovators in business schools. The report is an informative guide that utilizes a compilation of 95 studies published since 1972 to shed light on the relationship between corporate social and financial performance. It features a helpful database that details the content of each study. To order, visit www.erlbaum.com or call +1 (201) 236-9500.
National Housing Trust (NHT)
(NHT) will be able to attain Community Development Financial Institution status for their new loan fund, NHT Community Development Fund. The Fund, using some of Ford funds and some of their own funds, will provide financing for nonprofit borrowers to pursue and finance housing preservation transactions. To date, NHT has already made 11 loans; all of which are current. Our $1 million has been leveraged over $100 million in private funding, which helped in financing, and preserved and improved over 1000 affordable apartments.
Moral Dilemma
Check out www.BusinessWeek.com/mediacenter/list/current01.htm for Business Week's Roundtable discussion featuring Judy Samuelson of Aspen ISIB and Rush Kidder of the Institute for Global Ethics. Business Week Managing Editor, Mark Morrison moderated the session, which covered topics that ranged from whether the public is witnessing something new in the current fall from grace of Enron, Anderson and Tyco, or if we are just paying more attention. The segment also covered the implications these new developments may have for business education. (The video feed was taped live on June 11, 2002)
Business Enterprises for Sustainable Travel (BEST)
BEST held it's second Global Think Tank: Promoting Sustainable Travel and Tourism Education. The purpose was to develop offerings that integrate sustainability into existing programs. More information about the results of this think tank and conference in Hawaii can be found at: www.sustainabletravel.org
Institute for Social and Ethical AccountAbility
Enhancing the credibility of social, ethical and environmental reporting - The consultation document for the AA1000S Assurance Standard: Guiding Principles, the first of the new AA1000S modules, was released at an AccountAbility event in London on June 12th. The release initiates an intensive 3-month consultation process, which will include workshops and web-based forums up until the final launch in September. For more information go to: http://www.accountability.org.uk/news/default.asp?id=10
New CII Partners and Grantees
The Ford Foundation Corporate Involvement Initiative welcomes several new grantees and partners, adding to the expanding group of organizations working to further the understanding and practice of engaging business in social change. The new partners include:
Conference Update
A complete list of CII related conferences/events are available at: www.fordpartners.org.