From the Conference Trail: Justmeans and BSR

Last week I spent four days at two CSR and sustainability-related conferences. Justmeans hosted "Social Media for Sustainability" on the University of California-San Francisco campus, and I participated as a panelist on a "Corporate Activism" panel along with folks from Nike, Sodexo, and the Environmental Defense Fund. I also attended the 1,000-person Business for Social Responsibility annual conference in the Embarcadero district of San Francisco.

The Justmeans conference helped me add to BCLC's always-growing corporate-citizenship-and-social-media toolbox. While the following certainly isn't an exhaustive list of everything and everyone that was impressive at the event, I'd like to share with you a few top line resources and bits of information.

* Donors Choose – I spoke with the western regional director of Donors Choose, who describes the organization as a "Kiva for education." The website includes discussion between donors and teachers, as well as project updates. Companies including Verizon and Yahoo! have recognized this organization's capabilities and are partnering with Donors Choose.

• Intel and Sodexo – Officials from these companies reported on their respective social media policies and practices, including CSR micro-reporting from regional levels across the world (Intel) and the process of "overcoming the fear of activism" and developing a social media policy to engage stakeholders in transparent conversation (Sodexo)
• RecycleBank – Entrepreneurial, innovative, good for communities and the environment; this company partners with municipal governments to haul away household recycling and to measure the value of each resident's recyclables. Points are earned based on the volume of recyclables, which can be redeemed by residents on RecycleBank's online network of 2,400+ retailers. The company has been recognized by the UN Environmental Program.
• Social Innovation Awards – Presented by the Financial Times and Justmeans, the second annual Social Innovation Awards showcase cutting-edge examples from companies and nonprofits in the following nine categories: Finance, Purchasing, Product Design, Philanthropy, Supply Chain, Sales, Operations, Communications, and Human Resources.

For more insight from conference participants, visit Twitter and search using "#justmeans."

BSR convened an extensive group of professionals from companies, consultancies, NGOs, and governments representing both the United States and other countries. While discussions – in both formal sessions and during networking – volleyed among aspirations for the future, case studies from the present, and criticisms of some existing practices and perceptions, one particularly thought-provoking conversation took place on Wednesday morning.

Ernst Ligteringen, CEO of the Global Reporting Initiative (and a past BCLC speaker), and Ricardo Young, Chairman of Ethos Institute, joined BSR President Aron Cramer in a forecast of sustainability issues in a "reset world."

To summarize Young: The global economic crisis was a blessing, causing companies to rethink and reset their course. Going forward, transparency is needed and bold companies must lead.

And in summary of Ligteringen: It is no longer "business as usual." To lead in their industries, companies should take a systematic approach to seeking unusual partners and to creating dialogue between business and stakeholders.

One question to the panelists from moderator Cramer caught my ear: With so much attention on climate change, what issues are we not thinking about? The panelists suggested poverty reduction/bottom of the pyramid (BOP) issues, as well as ecological deficit, prior to delving into the question of whether today's "incumbent" companies are the right ones to address them.

However, I'd like to add to the list of issues we need to pay attention to, as we, as a global community, continue to take measures to reduce our impact on the environment. At BCLC we know the challenge for public-private partnerships is to work across sector lines and within areas of mutual benefit to advance sustainability on three intertwined fronts – economic strength, social progress, and environmental stewardship. Here are my additions to the list:

• Anti-corruption/rule of law – Chamber-affiliate CIPE (Center for International Private Enterprise), AccountAbility, Trace International, Transparency International, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation are among the leading organizations working with companies and countries to advance governance and eliminate corruption.
• Economic empowerment and entrepreneurial development – Certainly closely related to BOP issues, the empowerment of women, informal sector workers, and young entrepreneurs deserves comment. IBM, KPMG, and Microsoft, among others, have taken bold approaches to developing the spirit of entrepreneurism and the ability to make a living in communities across the world.
• Education – A plethora of companies are working on education and teacher quality, as well as skills training, including Chevron, Discovery, Proctor & Gamble, and Siemens Corporation. Without skilled employees to fill the jobs required to innovate, companies face a talent deficit that could lead to their demise.
• Emergency resiliency – In an era of frequent natural disasters, food and water shortages, pandemics, and the threat of terrorism, communities need the ability to mitigate severe consequences, respond efficiently, and swiftly get back to business as usual. The Dow Chemical Company, Office Depot Foundation, the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, and the U.S. State Department are examples of leading organizations involved in community resiliency efforts.
• Preventable disease –The economic impact of preventable diseases such as AIDS and TB are well known to companies operating in some developing communities. Abbott, Daimler, Eli Lilly and Company, and GlaxoSmithKline are among the many companies working to bolster community and economic development through disease management and so too is the Gates Foundation.

Again, check out Twitter (#bsrconf09) for more insight from attendees.

Just like BCLC's recent Global Corporate Citizenship Conference, the conversations at both Justmeans and BSR showed that companies, with their NGO and government partners, are grappling with tough issues, struggling to set the right priorities that will set them on a successful course in the "reset" world, and seeking out ways to "do well and do good."

~ Kitty Taylor is Online and Editorial Advisor, BCLC