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What's a CEO to do?

What's a CEO to do?

Published 03-03-09

Submitted by Rotman School of Management - University of Toronto

TORONTO, ONTARIO. - March 3, 2009 - What's a CEO to do about increasing expectations that companies help solve the world’s social and environmental problems? Now there's a practical toolkit to help CEOs answer this difficult question.

The AIC Institute for Corporate Citizenship at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, has released the "What's a CEO to do? Toolkit,"a real-world guide that helps business leaders understand and prioritize key social and environmental issues and identify opportunities as well as potential risks.

The Toolkit expands on the work of Rotman Dean Roger Martin, who in 2002 penned the seminal article, "The Virtue Matrix," for Harvard Business Review. Authored by Rod Lohin, Executive Director, and Alison Kemper, Research Officer, of the AIC Institute, the Toolkit links Martin's theoretical framework with a real-life case: the development of a global corporate responsibility strategy for RBC Financial Group, Canada's largest company.

"Creating a corporate citizenship strategy is not an easy task, but it is a critical one for companies wanting to establish themselves or improve their performance and reputation in this area," says Shari Austin, Vice President and Head, Corporate Citizenship, RBC Financial Group, and Executive Director, RBC Foundation. "This toolkit outlines some of RBC's experiences on this journey, and we hope that it will inspire and help others to find their own way."

"It's clear that executives are under increasing pressure to ensure that the companies they lead are good corporate citizens. The Toolkit provides a decision-making model that will help executives make a coherent set of choices and build a dynamic portfolio of relevant issues and initiatives," says Dean Roger Martin, Director of the AIC Institute for Corporate Citizenship. "The goal is to produce a set of decisions and commitments that are achievable, tenable, defensible, affordable, and even profitable."

The AIC Institute has taken the unusual step of e-publishing the Toolkit with a Creative Commons license so that it can be freely downloaded and used in boardrooms and classrooms with appropriate attribution.

"We want users to adapt and apply the Toolkit in their own contexts. We are also setting up a forum for users to communicate with each other, offer suggestions, create alliances and collaborations, and help us produce the next generation of the toolkit," says Alison Kemper.

The Toolkit is available for download or in printed form. To receive a complimentary printed copy of the Toolkit or to download it, visit the AIC Institute website at www.rotman.utoronto.ca/aicinstitute.

The AIC Institute for Corporate Citizenship
aims to help current and future business leaders integrate corporate citizenship into business strategy and practices. Its activities include a dedicated research program to help senior executives make strategic decisions about the changing roles of their businesses in society, the support of academic research across management disciplines by Rotman faculty and PhDs, the development of curricula to engage students, and a wide variety of events on corporate citizenships strategies, issues and cases. The Institute was established in 2004 with the generous support of AIC Limited's Executive Chairman Michael Lee-Chin.

The Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto
is redesigning business education for the 21st century with a curriculum based on Integrative Thinking. Located in the world's most diverse city, the Rotman School fosters a new way to think that enables the design of creative business solutions. The School is currently raising $200 million to ensure Canada has the world-class business school it deserves. For more information, visit www.rotman.utoronto.ca.

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Rotman School of Management - University of Toronto

Rotman School of Management - University of Toronto

The University of Toronto's Joseph L. Rotman School of Management has set out to become one of the world's top tier business schools. Located in North America's 3rd largest financial centre, the Rotman School is taking an innovative approach to management education, built around Integrative Thinking™ and Business Design™. The AIC Institute for Corporate Citizenship was created at the Rotman School in late 2004 with the generous support of AIC Limited's Chairman Michael Lee-Chin. The purpose of the Institute is to help current and future business leaders integrate corporate citizenship into business strategy and practices.

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