I
attended this week’s 3BL Forum themed Brands
Taking Stands – What’s Next and heard from more than 90 corporate responsibility
professionals and NGO experts over two amazing days.
Given
this is the height of conference season and we can’t all be everywhere, I
wanted to share a few of the learnings and comments that I found particularly insightful.
Enjoy!
Does
it ever feel like you are being pressured to
sign on to every petition and join in every cause? Well Eileen Boone,
EVP of Corporate Social Responsibility, CVS Health, thinks differently. She
shared with attendees her perspective: “Just because it’s the issue of the day doesn’t
mean you have to jump in…If you can’t bring resources to the issue , don’t do
it. People will see it’s not authenticate.“
Whoever said CSR was easy? “Being in the CSR space, is a
challenge. Every side of every issue is going to get more sophisticated going
forward,” said Tim McClimon, President, American Express Foundation and SVP, American
Express.
Timberland shared details of its recently launched Nature Needs Heroes campaign
which seeks to inspire a greening
movement among consumers. What’s
different about the campaign is that it involves consumers. “The
campaign is a call-to-action to engage people in small, everyday actions that
make a difference and help create a greener world,” Atlanta McIlwraith, Senior
Manager of Community Engagement and Communication, Timberland, shared.
"The small actions add up, and as many people do small actions, you get a
movement—and it is movements that change the world."
Is it
possible for a perfume to solve the world’s greatest challenges? According to Kip
Cleverley, Vice President of Global Sustainability at International
Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), it is. Speaking during the
first day of 3BL Forum, Cleverley shared his company’s pursuit to focus not
simply on doing less bad – for example, by reducing water use,
something they have done – but by doing more good. And what’s
really cool is he’s working with actress and environmentalist Michele Pfeiffer
to do it. Curious? Read more in my Triple Pundit coverage.
Perhaps
my favorite speaker of the Forum – and not just because he gave out free ice
cream to all attendees, although that certainly helped – was Matthew
McCarthy, CEO of the iconic brand Ben & Jerry’s, who said “If your company
is not doing something to deal with a global issue it is probably dead.”
While I am
all for plant-based diets, I was interested to hear from Stewart Leeth, VP
of Regulatory Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer at Smithfield Foods,
that they are working with local farms in their supply chain to convert manure
into biogas to create a second revenue source for struggling U.S. farmers.
Amanda Gardiner, Director of Social Responsibility at Verizon, announced
that the company is working on a new CSR framework that will be based on “radical
transparency” and partnerships and will include new targets. Not surprising given
the refreshing focus on CSR by their new CEO Hans Vestberg. Watch out for an
announcement next year.
According to the
new 2019 Porter Novelli/Cone Gen Z
Purpose Study shared at the Forum, Gen Zers believe they are the
key to pushing forward on the world’s top social and environmental issues, from
climate change to gun control. And they are willing to roll up their
sleeves and participate. Around three-quarters stand ready to support companies
that care in a variety of ways, including: sharing their positive opinion about
a company doing good (85 percent), buying a product with a social or
environmental benefit (84 percent) and learning what they can do to make a
difference (also 84 percent). Check out my article on Triple Pundit for more details.
Kimberly
Davis, EVP, Social Impact at the National Hockey League, shared how the League is helping
local ice rink operators and owners invest in new sustainable, energy efficient
technologies so they can stay open. And the NHL is offering tips on how fans can be more sustainable in
their lives. Very cool.
And last but not least, I loved a quote from Mona Amodeo,
Author of Beyond Sizzle: The Next Evolution of Branding, who said she likes
to think of the shift in focus from “looking at a company’s environmental
footprint – measuring negative impacts -- to focusing on their environmental
handprint – measuring positive impacts.”