Aligning the capital markets more directly with the urgent needs we face as a society to halt environmental destruction and reverse decades of worsening inequality must be our priority for 2018. Alignment needs to occur at every level, across the global markets. Despite the tremendous efforts behind the Paris Climate Accord, formalization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and a long history of other efforts to change the course of climate change and inequality, we are not making nearly the progress needed. The 1,700 signatories to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, which represent $70 trillion of assets and a wave of press about environmental, social and governance-oriented investing, have not gotten us on track.
Delivering on brand relevance also requires welcoming more and different voices to the table, using our collective wisdom to solve problems together and rallying consumers and employees to take action with us as brands. When net trust in global corporations is less than zero, it is understandable that brands may feel overwhelmed and afraid to go it alone. That is why thoughtful partnerships can empower brands to tackle meaningful issues without feeling like they are straining credibility or speaking out of turn.
More than ever before, consumers want brands to put a stake in the ground. It is not simply about reacting to today’s news cycle, but rather knowing where you stand and standing strong when issues arise.
As traditional corporate philanthropy efforts have ceased to capture the love and loyalty of consumers, it is time to rethink old models of CSR and consider how your brand’s purpose can translate to more meaningful and culturally relevant efforts that excite and engage consumers.
The new opportunity for brands is not only marketing incremental product benefits, but embodying a higher purpose that serves your consumers’ aspirations for a good life by directly addressing the barriers to it.
As capitalism shifts to unite profits and purpose, most brands know how to design a great product or a reliable service. Yet many struggle when their company’s deeper mission has become muddy or even irrelevant. Brand purpose lives at the intersection of a company’s authentic reason for being and the unmet human needs that it can uniquely fulfill in the marketplace and the world. Revealing this harmonic is the key to defining your north star.
To stay relevant in a world of limited resources and mounting concerns, brands cannot simply show up and sell more stuff. Like never before, consumers expect brands to make their lives better. Doing so means understanding consumers’ struggles, needs and aspirations and addressing the issues that matter to them in meaningful ways.
A fundamental design principle in divided times is to start with empathy and listen to what people are feeling and what they desire for their lives. Empathy is fundamentally about respect. When was the last time you truly listened? When people feel ignored, or when their basic human needs are not being met, it is time for brands to start listening.
Last week, Aflac Chief Brand and Communications Officer Catherine Blades, and Reputation Institution Chief Research Officer Stephen Hahn Griffiths, discussed the findings of Aflac’s 2017 Survey on Corporate Social Responsibility with 31 television and radio stations across the country. This annual, scientific survey collects the thoughts and expectations of 1,000 consumers and investors regarding business ethics and responsibility.
Canada's leading corporations widely recognize the business opportunity in putting their brands and resources behind worthy causes, and many plan to increase their community investments, according to a new study issued by Imagine Canada and LBG (London Benchmarking Group) Canada.
We’ve just published a year-end recap of our corporate responsibility efforts at Wendy’s. Having now done this twice, it’s fair to say this is a practice we will follow on at least an annual basis. It was a busy year with encouraging progress on several fronts, and we spent a lot of time working on sustainable food issues related to the livestock in our supply chain.
Today, The Wendy's Company released its annual update on the strides made to further Wendy's® Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives related to its Food, Family and Community strategy.
When companies use the GRI Standards for their sustainability reporting, they assess their positive and negative impacts on economic, environmental and social issues, including human rights, and are transparent about the results. Transparency makes human rights information available, empowering NGOs and other stakeholders to hold companies accountable and provide access to remedy.
Cascale organizes and participates in a series of events, leveraging its position as a global convener of close to half the sector to bring together...
Diverse teams build better products — period. At GoDaddy, we make apps and services that our worldwide community of entrepreneurs can relate to. Our...
Cascale organizes and participates in a series of events, leveraging its position as a global convener of close to half the sector to bring together...
The communities where Chemours operates are also where we live, work, and play, and our mutual success is one and the same. We have a vested interest...
Trane Technologies is a global climate innovator with a clear purpose to boldly challenge what’s possible for a sustainable world. See how embedding...
Talented employees are the heart and soul of our company. We believe development inspires individuals to engage, empower, and embrace a growth mindset...
