Leadership

Which brands are taking a moral stance by boycotting "Davos in the Desert"?

Twenty years ago, Fair Trade USA’s Founder and CEO Paul Rice brought an idea from his field work in Nicaragua to a one-room office in Oakland, California. What started with coffee and conviction – and not much else – is now the leading market-based model of sustainable production, trade and consumption.

Our advances in sustainability and IT solutions would not be possible without our diverse employee base and inclusive culture. We recognize the power of human difference to drive progress across our business and the communities we serve, and we continue to adapt our Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) journey to foster an inclusive culture that celebrates these differences. This inclusive culture, coupled with our EPIC2 values, helps us attract and retain the best talent, ultimately delivering the most innovative IT solutions to our customers.

The Global Engagement Forum: Live 2018 has reached full capacity. Hosted by PYXERA Global, the Forum will convene more than 300 leaders and innovators in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area October 10 & 11. Leaders and experts from business, government, and nonprofit organizations will come together for two days of collaboration around specific global challenges within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

We are witnessing a new development in the Brands Taking Stands movement: States defining themselves as “brands” by adopting definitive positions on social and political issues that are intertwined with business.

We are witnessing a new development in the Brands Taking Stands movement: States defining themselves as “brands” by adopting definitive positions on social and political issues that are intertwined with business.

The collision of principle and policy in current affairs has just ratcheted up several notches in intensity. The reason? The latest round of tariffs on Chinese goods imported into the U.S. that takes direct aim at profits at a number of the largest multinationals. After losing the lobbying battle to stave off this latest round, these companies are going public with their protests, hoping to encourage a rollback by taking a collective stand against a policy that hits their bottom line.

If you’ve been following our content this year, you’ve likely heard us mention a concept called “The Knitting Factor,” which brings together three key conditions that enable skills-based engagements between the private and nonprofit sectors to create strengthened, sustainable solutions that don’t come undone when partners part ways. There are three key characteristics that make up The Knitting Factor, but for skills-based volunteering to become truly transformative, organizations need to find the “sticky” relationships that enable companies and nonprofits to drive progress on both mission and business-related goals.

At Common Impact, we’ve seen first-hand how leveraging skills-based volunteering to create intentional and thoughtful development opportunities for nonprofit staff can solve this challenge. Skilled volunteerism can be a great way to invest in talent, without having to seek the funding for it.

Common Impact, a nonprofit organization that pioneered corporate skills-based volunteering is launching a new podcast – Pro Bono Perspectives. Hosted by CEO Danielle Holly, Pro Bono Perspectives is the latest in a series of new Common Impact initiatives focused on showcasing the people, organizations and ideas that are shaping new models for purpose-driven work.