Another significant programme is our Corporate Service Corps - we have sent 2,200 IBM volunteers over the past 5 years to work on economic and humanitarian issues with partners in government, NGOs and universities
http://www.ibm.com/ibm/responsibility/corporateservicecorps/
http://www.ibm.com/ibm/responsibility/corporateservicecorps/pdf/CSC-Benefits_Infographic.pdf?ce=ISM0032&ct=swg&cmp=ibmsocial&cm=h&cr=mf&ccy=us
A&O has a global partnership with AfriKids http://www.afrikids.org/allen--overy across our 42 offices worldwide. To date we have managed to engage 37 of our offices in the project delivering both skills and financial support to help AfriKids in its child rights work.
For us what has been key is really agreeing at the start what we each wanted to achieve from the partnership, building in lots of contact time together to share and comment on what works and what doesn't and being open to comments and criticism both ways.
We also found it made a major difference to have our people share their skills by actually working alongside AfriKids on the ground. This has been transformational for those involved. It has also enabled us to leverage far greater resource and enthusiams across our network with almost half of our offices and all our departments having had people involved on the ground.
Finally, senior leadership and engagement is key. As a an early step in the partnership we had key members of our Board and senior management team go to the project and share their skills first hand.
Hi Rachael, We have just heard of a great example of a business that took its senior leadership (150 people) to Mumbai in India. The aim of this was to really expose them to the serious challenges confronted by locals, connecting them with 15 NGOs with whom they spent half a day to try and really understand some of the barriers faced by these vulnerable communities. This is a market where they are hoping to grow their business and are clear that they need to engage and invest in the communities in which they operate. As a result they are considering the repurposing and adaptation of their products for this market.It will be really interesting to understand the sustainable impacts that they develop but the initial developments look promising.
Hi Daryl, You've got a huge Alumni of PULSE volunteers now. Its impressive. What kind of value are they bringing back in to the business. There must be such a motivation and insight as a result!
Rachael
I agree , and my colleague Chi St Francis sitting by me!- but embedding a culture of Corporate Responsibility is the way to achieve this - CSR must be embedded in mainstream business strategy and operations - not add-on
Hi Rachel,
As much as PULSE has helped GSK employees add value to critical development issues with the organisations we work with, a key aspect of PULSE is that employees come back to GSK energised with a much broader external perspective. THis helps shape our organisation so that it can be fit to meet some of the societal challenges our medicines can help meet. Employees(including me as I did PULSE in 2010) also come back with the ability to work more creatively, with less resource and greater confidence
Chris you are absolutely right, one of the key challenges is to ensure that there is senior leadership buy-in, as referenced in our last comment. Your work in Ghana to engage your senior management team is a really interesting model and we trust it is bearing fruit.
That's a really impressive investment in the issue and the business Sue. I'd be interested to hear more on that example, IF it is public?
On Q3: How can businesses use innovation in their markets, services, products, programmes, and employees etc. to transform communities?
In 2011, we launched the world’s first beer made from cassava, a root crop widely grown in Africa. This provides a great example of how innovation in our products can help economic growth and job creation in local communities. We are able to source our cassava from local smallholder farmers, which we have successfully offered training to and integrated within our supply chains. These farmers, who previously farmed for subsistence, now have a steady income
In Uganda, we have perfected a way of making beer from the local variety of sorghum. We have set up partnerships with over 8,500 local farmers, providing additional training and helping them – and local traders – reduce wastage.
Creative / Innovative thinking allows for businesses to incorporate small businesses throughout their value chains and to learn from small entrepreneurs who overcome big barriers in order to be part and succeed in the formal markets.
Celia I think these programs and your Kenya lab are interesting work. Perhaps there are some opportunities that IBM could look at software solutions for employment matching. We are currently starting a project in Mozambique, Tanzania, Rwanda to target out of school youth for employment in agricultural value chains and renewable energy and link them to companies. It also has a component of ICT solutions in agric which make agric more attractive to youth.
Chris, Starting with the Senior Management engagement in the partnership was such a wise move. And then the openness and skill sharing follows. Thanks for sharing the A&O experience.
Zahid there are some great posts in this discussion about how businesses are adapting products and business models to enable growth in new markets. IBM's Smarter Planet initiative is how we are helping our Clients make some of these transformations http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/overview/ideas/index.html?re=CS1
We also focus specifically on Smarter Cities and a philanthropic programme to help 100 cities
http://smartercitieschallenge.org/ We have supported many cities in developing markets with their strategis to manage the challenges of rapidly growing urban centres
It has really made a difference in sustaining the partnership right the way through. The other big benefit for us from a business perspective has been the chance to get senior people and junior people together spending time and identifying the challenges they each face. For our NGO partner this has meant getting a really wide range of insights into the business and being able to leverage so much more support.
Very interesting discussion. I have one more generic question about internal big business processes: how do you move from small scale CSR projects "to do good" on development, to corporate shift towards sustainability and social responsibility at the core of the business model of a company, and no longer an arm-length CSR department?
It is indeed and we are also looking to provide ongoing support to our NGO partners through bringing in our commercial clients to work with them. This not only helps them by providing continuity of support, it also means that they receive a range of complementary skills and experience. Finally, we have found it to be a great way to offer added value in our commercial relationships and help our clients scale up even further the impact they are achieving.
That brings us to the end of this live session! Thanks so much to our panel and to all those who joined the conversation. We will leave the discussion open, so please feel free to continue to share your thoughts.
For more on this topic, take a look at these blogs by Sue Adkins:
- Unlocking the Power of Business - Addressing Global Poverty
- The Power of Knowledge
- The Power of Sustainable Supply Chains
- Creating Opportunities to Overcome Poverty
Does your business create opportunities that positively address global poverty? Share your success and submit an entry to the Unilever International Award, supported by Business Fights Poverty!
I agree fully with the discussion, women and girls have to be in the focus, also for combating poverty and business have a key role in combating poverty and much to gain from social development: increased market and economic growth and stability. For Rio Monte (riomonte.org) poverty is our business, that is it is the business and matters for everybody and the MDGs and the agenda to come should be the development framework for everybody who invest in and cares for the future..
Interesting how this has impacted at all levels in the organisation Chris. It would make a good case study!
Thanks Zahid, Sue and the panel. Great discussion! Rachael
Hi,
Interesting though broad question!
I see two main sides to address global poverty through buisness:
- Helping vulnerable and low income segment get access to affordable services and products (housing, energy, water etc.)
In many cases, "social" businesses develop scalable and sustainable models to offer such services, and helping them through funding and capacity development might be part of the solution
- Helping the poor get a reliable source of income, by starting their own business. Of course, I am referring here to Microfinance, but it looks like CCT or similar schemes are much more effective to start off
As a founder of www.theImpactInvestor.net, I would like also to highlight the efforts of impact investors to channel funding to such businesses that serve the BoP and focus on solving environmental and social issues.