LBG Canada UK Study Tour Summary

John O’Brien, Director, The Prince’s Seeing is Believing Business in the Community

Experience program:

Links:

• Seeing is Believing
• The Connections at St. Martin’s
• Smart Network

Seeing is Believing introduces CEOs and senior executives to opportunities for them/their companies have a direct impact on social issues that are affecting communities around their businesses.

Study Tour participants visited two Seeing is Believing Projects:  Connections at St. Martins in the Field and the SMart Network at the Courtauld Café at Somerset House. 

Both projects highlighted the diversity of issues to be addressed within the homeless population such as: age, health, job skills, personal circumstances, and ethnicity.   They also illustrated how skills training, opportunities for individual/artistic expression, access to healthcare, nutritional meals and job search facilities can make a difference to the short & medium term prospects of people who are homeless.  

Gareth Llewellyn, Director, Corporate Responsibility, National Grid

Presentation:

Integrating Sustainability across the Business(PDF)

National Grid’s commitment to CR is based upon the following definition:  “the contribution a company can make through responsible business practices to sustainable development.”

Gareth Llewellyn outlined:
- the categories of risk that inform NG’s CR program;
- highlighted the public initiatives in which they participate to manage their reputation;
- linked shareholder return to environmental performance;
- illustrated NG’s management framework;
- provided examples of business initiatives that fulfilled National Grid’s CI commitment;

- discussed how their community investment and LBG participation fit within the overall CR framework.

Amanda Jordan, OBE
Chair & Founding Director, The SMART Company

Informal remarks

Link:

• The SMART Company

As a founder of the London Benchmarking Group (UK), Ms. Jordan emphasized the need for CI professionals to be accountable for the shareholder dollars they control, and yet, to remain focused on essential information as measurement systems are established and implemented. 

Amanda also discussed how the LBG framework has enabled the CI function to develop management systems, strategic research programs and evaluation processes that are as effective and informative as the ones implemented by other business units. 

Robert Carter, Fundraising Director, V and Faye Skevington Advisory Board Member, v20

Presentation:
Stimulating Youth Involvement in the Community(PDF)

The UK government considers British youth as an invaluable resource that must be prepared, skilled and encouraged to contribute through their careers as well as in the communities that surround them. The British government recognizes that volunteering experience can contribute to preparedness, skill & leadership development and to the desire to further contribute through work and community service. 

As such, it has granted significant funding to v, in support of v’s goal of engaging British youth in society & communities, to create opportunities for them to learn inter-personal, communication and leadership skills, as well as more specific skills that can be acquired through volunteering.  With a goal of activating 1 million youth volunteers by 2010, v is match-making with local, national and international volunteer activities, promoting the value of youth as volunteers to organizations in need of volunteer resources, and educating youth on the personal and societal value of their contributions.

Yogesh Chauhan, Chief Adviser Corporate Responsibility, BBC

Presentation:

Despite being a public (as opposed to a private) broadcaster, the BBC is equally challenged by public mistrust of journalists and the media. Although they are not able to influence journalistic reporting, the BBC focuses on creating programming that will educate & stimulate discussion on key social and environmental issues in Britain. 

Chris Coulter, Vice-President & Director, Globescan

Presentation:
Birds Eye View(PDF)

The Globescan presentation provided an overview of how expectations of the general public re: corporate performance on CSR (including their role in the community) remains high and is growing, which is a divergence from public perception of actual performance. 

The presentation provided insight into the following areas:
- Public expectations versus perception of corporate  performance;
- Public viewpoint on sector leadership;
- Consumer activism versus consumer empowerment;
- CSR actions and communications; and
- Where people hope that companies will invest.

Government as an enabler of community involvement
(focus on corporate investment)

Pamela Webb, Head, Zurich Community Trust, Zurich Financial

Presentation:
UK Climate for Community Investment(PDF)

Since 1996, the UK Government has encouraged corporate investment in CSR broadly, as well as CI specifically.  These have included:

-Operating & Financial Review
-CSR Index
-Reporting Awards and guidance on reporting
-2000 Active Communities Challenge (employee volunteering)
-Giving campaign (raise awareness of tax relief, payroll giving, overall encouragement to give)
-Corporate Challenge (tax relief on gifts, time, equipment, stock, land, buildings, shares, securities)

LBG Model as a Management Tool for Planning, Evaluation & Reporting

Using LBG Model to develop new CI program strategy

Karen Gorham, Manager, Community Affairs, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Presentation:
Using LBG information for reporting and program decision-making(PDF)

Link:
PwC Video

PwC defines its business case for community involvement along 5 themes:

-Recruitment
-Staff development & retention
-Credibility with other stakeholders, e.g. Government
-Greater transparency and increased external reporting;
-Building PwC brand and building trust in the profession.

Karen illustrated how PwC collects community data using the LBG framework, uses the collected data for decision-making and uses the data in reporting.   As illustrated, the LBG data is presented to connect CI to staff development, credibility in business reporting, credibility with key stakeholders & government, greater transparency and increased external reporting, and building the PwC brand.

The evolution of CI as a business asset

Richard Stone, Director, Community Investment, Deloitte

Presentation:
Building core competencies through employee involvement(PDF)

Deloittes uses the LBG model as a strategic management tool.  The 4 quadrant business model at Deloitte includes community as a key component of the business’ overall CSR strategy:  (Marketplace/Environment/Workplace/Community). 

Deloittes is using their employee’s knowledge and experience to contribute to the community, while at the same time, Deloittes is designing its community program strategy to further strengthen employee knowledge and experience to enhance employee skills in serving customers. The strategy is increasing Deloittes’ ability to retain employees and compete within the ‘war on talent’.

Business engagement in tough social issues (large retail perspective)

Alexis Swimer, Community Partnerships Manager, Marks & Spencer

Presentation:
Plan A:  Because there is no Plan B(PDF)

In 2003, M&S moved away from philanthropy when it became engaged in the employability agenda as the focal point of its CI activities. 

Marks & Start is an award-winning employability program focused on homeless, disabled, young unemployed and lone parents. Each participant signs up for a 2-4 week work experience at M&S stores and office.  Over 2000 placements since 2004, 57% of participants continue to work after 12 months. Program has been recognized by the UK government as a model for how companies engage in community.

M&S considers CSR a fundamental part of all business operations.  The CSR team acts as in-house consultants across the company and reports directly to the CEO.

Business engagement in tough social issues
(entrepreneurial opportunity)

Jeff Mitchell, Co-founder
Clean Slate Training & Employment

Presentation:
A business response to a social crisis.(PDF)

This presentation was focused on the challenge of fundraising on behalf of smaller charities and in support of issues that are harder to engage people on, i.e. reducing poverty of seniors, mental health treatment & prevention, treatment & prevention of child abuse, endangered species, residential care for adults, wheelchair accessible housing, respite care, accessible holidays, support services, among others. 

Engaging potential donors in campaigns of smaller & less known charities

Sam Butler, Fundraising Manager, GIFT

Informal discussion:

Link:

• GIFT Fundraising

This presentation was focused on the challenge of fundraising on behalf of smaller charities and in support of issues that are harder to engage people on, i.e. reducing poverty of seniors, mental health treatment & prevention, treatment & prevention of child abuse, endangered species, residential care for adults, wheelchair accessible housing, respite care, accessible holidays, support services, among others. 

GIFT’s approach is effective in a market that is increasingly saturate with street-based fundraisers focused on high-profile charities. It is successful because its street vendors have in-depth knowledge of what the charity’s work is important and can convey that to prospects as they pass by on the street.  GIFT has found that British people DO care about these smaller or more niche issues, and that offering them a chance to engage is very well received.

Reflecting on the UK Study Tour Experience

David Grayson, Professor of Corporate Responsibility, Director, Doughty Centre, Cranfield University School of Management

Informal discussion

Link:

• David Grayson

David lead a wrap-up discussion examining some of the trends in CSR in Britain and in Europe.  Some key points:

The most important CSR trend in Britain is the general movement ‘away from worthy’ (i.e. away from a desire of being perceived as a good company). Companies are integrating social and environmental issues into the heart of their decision making, because the results can/are having significant impact on the operations and results.

-That the British government considers “People as the new oil”, which sheds light on the range of government initiatives (outlined by Pam Webb) that continue to shape and influence the corporate environment with regard to community investment, CSR and sustainability.

-The global divergence between the expectations for companies’ role in society and their performance is widening.  The result is a convergence of expectations re: what governments & companies are responsible for in society, particularly in countries where there is very little governance.  Therefore, it is essential that CSR initiatives are led and adopted at the board-level of a company in order to ensure that a company is not taken by surprise by expectations of their behaviour by either government or societies within which they are operating.

-With regard to community investment – corporations are the perfect testing ground for initiatives that could have significant social impact

– and appropriate for government to roll out on a larger scale.