Stories About Meaningful Connections
Found 410 stories. Page 20 of 21.
If Humanity Were a Corporation ...
LEADERSHIP - ... what would it take to make Sustainability its Brand and the Sufficiency Economy its Value? While at this moment, every social unit recognises that we all need to take action NOW, the most challenging question is always: HOW? What should be — would be — the best solution to enable us to achieve sustainability? So let’s think big and try a little thought experiment: What if humanity were a corporation — what would it take to make sustainability its brand? How can we create value that will set the framework to build a sustainable brand?
5 Most Promising Signs of Detroit's Rebirth
THE NEXT ECONOMY - Last week, Sustainable Brands staff and corporate members took a trip to Detroit to celebrate the relocation of our flagship conference in 2017. Why are we moving from San Diego to Detroit? The answer is simple: We are inspired by the city’s revitalization; it is a place of burgeoning innovation where business can thrive and create a sustainable and flourishing future — what better place to convene our community? We spent three days in the city, witnessing many promising signs of its rebirth while also witnessing the challenges and opportunities for growth that remain.
‘ASPIREist’ TV Series Showcases Real Solutions, Purpose-Driven Celebrity, Brand Projects
MARKETING AND COMMS - A new “reality feature news show,” ASPIREist, wants to inspire viewers to take action by showcasing people, projects and ideas that are making a difference. Co-hosted by six twenty and thirty-something TED Talk speakers from a variety of fields – environmentalists, activists, social entrepreneurs – the show calls itself “the new newsroom,” one for “today’s generation.”
The Power of ‘And’: 10 Guidelines for Powerful Purpose Strategy and Programming
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE - A few months back, I led a panel at the annual Points of Light conference in Houston, TX, where we discussed some very important topics along with one very small word: “and.” As in, how to bring credibility and sustainability to a company’s purpose, or how to connect strategies, concepts and people.
Standards and Businesses Coming Together in Washington to Discuss Sustainability Challenges
MARKETING AND COMMS - Over 200 of the most influential figures in sustainability standards and certification will join business leaders to share their thoughts on today’s most pressing sustainability challenges on May 10 to 11 in Washington, DC.
How a Partnership with Parley for the Oceans Is Driving Engagement at adidas
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE - Leading up to her trip to the Parley Ocean School, adidas Group designer Jasmin Bynoe was unsure of what to expect. She was about to take to the seas for a 5-day adventure in the Maldives alongside 17 of her colleagues from adidas; they would be learning about plastic pollution and what they could do to help from Parley for the Oceans educators, and it was sure to be a unique experience.
How HR, Sustainability Heads Can Partner to Embed Purpose Throughout an Organization
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE - There was a lot of discussion last week at SB’15 London around the so-called ‘aspirational generation’ - a rising generation of millennials with higher sustainability expectations of brands whose products they buy, as well as for those they work for. How to attract and retain a motivated workforce (younger and older, alike) with more stringent demands for positive purpose and impact was the core theme of Tuesday afternoon’s breakout session.
SASB's FSA Credential: Who Will Benefit from It and Why
NEW METRICS - The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) recently launched the Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting (FSA) Credential, the first of two exams that explore concepts on the materiality of sustainability information. The FSA is designed for a wide range of professionals who benefit from understanding the link between material sustainability information and a company’s financial performance, including financial and sustainability reporting teams, investors, consultants and securities lawyers.
A Deep Dive Into the Multiple ROI of Well-Run Corporate CSR Programs
NEW METRICS - As representatives from Walt Disney, Lockheed Martin and Campbell’s Soup attested on Wednesday morning at New Metrics ’15, well-run corporate sustainability programs bring multiple benefits, including increased sales, growing market value, higher employee productivity, and reduced risk exposure, among others.
How to Calculate SROI for Traditionally Overlooked Social Impacts
NEW METRICS - While quantifying and valuing the true costs and benefits of environmental impacts has matured, doing the same for social impacts remains elusive.
Money Talks – the Dark Secret of the Sustainability Event Circuit
MARKETING AND COMMS - “...almost all fortunes are made out of the capital and labour of other men than those who realise them.” - Lysander SpoonerDo you have to pay to play?If you are a sustainability practitioner and attend events on the topic – do you know the approach those events take to recruiting speakers, and do speakers have to pay to play? Do you know which experts are onstage because of their marketing budgets and which are there on merit?
How to Solve the True Cost of 'Cheap'
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - Almost exactly 2 years ago I wrote about The True Cost of ‘Cheap.’ Last week a request came for more information: could you talk more about this issue and possible solutions? Two years ago I focused on Total Cost of Quality issues and advocated we begin to include social cost in our Cost of Quality measures. The basic premise is actually a Six Sigma principle — if you can't shift the mean, shift the goal.
How Job Purposing Can Convert Your Sustainability Practices Into Superb Management
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE - “I hate my job.” It’s a sign of a warped world that most of us have heard friends, family or our own lips make this gloomy statement. Chances are that four out of every five people working for you right this minute would rather be not working. This is the percentage of global workers who are not “involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to work” — in other words, not engaged — according to Gallup. Why does this matter? Disengaged workers produce less and turn over more. As a result, companies and teams with largely disengaged workers underperform financially by more than 50 percent compared to those with mostly engaged workers.
Video Production with a Heart: How Casual Films Helps Responsible Companies Tell Their Stories
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - NYC/London-based production company Casual Films believes we have entered “a new era in branded communications.” As Managing Director Barnaby Cook asserts in a video on the company’s website: “In the future, all successful businesses will have to be sustainable.” Not only does the award-winning company help organizations tell their sustainability stories, Casual’s got one of its own, and Cook recently told us more about how his company aims to use the power of video to help responsible companies influence society and change the world.
Employee Engagement for Purpose-Driven Business 101 (or 5 Reasons Clif Bar Employees Are So Damn Happy)
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE - While more and more companies are becoming focused on a triple bottom line — in which they prioritize the health of people and planet in addition to profit — Clif Bar founder Gary Erickson took the sentiment further back in 2000, when he decided to not take a $120 million payout and instead focus on sustaining the health of five bottom lines: Business, Brand, Community, Planet and People. As CEO Kevin Cleary said during a recent “Feed Your Adventure” tour of Clif’s Emeryville headquarters: “In any given year, we incent ourselves and say we have to deliver on all of them — if you deliver on Business, but you don’t deliver on the rest, that isn’t delivering shareholder value.”
'Summit of Conscience' Presents Climate Change Action as Moral Imperative
COLLABORATION - The world’s first “summit of conscience” for the climate was held Tuesday in Paris, gathering UN officials, religious leaders and prominent global figures to urge action on climate change ahead of the COP21 meeting in December.Arnold Schwarzenegger was among those in attendance. The former California governor and actor spoke of the real threats posed by climate change.
Adventure for Good: Cotopaxi's New CIO on Truly Integrated, Effective Philanthropy
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - Last month I did a feature interview with Davis Smith, CEO of outdoor gear and apparel company Cotopaxi, and was impressed with the way the brand had managed to build sustainability and social responsibility into its business model.
Unilever Convenes Leading Companies to Share Lessons from Achieving Zero Waste
WASTE NOT - Noted sustainability leader Unilever is spearheading a movement for industrial waste reduction.Last week the CPG giant hosted an event in partnership with 2Degrees, bringing together over 100 representatives from academia, NGOs and companies, including Mars, GSK, Coca-Cola Enterprises and Sainsbury’s. Entitled “The zero waste mindset — new ways of thinking to deliver transformational change,” the event created an open discussion on moving companies to zero waste.
'The Art of Communicating Complex Ideas Simply': How Organizations Are Inspiring Consumer Action
MARKETING AND COMMS - SB ’15 San Diego’s final day plenaries centered on what many would describe as the Holy Grail of sustainability engagement: reaching people’s hearts and minds to drive sustainable change. MC’d by Annie Longsworth, founder and CEO of The Siren Agency, the day’s speakers explored topics as varied and interconnected as employee and consumer engagement, stakeholder partnerships and activist visual art.
Plenaries Explore Myriad Approaches to Creating 'Abundance Without Waste' on #SB15sd Day 3
WASTE NOT - Raphael Bemporad, Founding Partner and Chief Strategy Officer at BBMG, kicked off Wednesday’s SB ‘15 San Diego plenaries by anchoring the day’s conversation in the human story. As the day’s moderator, he asked attendees to wonder what it would mean to design brands for humans — not merely consumers — through a lens of “abundance without waste” and set the stage for plenary discussions focused on design, innovation and leadership.
