In 2007 Booz Allen Hamilton set out to help small nonprofits in the Washington, D.C. area gain access to expert advice and guidance on management and fundraising that was otherwise unattainable for them due to cost. In the four years since, the Booz Allen Hamilton Nonprofit Development Conference Series has grown exponentially and now successfully serves more than 400 unique nonprofit organizations with top tier guest speakers from around the metropolitan area who provide the sorely needed advice and guidance.

The key to this successful innovation, according to Joseph Suarez, Executive Advisor, Community Partnerships & Philanthropy, is to trade on Booz Allen’s intellectual capital and to do what they do naturally as consultants – identify problem areas and then leverage intellectual capacity to address those challenges. Suarez calls intellectual capital the “sweet spot of Booz Allen.” Read the rest of this entry »

Sustainability reporting is increasing at a fast pace here in the United States. Since the Global Reporting Initiative was launched in 1997, the number of reporting organizations in our country has increased tenfold. It’s true that multinationals reporting on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in the U.S. lag behind our global counterparts. However, it’s encouraging to see an increase in reporting uptake – not just because this allows stakeholders to better understand corporate impacts, but also because reporting in its best form should be a tool that aids strategy development, target setting, and business management.

Since the early days when standards were first created to guide corporations’ communication of ESG impacts and issues, the details, mediums, and audiences for sustainability reports have changed. What started out as backward-looking accountability statements primarily covering environmental impacts and corporate philanthropy, has evolved into robust corporate evaluations of material impacts – which are now vetted through stakeholder bodies and include a balanced account of progress, challenges, and forward-looking and aspirational targets (in their best form).

Timberland has been experimenting with different mediums for some time. We issued our first CSR report back in 2000 – a short, printed document focused on community service, employee engagement, and overview information about our social and environmental programs. Fast forward to 2007 when we released our 2006 CSR report – our last annual, printed “accountability statement.” In today’s era of increasing information and stakeholder requests, I’m often asked “who’s reading these reports, and what are they accomplishing?” One could argue that our 19-page report in 2000 was accessible, easy to understand, and inclusive of many stakeholder interests (although light on data by today’s standards). By comparison, our 2006 report (which was 180 pages long and won several awards for best-in-class disclosure) was full of possibly too much information for different audiences to easily access what they had specific interest in.

There’s continued debate about whether or not a single sustainability report can satisfy the needs of multiple stakeholders – that is, employees, NGOs, issue experts, critics, partners, peer companies, investors, analysts, consumers, communities, workers, media, governments … the list goes on!  Different stakeholders have different interests in EGS data, programs, and strategies. Being accountable to all of these stakeholders requires engagement, partnership, and dialogue – much more than simply producing a report. Yet the reporting process can inform these audiences, and I encourage companies to start by determining which groups are core to their business success. Target your reporting approach for these key groups, and ensure others can easily find information so they aren’t left out.

So how does a company balance the need for more information, while also maintaining credibility and relevance? At Timberland, we’ve continued our experimentation with different reporting formats. Our evolving reporting and communication approach reflects an evolving and improved sustainability strategy for managing risk, creating value and increasing consumer relevance – components that are necessary for our entire business model to succeed.

Whether you are a first-time reporter or have been at it for years, here are my top five tips for effectively leveraging reporting as a management and communication tool:

1. Ensure your report reflects material impacts – The GRI advises that “the information in a report should cover topics and indicators that reflect the organization’s significant economic, environmental, and social impacts, or that would substantively influence the assessments and decisions of stakeholders.” A credible report should cover such impacts, and by engaging stakeholders in a materiality assessment process, you can prioritize resources and reporting topics. Ford Motor Company has been producing an excellent Materiality Matrix for years.
2. Consider different stakeholders’ entry points and interests – Different stakeholder groups read reports for different reasons. A detailed data set may appeal to a socially responsible investor, whereas a story about your program in action could be more relevant to an issue expert looking to understand supply chain management practices. Timberland issued our 2007-8 CSR report as a “suite” of communication tools – including a summary report (only 30 pages!), detailed “Dig Deeper” papers for those looking for more details, an online forum to engage stakeholders in dialogue on key issues, and a consumer-facing brochure.
3. Tell the good and the bad – In today’s globalized society, if you’re not telling your own story in a truthful, credible, and engaging manner, others will simply tell it for you – and sometimes inaccurately! And yes, even if you are the most transparent company in the world, this still happens. But being open, honest and engaging can put you ahead of the curve when it comes to stakeholder engagement, campaigns, and trust-building. Dell has an open report, including discussion of tough issues such as eliminating hazardous chemicals.
4. Make it engaging – This will help attract different types of stakeholders, too. Timberland’s new Responsibility website (shown above) aims to do just that. The site is much more than a report; it’s a comprehensive and interactive hub for all information about Timberland’s social and environmental activities. Viewers can read Featured Stories about topics such as our sustainable store design, work with tanneries to reduce their environmental impacts, efforts to empower factory workers, and community greening. It’s important to consider the best ways to reach targeted stakeholder audiences – as a footwear company, consumers are key and that’s why these stories are written in a news-editorial style and linked to CSR Stakeholder Calls, Voices of Challenge dialogue, blog and social media.
5. A report is not the means to an end – Use the reporting process to build increased accountability for sustainability issues within your organization. Reporting efforts should be aimed at both internal and external audiences. And don’t forget to engage and share results with your own business units and internal leaders. It’s critical to build buy-in and ownership of ESG issues in order to successfully integrate sustainability into your business model.

Center member UPS was in the news spotlight this week as NPR Marketplace highlighted the company’s environmental efforts and introduced listeners to Chief Sustainability Officer Scott Wicker in a story titled “Brown goes green”.

The piece looks at how Wicker is working to – among other things – increase fuel efficiency at UPS through better driving and introducing hundreds of new hybrid electric vehicles to the fleet. NPR’s Eve Troeh reports on how Wicker came to his new role and where he and UPS are headed. Read the rest of this entry »

When tragedy hits, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company is there to help. The day after tornadoes struck Springfield, Mass., last summer, MassMutual donated $100,000 to the American Red Cross to go toward cleanup efforts. But the people at MassMutual didn’t stop with writing a check.

Mass Mutual immediately solicited volunteers from its employee base to help with the disaster recovery and cleanup. They also provided interpreters to assist local non-English speaking families in completing applications for aid. Although the Community Rebuilding Fair was originally an opportunity for MassMutual to offer LifeBridge^SM, its free life insurance program to the public, the fair soon took on a life of its own. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to see how your community involvement program compares to the efforts of other companies? The latest edition of the Community Involvement Index gives you a snapshot of current trends and statistics on how companies approach community involvement, how the function is organized and what strategies are employed to deliver social and business value. Read the rest of this entry »

Our members who are involved in managing corporate giving programs may be getting very busy with grantees as we approach the end of the calendar year. I wanted to pause and thank you for all of the important causes you support and the good work that you do in our communities all over the world. Read the rest of this entry »

Your company aspires to be a good corporate citizen and you have a critical role in meeting that aspiration. The Center’s 2½ day Institute on Corporate Citizenship is what you need to equip yourself with the information and tools to understand and contribute to your firm’s success. Register now to attend our Jan. 18-20 session of the Institute on Corporate Citizenship in Miami and you will: Read the rest of this entry »

Recently I represented Join My Village at a women’s empowerment conference, as a panelist on a breakout session entitled “Women’s Empowerment and Corporate Social Responsibility: the Intersection of Markets, Mission, and Action”. In what would turn out to be more than coincidental, I addressed this roomful of 300-plus women’s activists on the same day that news of the latest Betty Crocker cookbook hit the stands. And while most audience members were fashionably nonplussed by Betty’s 90-year run and the release of her 11th edition of “Big Red” (though all could have been closeted keepers of editions 1-10), Betty’s legacy – and ongoing utility – may have provided the most actionable lesson for all in attendance. Read the rest of this entry »