There are new signs of a light at the end of the recession tunnel for community involvement, and it is not an approaching train.

A just-released report by the Conference Board indicates that corporate strategy, not budget concerns, is setting the philanthropy agenda at companies this year. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s no secret that the world’s future has always been in the hands of our children. Generation after generation passes the torch with the hope they’ve left the world a better place for their children but knowing they’ve also left work to be done.

But why make our children wait when they are already bursting with energy, enthusiasm and ideas to improve the world? Microsoft Corporation recognizes that and is giving thousands of high school and college students across the United States the chance to demonstrate their potential and contribute innovative solutions to the world’s challenges now.

Imagine Cup, now in its eighth year, is the world’s premier student technology competition through which Microsoft empowers young people around the world to use their creative and technical abilities to make a positive impact on society. Imagine Cup encourages young people to use the magic of technology to address problems, fostering the development of the next generation of leaders, entrepreneurs, social activists and humanitarians. Read the rest of this entry »

The Boston College Center is adding a new dimension to our International Corporate Citizenship Conference that offers yet another way for corporate citizenship leaders to advance both the field and their own performance.

In an effort to accelerate the education of corporate citizenship professionals, we’ve invited MeettheBoss TV to our conference in Boston, April 11-13. Some of the field’s leading practitioners will have the opportunity to be interviewed on camera for MeettheBoss TV and discuss the critical issues that face corporate citizenship professionals today. MeetTheBoss TV features exclusive video and audio lessons from the world’s most innovative and influential business leaders. From visionary entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 CEOs, MeetTheBoss TV interviews focus on the business challenges that matter today, clearly explaining the solutions, competitive strategies, people, and thinking around them.

Meettheboss TV will be filming at the conference using the latest video technology in high definition. The interviews will then be sent to the executive members of MeettheBoss TV and also archived for access to all corporate managers who are eager to learn from the wealth of experience of those attending the conference.

The theme of this year’s conference is Corporate Citizenship: Winning a Seat at the Table. With MeettheBoss TV in attendance, the conference will provide corporate citizenship leaders with a seat in front of the camera for all to see and hear.

As the Oscars came and went this year, I found it most notable that three of this year’s best picture nominations, Avatar, District 9 and Up in the Air, have large corporations as their main protagonists. Each of these corporations is portrayed as distant and as societally and environmentally oblivious. If this represents the public perception of corporations, and I think it does, we have a long way to go. Read the rest of this entry »

March 22 was World Water Day! Observed since 1993, it sprang from the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. This year, the overall goal of the World Water Day campaign is to raise the profile of water quality at the political level so it is taken into consideration along with water quantity.

Boston College Center member ITT – a high-technology engineering and manufacturing company based in White Plains, N.Y. – is responding with a commitment to raise awareness and funds for the cause. Read the rest of this entry »

Study after study, including the Boston College Center’s 2009 State of Corporate Citizenship Survey, has found that environmental sustainability efforts have continued to grow even during the deep recession of 2007-2009. Moreover, they have become even more important. Driven by bold government actions, customer and consumer demand, and opportunities to cut costs and diversify, a growing number of U.S. companies are trying to “ride the green wave.” But not every environmental strategy is successful and challenges include difficulty developing the business case and ensuring successful execution.

Read the rest of this entry »

The polls have closed, the digital smoke has cleared and the first round votes have all been tabulated, narrowing down 29 entries to 10 finalists in the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship’s 2010 Film Festival.

Beginning today and continuing through April 2, Boston College Center members, or nonmembers who have registered for the conference, can vote in the Center’s online Member Community. If you are already a member of our online Member Community, click here to vote. Click here to learn more about the community and request an invitation to join (Center members only). Read the rest of this entry »

Is your company attracting the best Generation Y employees, the fastest growing segment of the American work force? 

At this year’s International Corporate Citizenship Conference, keynote speaker Nadira Hira will talk about how to creatively engage Generation Y as important contributors to corporate culture and productivity, on racial and generational diversity, and on the role of social networks in the modern workplace and in society in general.

As the baby boomers begin to retire, businesses are realizing that they may have no choice but to accommodate these curious Gen Y creatures.

These young people – self-absorbed, gregarious, multitasking, loud, optimistic, pierced – are exactly what the boomers raised them to be, and now they’re being themselves all over the business world. It’s going to be great.

Hira wrote Fortune’s widely discussed 2007 cover story on Gen Yers and their impact on corporate America. Her media presence extends to television, where she has been a featured personality on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” and ABC’s “America’s Black Forum”, a regular contributor to VH1′s “The Fabulous Life” and BET’s “Black Carpet”, and an expert guest on many major outlets, including CNN, CBS, MSNBC, CNBC, and BBC-A.

Hira’s message is just one more valuable element of the 2010 International Corporate Citizenship Conference where you will find solutions to your company’s challenges through keynote speeches, breakout sessions and networking opportunities.

For more information and to register click here.