During a general session of the 2012 International Corporate Citizenship Conference, Beth Rosemond, Assistant Director, Corporate Responsibility, for Ernst & Young, moderated a discussion by Brendan LeBlanc, Executive Director, Climate Change and Sustainability Services at Ernst and Young, and Leisha John, Ernst & Young Americas Director of Environmental Sustainability, of the growing trends in corporate sustainability as well as the findings of the Ernst & Young and GreenBiz Group Survey on Sustainability Reporting. Read the rest of this entry »

Two key takeaways emerged from a Lead and Learn session with FedEx and their partner the Salvation Army at the 2012 International Corporate Citizenship Conference.

1. Build relationships: Always steward the relationships you have with NGO partners. By listening to their needs first, the company will be better positioned to provide the most useful services and information. 

2: Build resilience: Promote resilience and pre-disaster preparedness through programs that build community capacity. By focusing on long-term relief, companies can reduce drop-off and cultivate better, more sustainable customers. Read the rest of this entry »

The combination of two entities is often referred to as synergistic when the result is greater than the sum of its parts, such as in a corporate merger. In a Lead and Learn session, Suncor shared the story of what that meant for two strong community involvement programs. Read the rest of this entry »

As corporate citizenship continues to play a more prominent role in companies, so does the complexity of the organization’s involvement with its various corporate citizenship efforts. For US Airways, corporate citizenship is housed in community relations and diversity, represented by Kelly Balthazor, director of community relations for US Airways, Samuel Wolo, director of diversity and Inclusion, and Mitch Grant, manager of inclusion, in a Lead and Learn session at the 2012 International Corporate Citizenship Conference. Read the rest of this entry »

Should your company invest in producing a corporate sustainability report in today’s world of increasing demand for transparency?

Let’s look at the numbers.

The Global Reporting Initiative: Scope

In a workshop session, Marjella Alma, manager of external relations for the Global Reporting Initiative offered that 95 percent of the world’s 250 largest companies today disclose sustainability performance information. The GRI is a robust reporting framework for non-financial reporting, also called CSR or sustainability reports. While investors and financial reporting entities utilize these reports to obtain critical information for investment decisions, Alma emphasized that these reports have important applicability for companies well beyond their designated intent. Read the rest of this entry »

Much like a corporation manages its investments with a portfolio that is apportioned strategically, corporate/community partnerships should be managed as a strategic portfolio.

In a workshop session with Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship’s Director of Executive Education Billy Brittingham and Wells Fargo Regional President for Arizona Community Banking Pamela Conboy, taking a portfolio approach to relationship management received high emphasis. Read the rest of this entry »

Environmental-friendly products and services have become increasingly popular with mainstream consumers, attracting many new companies to the green marketplace.  If done well, they can generate serious profits and boost a company’s reputation.  If done poorly, companies risk backlash from consumers and accusations of “greenwashing.” Read the rest of this entry »

James Nevels, chairman of the Board of Directors of The Hershey Company, addressed a general session of the 2012 International Corporate Citizenship Conference and shared a story of Hershey’s corporate citizenship and his personal journey. Read the rest of this entry »