Since 1995, the Center for Corporate Citizenship has surveyed community involvement practitioners about their companies’ community involvement, their internal support, programming resources and policies, and critical social issues that draw corporate attention.  The findings are detailed in the Center’s Community Involvement Index. This year, 490 companies participated in the survey.

Some key findings include:

• 86 percent of companies have a specific community involvement strategy, and among those who do, 67 percent link their community involvement strategy to a broader corporate citizenship strategy.
• 59 percent of companies are organized to manage community involvement with strategy and direction that is set centrally but executed locally.
• The majority of respondents’ companies formally measure the output of their philanthropic efforts (59 percent), volunteer programs (60 percent), and overall community involvement strategy (53 percent), but less than a third measure the outcomes of any of those investments.
• Education was by far the issue most frequently cited (75 percent) by respondents as a critical issue for their community involvement.

More member resources from the CI Index

To further expand on the knowledge provided by the Community Involvement Index, Center members are invited to participate in online Member Community discussions related to the topics covered by the survey, such as the best way to get senior management involved. These discussions will be ongoing so members together can build on what they learn from our research.

In addition to the information contained in the report, Center members have access to our archived webinar, “Taking stock of how community initiatives compare”.  This webinar highlights key findings with two member speakers:  Bridget G. Hurd, director, Community Responsibility, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan; and Joyce Witte, community investment adviser, EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc.

Member Services can upon request create customized reports on specific areas of interest or industries from the data in the report. More print copies of the report are available to members on request to help you provide an informed perspective at all levels and in all departments within your company on community involvement. The survey reveals that the wide majority of respondents find senior management involvement contributes to the success of community involvement programs.

The Community Involvement Index is one of four biennial signature research surveys conducted by the Center for Corporate Citizenship. The other three surveys are: The State of Corporate Citizenship, The Profile of the Practice, and The Profile of the Profession.

You told us:

The main reason your companies are members of the Center is to stay up to date on new trends, issues and emerging areas in corporate citizenship.

We are responding by:

Continuing our commitment to deliver high quality, applicable research on corporate citizenship.  In the last few months we released The State of Corporate Citizenship 2009: Weathering the Storm  and the 2009 Community Involvement Index.  This year we will be conducting research and reporting on the Profile of the Profession (salary data) and the Profile of the Practice (structures and systems key to corporate citizenship within companies). Our annual conference in April will bring you speakers and breakout sessions that are timely and relevant to your work.  Our online member community was launched this past fall and already has nearly 750 members discussing best practices and trends in corporate citizenship

You told us:

The corporate citizenship topics that you are most interested in are: measurement, the value proposition for corporate citizenship, and volunteerism.

We are responding by:

Producing research and educational initiatives in these topic areas.

Measurement – We have a research network working to develop a practical framework, guidelines and tools that will assist companies in measuring the business value of their community involvement initiatives. The framework will be ready later this year and will be integrated into our management development programs

Value proposition for corporate citizenship – Two 2009 research reports produced by the Center tackle this very topic: Building Reputation Here, There and Everywhere  and How Virtue Creates Value for Business and Society.  We are continuing to partner with the Reputation Institute to produce the annual CSR Index which focuses on the link between corporate citizenship and corporate reputation.

Volunteerism – In 2009 we published Mapping Success in Employee Volunteering, which included a benchmarking tool, the Drivers of Effectiveness of Employee Volunteering and Giving Programs and Fortune 500 Performance. We also developed a series of one-day workshops on volunteering, titled Moving Your Employee Volunteer Program from Good to Great.  

You told us:

How challenging it is to keep abreast of Center events, new research, and current services.

We are responding by:

Creating a new resource for you – the Semester Snapshot. It provides members with a quick look at the research, events, management programs and networking opportunities being offered or launched each semester. In addition, each member company has a Center staff member dedicated to assist as needed. To find out who your center contact is send an email to ccc@bc.edu.

You told us:

Educational opportunities and networking are two important aspects of your membership but new models are needed as travel restrictions will be continuing in your companies into 2010.

We are responding by:

Increasing the number of webinars offered throughout the year. We have heard how these one-hour learning opportunities have been a highly valuable source of information for our members and we are committed to continually improving this service.  We are currently piloting one-day workshops in cities throughout the United States. Based on the positive feedback we are receiving, we plan to continue these workshops throughout 2010. We have also started to travel more to bring our research to you. Recently we presented the findings from The State of Corporate Citizenship 2009 in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Boston and Houston. Future events are planned for New York, Toronto and Atlanta. We are also exploring ways to reduce or eliminate travel for our certificate programs through condensed and online offerings.

Thanks again to all of you who participated in the member survey. As always we appreciate feedback and suggestions at any time. If you would like to comment further on our services or suggest ways we can improve, please send me an email at olphert@bc.edu.

 The executives also say business should take a greater role solving problems in health care, product safety, education, and climate change, but dismiss the need for greater regulatory oversight by the federal government.

Our research team also saw significant expansion of environmental sustainability efforts (greening of products, services and operations), and increasing integration of corporate citizenship into the business strategy, with 75% of CEOs leading the agenda and 40 percent of all companies (65% for large companies) have a team or individual assigned to work on corporate citizenship issues.

As in the 2007 survey, the most recent data also show that attitudes of support for corporate citizenship are strong but there remain some gaps between those beliefs and the practices and investments of some businesses.

It’s worth setting aside a couple of hours to read the full report. The executives were asked about a wide range of topics – from what drives their company’s corporate citizenship (reputational value and the companies’ traditions and values top the list) to how their philanthropy is faring (38 percent reported a decline in giving) to how the economy is affecting R&D for new sustainable products (up 15 percent) and so much more.

The State of Corporate Citizenship in the United States 2009 is a joint project of the Boston College Center and The Hitachi Foundation. It is the only research of its kind to provide a comprehensive overview of small, medium, and large-sized U.S. businesses. 

Highlights of the survey include:

• Despite upheaval in the economy, a majority of U.S. companies are not making major changes in their corporate citizenship practices. Of those who made changes 38% reduced philanthropy/giving, 27% increased layoffs, and 19% reduced R&D for sustainable products.
• Most U.S. senior executives believe business should be more involved than it is today in addressing major public issues including health care, product safety, education, and climate change. Surveyed in June, just as the national debate on health care began to intensify, some 65 percent said business should increase its involvement in this issue.
• Reputation was cited by 70% as a driver for corporate citizenship, tied for the top spot with “it fits our company traditions and values.”
• The citizenship response during the recession differed between larger and smaller companies. Large companies significantly increased their investments and involvement in citizenship activities, but were more likely to impose layoffs. Small firms stayed committed to their emphasis on treating employees well by minimizing layoffs. But they significantly decreased attention to other aspects of citizenship.
• Based on current economic conditions, 15% of companies are increasing R&D for new sustainable products; 11% are increasing corporate citizenship marketing and communications; and 10% are increasing local and/or domestic sourcing or manufacturing.
• Half of the businesses are supporting skill development for employees making less than $40,000 annually and see these efforts as boosting productivity.
• Only 34 percent of executives who responded to the survey say greater regulatory oversight by the federal government is an important part of solving the current economic crisis and creating a more stable economy.

Conducted by GlobeScan between June 4 and June 23 of this year, the survey queried 756 executives, 36% of whom were at small businesses (1-99 employees), 24% at medium (100-999), and 40% at large companies (1000 + employees).  The biennial survey was first conducted in 2003.

View the State of Corporate Citizenship here.

Despite the feeble economic conditions, 60 percent of 224 business leaders surveyed believe corporate social responsibility (CSR) has increased in importance over the past year while just 6 percent say it is a lower priority. And in the second annual survey by the IBM Institute for Business Value, more than two thirds of organizations surveyed focus on CSR as part of an integrated business strategy to grow new revenue streams and control costs.

Much of this comes in response to expectations from consumers and other stakeholders. As a result, companies look at ways to cut down on waste with increasing product prices and look at options for distribution that would reduce carbon emissions.

In their report based on the study, the IBM institute notes “organizations have intensified efforts to collect information about their operations.” And, they find, it is the top performers who have proven to be far better at collecting the data. Perhaps like never before, knowledge is power. Tapping into that power means knowing how to turn information into insight and action.

In the IBM survey, business leaders were asked about three areas related to sustainability: operations, supply chain and customers. While companies are collecting information in these areas, the survey found it lacking in some ways. Operational information was not collected in a timely manner, information from supply chains was too narrow or insular, and more information was needed on customers.

As a result there is a gap between the desire to make sustainability efforts efficient and the quantity or quality of information gathered. This leaves companies in the same position as a doctor asked to diagnose and treat his patient while deprived of temperature, pulse and blood pressure. The challenge for organizations, IBM reports, is “to identify what information is needed and then aggregate and analyze it so it contributes to efficiency and growth objectives.”

The IBM survey finds that the greatest success comes when organizations not only gather the necessary information but also share it with customers, industry groups and NGOs “to increase their access to knowledge and their ability to benchmark.” This collaboration brings an exchange of leading practices and development of common sustainability standards.

Offering a path forward to success, the IBM report gives three key pieces of advice:

1. Identify information gaps to ensure data is relevant, timely and inclusive of suppliers and business partners;
2. Understand customers’ corporate citizenship concerns but ensure stakeholder demands align with rather than dominate business objectives;
3. Assess leading practices and participate in industry coalitions.

That sounds simple enough. It’s just a matter of getting the patient to take the medicine.

Co-sponsored by the Hitachi Foundation and the Boston College Center, this year’s biennial State of the Corporate Citizenship Survey included more than 750 CEOs and senior executives from small, medium and large companies across the United States. Some of the key question asked included:

• What do companies see as the the way out of the current economic crisis and what do they think it will take to create a more stable American economy going forward?
• Should business be involved more or less in addressing public policy issues such as climate change, health care and public education?
• What are the key drivers for business to engage in corporate citizenship practices?
• Do companies align corporate citizenship with their business strategy?
• Are companies becoming “greener” or planning to “green” their products and operations in the future?
• Do companies support skill development for low-wage employees? Why? Or why not?
• How has business’ support for economically distressed communities changed over the past two years?
• Who do companies choose to partner with to address social and environmental issues and why?

The 2007 survey found high aspirations among senior executives: 73 percent said that corporate citizenship needs to be a priority for business, 81 percent said it’s important to value and treat employees well, and 61 percent believed corporate citizenship makes a tangible contribution to their company bottom line. But not surprisingly, actions were behind aspirations: just 54 percent of companies offered health insurance to all employees, only 39 percent reported including corporate citizenship in their business planning process and just 21 percent reported to the public on corporate citizenship issues.

There is no doubt the downturn has taken a toll on many corporate citizenship practices but which ones do American companies see as strategic to business so that they maintained their support in these tough economic times? Did companies find new opportunities to differentiate, reduce costs or improve their reputation from corporate citizenship strategies?

The 2009 State of Corporate Citizenship Survey will have answers to many of these questions. Stay tuned.

In the second annual survey by GlobeScan and National Geographic of consumer choice and the environment, the United States comes in dead last, just behind its neighbor to the north, Canada.

Known as the Greendex, the survey is a comprehensive measure of consumer behavior in areas relating to housing, transportation, food and consumer goods. It ranks consumers in 17 countries based on the environmental impact of their discretionary and nondiscretionary consumption patterns in these four categories. Similar to judging in Olympic diving, the lower the impact the higher the score.

As in the first survey, the top-scoring consumers of 2009 are in the developing economies. India leads the pack with a score of 59.5 with Brazil and China close behind. New additions to the survey South Korea and Argentina run neck and neck in fourth place, followed by Mexicans, Hungarians and Russians. Ranks ninth through thirteenth are occupied by Europeans, along with Australian and Japanese consumers.

Canada and the United States hit the pool with twin belly flops at 47.5 and 43.7 respectively.

One area where there was worldwide improvement is housing. This index weighs factors such as the size of a home relative to the number of inhabitants, home heating and cooling, retrofits that increase efficiency, purchases of renewable energy, use of energy-efficient major appliances, and water usage.

Even Americans are able to stay in the middle of the pack on the measure of the environmental impact of their housing, scoring a 59 to equal the international average. Since the energy-saving measures that help the environment also help keep down oil, gas and electric bills, this is probably an indication that when another kind of green is at stake Americans rise to the occasion.

You can take an abbreviated survey and see where you rank on the Greendex scale at www.nationalgeographic.com/greendex . You can also check out the Greendex survey results by country, test your knowledge of some basic green issues and get tips on living a more environmentally friendly lifestyle.

Let us know how you rank, and why you think the U.S. continues to rank so low on this survey.

The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship now has information available to help shed some light on the technology options for employee volunteering and giving programs.

A pair of sister reports on the Boston College Center’s web site present the results of two surveys. One survey quizzes vendors of employee volunteering/giving technology applications on their services, while the other offers feedback from clients of technology vendors on their experiences as users. Neither report attempts to analyze the survey responses. Instead they are presented fully and unedited to give readers the purest and truest representation of vendors’ responses and their peers’ experiences, thoughts and suggestions, while avoiding potential outside bias. The Points of Light & Hands On Network played a key role in conducting the surveys, which were administered between February and April 2008.

“Technology is no longer just a convenience for employee volunteering and giving programs. Technology is integral,” said Bea Boccalandro, a member of the Boston College Center faculty and president of Vera Works, who coordinated work on the surveys with The Points of Light & Hands On Network and the Boston College Center. “It is often the first and most sophisticated contact employees have with the corporate citizenship program. It can define the parameters and possibilities of the program.”

The vendor survey offers background information on vendors’ client bases and gives detailed information on their capabilities in supporting a wide range of programs. It also addresses the issues of user interface, customer service, administration and customization, quality control and security.

The client survey includes background on how long companies have used a vendor, what types of services were provided and the scope of the programs handled by the vendor. These users also rate vendors on qualities including timeliness, accuracy, support, efficiency and value. In addition to a quantitative rating, users offer extensive comments on their experience with vendors as well as advice to others when considering a technology vendor.

“We hope these reports help companies navigate the difficult terrain of building the technology solution that best supports their employee volunteering, giving and overall engagement in corporate citizenship,” Boccalandro said.

Both surveys are available as a free download, but registration and login is required.

» Download Employee Volunteering/Giving Technology User Survey

» Download Employee Volunteering/Giving Technology Vendor Survey

In pursuit of an answer to the frequently asked question: “How do companies organize staff to meet the demands of corporate citizenship?” Boston College collected data from global companies in a variety of industries in 2008. The survey results reveal several common models, and that departments dedicated to corporate citizenship or corporate social responsibility are beginning to emerge.

The report “Structure and Strategies, Profile of the Practice 2008: Managing Corporate Citizenship” is based on survey data from 330 global corporations, most based in North America. In addition to organizational structure, the research focused on how companies manage multiple and sometimes conflicting responsibilities to their many stakeholders.

“This groundbreaking research provides us an important baseline that we will follow on a biennial basis,” said Boston College Center Executive Director Bradley K. Googins, Ph.D. “The picture emerging suggests companies will continue to formalize the corporate citizenship functions, although most still do it in a manner very idiosyncratic to the firm.”

In examining the management systems associated with corporate citizenship, the Boston College researchers contend the field is in an early stage. They find it is still struggling with agreement on definitions and terms and has not yet reached consensus on what should be included within its boundaries. The research findings regarding management systems include:

• Corporate citizenship is not strongly linked to strategy or business plans in most companies
• Top management identifies corporate citizenship as important but in most companies does not exercise significant leadership on the issue
• Employees are seen as the most influential stakeholders for citizenship but inside the company are seen as the least informed
• Boards of directors are just beginning to focus on corporate citizenship issues
• Measurement and use of measures of corporate citizenship are weak
• Minimal training is being done at every level on the relevance of citizenship to the success of the business

These management trends from this survey mirror the findings of the Center’s 2007 State of Corporate Citizenship in the United States that found substantial gaps in the practice of citizenship.

While the survey reveals much about what is lacking in the management of corporate citizenship, it also gives some indications of what management structure and strategies are associated with higher performing citizenship. Higher level leadership, cross-functional teamwork and dedicated department management are attributes seen in companies that have demonstrated strong performance.

Definitive answers on the “best” way for individual companies to manage corporate citizenship remain to be found. But going forward, this report offers food for thought on emerging questions about what path corporate citizenship will follow as more companies embed citizenship responsibilities into their formal organization.

The research also resulted in three companion case studies that look at how companies are managing corporate citizenship to incorporate it into existing organizational structure and management mechanisms. These profiles offer practitioners insider insight into the practice of corporate citizenship complete with success strategies and challenges to learn from:

A New Corporate Citizenship Focus Takes Wing at Boeing
In recent years Boeing has been evaluating the company’s role as a business in society. As part of that process, the company has focused on building a more active and responsive internal practice in global corporate citizenship, moving beyond philanthropy to a broader concept of corporate citizenship. These changes draw strength from, and are dependent on, support from top leadership as well as a new generation of employees.

KPMG Brings ‘People Agenda’ to Global Corporate Citizenship
A Big Four audit, tax, and advisory services provider, KPMG is a global network of independent member firms spanning 145 countries. KPMG has recently created a central international corporate citizenship function to unite the organization worldwide around a common vision in hopes of setting the pace on corporate citizenship. The lessons learned from KPMG member firms’ experience can serve as a roadmap for any company working toward unifying diverse corporate citizenship activities into a common strategy.

UPS Delivers on Corporate Citizenship
At UPS, a company with a 100-year old history of strong ethics and values, a unique corporate citizenship function has been created slowly and organically. Without a formal executive mandate, a cross-functional group coalesced over the past six years to create a company-wide approach to citizenship. The UPS sustainability committee has achieved many successes over this period as it has worked in harmony with existing UPS culture and values of equality, employee development, community involvement, consensus and measurement. Based on strong relationships and dynamic communications, the group has moved UPS into a leadership position in corporate citizenship.

All of the publications are available for download by Center members; login is required.

• Profile of the Practice 2008: Managing Corporate Citizenship
• A New Corporate Citizenship Focus Takes Wing at Boeing
• KPMG Brings ‘People Agenda’ to Global Corporate Citizenship
• UPS Delivers on Corporate Citizenship

The Drivers of Effectiveness Survey Benchmarking Tool (www.volunteerbenchmark.com) will answer these and many other questions.  Thanks to generous support from Bank of America, this user-friendly tool is free and open to all.

The Benchmarking Tool scores your program against the ideal, per the Boston College Center’s evidence-based Drivers of Effectiveness for Employee Volunteering and Giving Programs. This identification of your program’s strengths and weaknesses can help you develop strategic plans, garner internal support and make operational decisions. The tool also benchmarks your program to other respondent companies (more than 250 to date), allowing you to see how you compare to customary practices. Tracy King, director of community engagement at the Levi Strauss Foundation, said, “Assessing against the drivers was vital to identifying our gaps and strengths and to creating a credible strategic plan for global employee engagement.”

Get the answers you seek. Go to www.volunteerbenchmark.com, complete the strictly confidential survey (it takes roughly 30 minutes) and select the comparison reports you would like from the reports menu. Among those to choose from are reports that compare you to respondents that are Fortune 500, Fortune 100, retail or international companies and other categories. Rosemary Byrnes, deputy director at the office of global volunteer initiatives at Citi, for example, used the tool to respond to an internal request on corporate volunteer practices at other companies.

If the tool doesn’t provide you the answers you seek, let us know (use the help function on the site). We are committed to getting you the answers you need to manage your programs.

Recent research indicates a more productive theory might be that good employee participation requires a good program, and not much recruitment.  Of course, any employee program requires strong and clear communications. However, if a lot of effort is going into convincing employees to participate, it might be time to redirect this energy.

Think along the lines of “If you build it, they will come.” To attract employees, don’t focus on strengthening recruitment but on strengthening four other R’s that attract employees:

• Relevance of the program to employee work life and culture
• Relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Results-focused design
• Renewal of programming

This four-R approach to employee volunteering emerged out of Atlanta, home of exemplary employee volunteering. Over the past four years, Atlanta has won more Awards for Excellence in Workplace Volunteer Programs, the premier national award conferred by the Points of Light & HandsOn Network, than any other metro area. These achievements helped Georgia tie California for the state with the most wins. Also, Atlanta companies outperform comparable companies in the Drivers of Effectiveness for Employee Volunteering and Giving Programs, the standard for effectiveness created by the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship. (To participate in this benchmark survey go to www.volunteerbenchmark.com.) In other words, this four-R Atlanta approach might very well represent a future trend of employee volunteering.

So next time you ask yourself “How can we recruit more employee volunteers?” consider the practices of Atlanta companies and instead ask “How can we bring more relevance, relationships, results and renewal to the program?”

» Download The Methods Behind the Magic: Examining the practices of Atlanta’s exemplary employee volunteer programs (pdf; free registration and/or login required)