Tweaking the graphics that I have come to rely on for many of my presentations, I decided it was time to take a crack at developing a visual representation of what I feel has become the gap between economic performance and social and environmental sustainability. And the above was what I have come up with. For me, where this simple visual I believe does the job is that the sustainability gap…
Last week, I returned to speak for the fourth time at the China Supply Chain Council on an issue I have spent a lot of time on, recalibrating supply chains. Focused on the impact that local issues and stakeholders are going to have on the supply chain’s of many operating in China,the overarching goal of the presentation was to highlight opportunities for firms to strengthen current systems as wel…
When occupying as dynamic of an ecosystem as we do now, there are bound to be a few questions about the latest programming that everyone is talking about. CSR, sustainability, social entrepreneurship, and public and private impact investment have in one form or another been held up at the model of the future. Only to find the term overused to the point where cynics are allowed to enter and questio…
Last week, we held the second in the Beyond Business As Usual events, Social Innovation as a Sustainable Business Model. Hosted by HK Polytech University, roughly 220 people showed up to learn about what social innovation was and how it is rolling out through organizations large and small. For my part, I focused on the fact that as "Business as Usual" moves from a model where profit maximiz…
Social Entrepreneurship Lecture Series - Business Beyond Usual - Social Innovation as a Sustainable Business Model Can Social Innovation be a sustainable business model? Nowadays, we do not simply rely on the government or NGOs for solving social problems. What can be done by a start-up enterprise or multinational corporation? How will Social Innovation be incorporated into their business pr…
If there is one thing that I have come to understand over the years it is the value of learning. At times, that means getting out into the field to learn about the challenges that are faced in society / environment, while at other times it means spending time with executives from different industries to understand the pressure that firms are facing. But, this week I will be doing something differ…
For me there are few speakers more interesting to me that Gary Vaynerchuk, Social Media's poster child and author of The Thank You Economy, and at a recent keynote he said the following: Imagine if business, because of the way the world is going, had to actually for the first time in about a hundred years started really caring about the people they sold their products to? It was a statement was…
Here it is folks. My first TEDx presentation - One Person Can Make a Difference. I was fortunate to have followed 6 speakers in August at the TEDxWanchai event. 6 speakers who had taken steps to change the world in their own little way, and by being the closer for the evening it was my job to take all that inspiration and turn it to action. I hope it inspires you to act as well. "Inst…
When looking to develop CSR programs that engage their employee base and the community at the same time, fewer programs are of interest than a day out volunteering at a school, elderly center, or school. It is an event that should have clear exceptions for the volunteer and the community partner, is more often than not meant to be fun (as a primarily channel for impact), and afterwards everyone…
Speak the words "Corporate Social Responsibility" and more often than not the perception of what is CSR is related to the philanthropic and volunteer initiatives of the firm. With some still only focused on philanthropy alone (particularly in China). It is a stereotype that I see reinforced time and time again by organizations as their CSR managers are asked only to manage those activities as…
When I first saw this map on a Google+ posting I was awed struck by the sheer size of the brand portfolios exist. Of course, I knew for years that these groups were actively consolidating a number pf brands (including the "green" ones), but when it is put onto a map like this ... well, wow. Interestingly enough, over the last 2 weeks I have had three discussions with firms represented in th…
While doing a bit of research on externalities and trade-offs this afternoon, I came across this graphic representation of sustainable development, and the forces that are in play. For me, it was a nice and clean graphic about how one can think about / present the forces that are occurring in today's market, environment, and society, and offers a starting place for framing the recalibration tha…
CEIBS (China Europe International Business School) is seeking projects and partners for its innovative MBA course on Business, Society and Environment (BSE). This mandatory course has teams of full-time CEIBS MBA students working with external partners to tackle an important sustainability or CSR challenge. We invite you and your organization to join us as a project sponsor and mentor. Since la…
Last week while debating the NEED for government action in the US on car efficiency as part of their energy policy, a good friend of mine wrote the following: You are worried about externalities? The consequences of using fossils fuels is an almost unimaginable improvement in the quality life for the average person. The average American today lives a better than the richest Medieval Kings of Euro…
Building off the presentations and research I have given recently on "Beyond Business As Usual", one of the common themes of discussion is why and how responsible firms will act when it comes to living up to their duty to more than just the bottom line. That, with the cost of externalities of the current business as usual model rising, a new dynamic is beginning to take shape where firms who do no…
