| |
In This Issue
Editor's Note
Are You a Corporate Idealist?
This is the time of year when many of us are making lists: presents to buy (or presents we want), resolutions to follow, last-minute things to get done before the offices close for the holidays. This week, Christine Bader, BSR's Human Rights Advisor, offers her own list in the form of a “manifesto” for the Corporate Idealist.
In a recent Tedx talk, Bader confessed that she is a Corporate Idealist: someone who believes business can make the world a better place and is working from within to realize that vision. The challenge for the Corporate Idealist—including many of us at BSR and the readers of this publication—is how to harness the collective power of these individual efforts. To do this, Bader proposes her own list of five principles that will better align the interests of business and society. If you happen to be making a similar list, share your ideas for a manifesto via Twitter: @christinebader.
Also this week, we highlight a new guide for companies to develop local content programs. And we share updates on BSR’s CiYuan project, including resources to help local foundations and NGOs become effective partners for business, and to help companies integrate philanthropy into their core business strategies.
 |
In Depth
Manifesto for the Corporate Idealist
By Christine Bader, Human Rights Advisor, BSR
Corporate Idealists are the change agents tackling today’s biggest challenges. But how do we get the efforts of these individuals to add up to more than the sum of their parts?
Read more →
|
Toolbox
New Guide to Effective Local Content Programs
By Elissa Goldenberg, Associate, Advisory Services, BSR
IPIECA—a global oil and gas industry association focused on social and environmental issues—released a guide to help companies design and execute local content strategies in the countries where they operate. Local content is defined by the value that companies bring to host countries by employing and training the local workforce and developing and procuring supplies and services locally.
This guide helps companies:
-
Understand the business benefits and key drivers of successful strategies, including the importance of understanding the local context, regulatory requirements, and business and stakeholder expectations.
-
Build skills among local workers: Effectively employing local staff requires transparent employment policies, training and skills development, and educational institutions. Companies should also create policies on local procurement and modify current direct and indirect procurement strategies.
-
Sustain local content programs: Long-term success requires effective internal organization and alignment; engagement with national and local governments, other companies, communities, local NGOs, and other stakeholders; progress measurement; and support for improved local infrastructure.
Spotlight
China Philanthropy Project Update: New Resources for Social Investment
By Brooke Avory, Manager, Partnership Development, BSR
Launched in 2010, BSR’s three-year CiYuan project aims to build cross-sector partnerships that enhance social investment in China—a critical element in developing the country’s nonprofit sector and addressing its growing social and environmental challenges.
To help local foundations and NGOs become effective partners for business, and to help companies integrate philanthropy into their core business strategies, BSR recently published two resources:
“Catalyzing Social Investment in China”—which features interviews with China’s leading philanthropists from the nonprofit, foundation, and business sectors as well as representatives from academia and government—outlines the sector’s history, trends, challenges, and opportunities.
The “Chinese Foundation Development Handbook” (available in Chinese only) helps individuals and companies establish and operate effective private foundations, including developing a mission and strategy, governance practices, and human resources.
The CiYuan project also held a recent workshop on best practices in cross-sector partnerships in the supply chain, and plans to hold similar workshops focused on community development and the environment over the next year. For more information, contact Brooke Avory or Adam Lane.
|
|
|
