The Corporate Citizen, September 2007

Section: BCLC News

Global Corporate Citizenship Conference Showcases Partnerships
with NGOs and Development Agencies, 2nd GCC Report Debuts

Two non-business leaders, Richard Holbrooke, president and CEO of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, and John Danilovich, CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), keynoted BCLC's 2007 Global Corporate Citizenship conference, but the headline was the diversity of business interests that the conference attracted.

Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Daniel Christman, senior vice president of the U.S. Chamber's International Division; Stephen Jordan, BCLC's executive director; and Ambassador Holbrooke opened the event on the 19th by noting that the corporate citizenship movement has progressed into a new phase. 

Whereas earlier conferences on the subject focused on how companies address externalities, such as their environmental impacts and the social issues they affect, now a number of corporate, government, and nonprofit leaders believe business to be part of the solution.

Ambassador Holbrooke noted, for example, the incredible steps the business sector has taken to fight diseases in poor countries around the world. He noted that in the last few years, companies have begun to see how HIV and other diseases affect their business interests, whether through lost productivity, high healthcare costs, or other impacts. He urged companies to help fight these diseases in the way that makes the best sense for their management, employees, customers, and suppliers.

Ambassador Danilovich echoed this changed attitude about the role of business in development in his keynote remarks on day two. He said that the MCC, one of the U.S. government's newest development initiatives, had opened up an office to facilitate public-private partnerships, and welcomed business input.

Business leaders, corporate foundation heads, and American Chamber executives from Paraguay, Jamaica, Afghanistan, Argentina, China, Philippines, England, Germany, South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana were in attendance. Participants had the opportunity to network and learn about corporate citizenship activities around the world.

Three themes about corporate citizenship emerged through the discussions:

1. Sometimes aid is needed to help develop impoverished countries: As General Christman pointed out, at times, dire humanitarian and economic circumstances in countries require aid first, to pave the way for an environment that is favorable to flourishing businesses.
   
2. Corporate citizenship is now more focused: Many practitioners noted that global corporate citizenship has moved from an altruistic tendency to a business imperative—many companies are investing in social and community issues that are important to the success of the countries in which they operate, and to their business. Companies have found specific challenges, such K-12 education, disease, or crime, on which they focus their corporate citizenship programming. Companies can't fund everything, and having a focus helps companies invest in issues that are important to them, have an impact, and produce real results.
   
3. Partnerships are necessary. Repeatedly, conference participants from the business, government, multilateral, and nonprofit sectors emphasized that no single organization or sector can fight poverty alone and be successful. Partnerships are necessary because they leverage the resources and expertise of each party involved. Local voices are very helpful in partnerships; they help the partners better understand on-the-ground situations and practical solutions. As Bo Miller from Dow pointed out, corporate citizenship partnerships can also help companies make important business decisions. Dow has invested in corporate citizenship activities in countries before making big company decisions, such as billion-dollar investment, to better understand the local environment.

BCLC's Stephen Jordan, Shell Foundation's Kurt Hoffman, Limited Brands' Mark Neuman, and the World Bank Institute's Djordjija Petkoski closed the conference on an optimistic note: the outlook for public-private partnerships is good—more companies, nonprofits, and government agencies are working together to solve the world's pressing social issues. The next stage is to create systems that enable corporate citizenship and public-private partnerships to become more systematic, effective, and aligned with larger development goals.

BCLC releases second report on global corporate citizenship

Featuring 14 companies that have discovered the opportunity to "do well and do good," BCLC's new report, Corporate Citizenship in Emerging Markets, was released on Sept. 19 at the conference. The report covers activities in more than 20 countries, as well as issues such as potable water, infectious-diseases, and education and skills training for women.

To learn more or to request a copy of the report, contact BCLC at 202-463-3133 or BCLCEditor@uschamber.com.

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