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February 28, 2012,
New York, NY –While investors exert a large amount of
pressure on the quarterly earnings results of a company,
they do not weigh in on or act as barriers to the long-term
socially sustainable efforts of a company. Nearly 60 CEOs
from Fortune 500 companies, including special delegations
from Brazil and India, met Monday at the
Board of Boards CEO Conference to discuss the community
engagement levels of investors, as well as another important
stakeholder group—consumers. They agreed through an
interactive session that consumers hold companies
accountable for engaging in behaviors that reinforce the
well-being of society. CEOs called for better measurement
standards for socially sustainable business practices so
they could engage investors by communicating program value.
The
Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) –
the only international forum of business CEOs with a mission
to raise the level and quality of corporate philanthropy
–hosted the seventh annual Board of Boards CEO Conference on
Monday, International Corporate Philanthropy Day.
“The CEOs participating
in the session today spoke candidly about where they feel
pressure, where they see obstacles, and who motivates them
to do more,” said Charles Moore, Executive Director, CECP.
“CEOs largely agreed that consumers are active and engaged
on community engagement issues and inspire them to do more,
while investors are neither motivators nor barriers to CSR
efforts.”
Interactive polling
among CEOs at the event found the following:
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59% of CEOs reported they felt consumers
were demanding greater levels of transparency regarding
their companies’ community engagement initiatives.
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69% of CEOs felt their companies’
community engagement efforts were rewarded by consumers,
yet most cannot measure those rewards.
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45% of CEOs selected companies as the
agent for change in leading progress in the marketplace
toward long-term societal well-being, as opposed to
consumers (32%), government (18%), investors (0%), and
other (5%).
Additional poll results can be obtained upon
request.
The conference, which
has been ranked as one of the world’s leading executive
events, convened close to 60 of the foremost global CEOs to
discuss the theme “Next Generation Community Engagement: A
Transformative Business Opportunity” and focused on changing
the business model to one that simultaneously pursues
strategies that create value for a company and address
pressing societal challenges. The event featured two panels
consisting of:
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Angela Ahrendts, CEO, Burberry Group
PLC;
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Daniel Doctoroff, President and CEO,
Bloomberg;
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Hikmet Ersek, President and CEO, The
Western Union Company;
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Shelly Lazarus, Chairman, Ogilvy &
Mather.
CEOs also noted the
important role of a stakeholder audience not formally on the
conference agenda—employees. Many CEOs noted that employees
can do just as much as consumers in motivating companies to
contribute to societal well-being. And employees benefit as
well. CEOs noted that when a company is deeply engaged in
socially sustainable practices, employees report higher
levels of engagement and feel connected to a larger purpose.
“The CEOs in the
audience took responsibility for change and understood their
role in pushing for and leading transformation,” said
Margaret Coady, director of CECP. “While they talked about
the importance of consumers in keeping companies
accountable, they realized their leadership was necessary
for providing vision and clarity on that community
engagement plan.”
Nader Mousavizadeh, CEO of Oxford
Analytica Ltd, moderated the session and David M. Cote,
Chairman and CEO, Honeywell International Inc.
addressed attendees at the executive luncheon immediately
following the conference. The conference welcomed
international delegations of leading global CEOs from Brazil
and India; the Brazil delegation was led by Fernando
Henrique Cardoso, Brazil’s former President, who delivered
opening remarks.
About the
Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP)
The Committee
Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) is the only
international forum of business CEOs and chairpersons
focused on raising the level and quality of corporate
philanthropy. Membership includes over 180 CEOs and
chairpersons representing companies that account for over
40% of reported corporate giving in the United States. For
more information visit
CorporatePhilanthropy.org/ICPD.
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