Loading Events

« All Events

  • This event has passed.
Aug 30

Learning Circle – The Environment for Innovation

August 30, 2023 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

While corporate organizations recognize the importance of sustainability, the risks of innovation slow down the pace at which businesses make their sustainability transition. How can we de-risk innovation so that corporate organizations are empowered to take the lead in sustainability?

This is the question we will discuss in our upcoming Learning Circle, featuring Joyce Wong, Grant Manager at Porticus. Porticus advises a Dutch-German Family on their philanthropic giving across the globe. They partner with organizations within the sustainability system, e.g. the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and regional bodies to help in “creating an environment that de-risks ambition and innovation” for businesses leading the transition to sustainability.

Their approach includes working with multi-stakeholder partners to improve the data reporting around corporate sustainability and advocate for policy that encourages innovation. The discussion will surface systemic challenges faced by businesses in the transition to sustainability, especially in their supply chains, and explore ways in which supporting multi-stakeholder partners could help address these challenges.

Inclusive Business

Companies may choose to adopt an inclusive business model or approach that provides goods, services, and livelihoods on a commercially viable basis to people living at the base of the pyramid (BoP). Depending on the nature and size of the organisation, companies can do this by directly incorporating the BoP in their core value chain, or by piloting inclusive business initiatives through their corporate impact efforts.

Adapted from: Inclusive Business Action Network (IBAN)

Modules

Explore the modules related to Inclusive Business

Self-paced

New

Building your inclusive business: How to identify funders

Corporate Social Impact Centre

Self-paced

New

Growing your Inclusive Business

Corporate Social Impact Centre

Modules

Explore the modules related to Inclusive Business

Creating Shared Value Through Inclusive Business Strategies

By CSR Asia

ClosePlease login

No account yet? Register

This paper by CSR Asia outlines how inclusive business (IB) strategies can create shared value and walks through practical steps companies can take to develop an effective IB strategy. It makes a case for inclusive business and demonstrates how companies can leverage aspects of their value chain to create opportunities for low-income communities. You will also find a number of case studies from around the Asia region.

Corporate Foundation

Corporate foundations (or company-sponsored foundations) are philanthropic organisations that are created and financially supported by a corporation. The foundation is created as a separate legal entity from the corporation, but with close ties to the corporation. Corporate foundations tend to make grants in fields related to their corporate activities or in communities where the corporation operates, or where their employees reside.

Source: Council of Foundations

Learn more about Corporate Foundation

Corporate Social Impact Accelerator

Companies may establish Social Impact Accelerators to help enterprises looking to address a social problem over an extended period of time with a mix of financial and non-financial support, including seed funding, mentorship, training, networking and working space.

Learn more about Corporate Social Impact Accelerator

Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is any formally organised support or encouragement from companies to leverage employee time, knowledge, skills or other resources to support impact organisations. Employee engagement can vary from corporate volunteering (hands-on or skill-based, virtual or on-site volunteering) and/or corporate giving (payroll giving, employee matching) to co-investment programmes.

Source: EVPA, 2018

Learn more about Employee Engagement

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to strategies that companies put into action as part of corporate governance that are designed to ensure the company’s operations are ethical and beneficial for society. These may include initiatives to support the environment, fair labour practices, philanthropy and/or sustainable business practices.

Adapted from: Corporate Finance Institute (CFI)

Learn more about Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Impact Fund

Corporate impact funds enable companies to make investments that are aligned with and amplified by their strategic priorities, market position and resources in order to generation measurable and mutually reinforcing social, environmental and financial returns and outcomes.

Adapted from: Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR), 2021

Learn more about Corporate Impact Fund