UN Global Compact Hosting Conference – Human Rights

On April 28 at the Harvard Business School in Boston, the UN Global Compact U.S. Network's will be hosting its first conference of 2008. The conference will focus on ‘Business and Human Rights’, in recognition of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

With disturbing world events such as the issues surrounding the Olympics in China, Darfur, childrens poverty, disease, human trafficking and food shortages, this is a critical time to review the role, responsibilities and impact of businesses.

The UN conference convenes speakers that will address a number of critical humanitarian issues including:

• Understanding business risks associated with human rights
• Setting policy and addressing stakeholder expectations
• Monitoring and reporting progress

Speakers and moderators will include senior managers of companies at the forefront of these issues, as well as thought leaders from civil society and other sectors. Two keynote speakers will include:

• Mrs. Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and current Chair of the Council of Women World Leaders
• Mr. John Ruggie, Harvard Professor and UN Special Representative on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations.

The meeting will also feature the launch of the Case Study Report by the UN Global Compact Office and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The event coincides with the Ceres annual conference also taking place in Boston this week.

Reputation Dynamics next blog will address opinions about corporations marketing challenges addressing CSR for a major current event.

Watch this space.

CSR Champions Need To Take It To The Top - Perspectives about The CRO Conference

Intel's Chief Administration Officer Andy Bryant, during his keynote speech at the CRO conference, addressed how a multi-year journey led Intel to be nominated #1 on the CRO Magazines 100 Best Corporate Citizens list.

The conference, held in New York, convened experts and more than 200 corporate responsibility practitioners, professional service providers and non-profit influencers to address financial governance issues, stakeholder communications, and sustainability best practices.

Intel's success can be attributed to making corporate responsibility a competitive imperative.

"Our efforts started at the top and we focused on all key areas including governance, human rights, environment, climate change, finance and assigned accountabilities throughout the organization," said Bryant.

Eaton Corporation has also enjoyed success deploying world-class environmental, health and safety (EHS) practices utilizing the Eaton Business System.

"We aligned our efforts with our brand and business strategy from the outset," said Joey Wolfsberger, Vice President of EHS.

Bryant advocated for public companies to seek leadership from their top officers in raising their level of corporate responsibility.

However, there are still major gaps advocating and properly integrating CSR strategies within corporations - from top to bottom. For example:

• Reputation Dynamics recently led a CSR survey for The Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG) among 1,700 VP-level or above marketing executives in their organizations. The survey uncovered that 62.5% of those who participated work for companies that are not engaged in corporate social responsibility programs due to a lack of interest or priority

These results were at odds with the fact that 60% of respondents think that corporate social responsibility programs have or will have a positive impact on profitability and overall performance of the company.

• The survey respondents identified opportunities such as employee motivation (71%), influencing customer behaviors (54%), growth and innovation (54%), and increased profits (25%)
• A recent IBM survey conducted among senior executives and directors of strategy at 250 corporations uncovered another major gap - 76% of businesses surveyed admit they don't truly understand their customers' CSR concerns

Internal CSR champions need help educating and convincing their senior management to make CSR a priority and integrated throughout the organization, rather than a 'nice to have' or a side job.

Even in a down economy, they need to be reminded they are missing out on tremendous business opportunities that not only directly impacts the bottom line, but also offers financial incentives when employees are more motivated and loyal, and positively influencing customer behaviors for the long term.

CSR champions shout louder.

***

Information about Intel and Eaton CSR efforts can be located at http://www.intel.com/ and http://www.eaton.com/.

Tending to Our Back Yard: The Realities about HIV/AIDS

Last week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the President’s Plan for AIDS Relief at $50 billion over 5 years to combat the global health crisis posed by AIDS and other diseases.

In President Bush’s original executive budget, he had proposed a $28 million increase to abstinence-only education and no increase for HIV/AIDS research at the National Institutes of Health.

Fortunately, both the Senate and House versions of the bill would remove a requirement that one-third of HIV prevention funds that focus on countries that receive PEPFAR be used for abstinence-until-marriage programs.

Notwithstanding the needs of the 40 million sufferers around the world, there are substantial problems providing the critical support services in the United States. For example:

• In New York State alone, there are 110,000 people living with HIV/AIDS and another estimated 28,000 are undiagnosed
• Young people in age ranges of 15-24 account for almost half of all new HIV infections reported in the US each year
• It is overlooked that women are affected and increasing in numbers
• There are lack of proper services and resources for health care providers to support prevention and treatment

In response to President Bush’s original executive budget, Marjorie J. Hill, PhD, CEO of Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) commented “he proposes to either cut or flat-fund critical programs for research, HIV prevention and care, while continuing to call for increases in harmful programs like abstinence-only education.”

Where the current administration has failed to advance the fight against the AIDS crisis, programs such as (PRODUCT) RED have done an excellent job capitalizing on co branding and marketing opportunities with leading brands such as Apple, Dell, American Express and Armani, where consumers buy RED items and money is directed to the Global Fund. RED contributions to the Global Fund recently reached a $100 million milestone.

However, while the quest for funding and resources continues to be challenging..

Major gaps continue to prevail in the proper appropriation of funds and providing the necessary services toward the fight against HIV/AIDS.....

For and not-for-profit businesses have a timely opportunity to further mobilize action and their substantial resources to complement existing social and economic responsibility initiatives:

• Cause Alignment: Select HIV/AIDS and develop an integrated education initiative for our youth both at home and in global destinations that represent business interests
• Employee/Workplace Programs: Communicate with and educate employees who are key to productivity. Establish workplace programs as the basis for company engagement, as well as an extension to NGO and public-sector programs. With volunteerism on the rise, companies can impact their communities by engaging their workforce in local projects
• Small Businesses: Small and medium-sized businesses are a growing sector employing about 80% of the worlds workforce and need to be engaged in programs that protect employees from global epidemics
• Big Businesses: They have the marketing, resources and scale to reach the public at large with critical messages and research about prevention, treatment and protecting human rights

Let's fill in the gaps between our administration, businesses and communities to further mitigate the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Source: GMHC. Joinred.com. New York Department of Health.

Africa – The Force of Change

‘As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself…Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.’ Nelson Mandela

The energy and enthusiasm about Africa was running high at the first US-Africa Tourism Seminar on 2/27 developed by The Corporate Council on Africa and Africa Travel Association. While Africa has its fair share of political, economic and humanitarian challenges, the continent is poised to be a major travel destination and location for investment and business exploration.

In conjunction with the ‘Greening’ of the travel industry, Experiential Tourism, a growing sector beyond ‘sun-and-sand tourism,’ is expected to grow to 25% of the world’s travel market within six years - $473.6 billion a year.

As Gregg Truman, vice president of marketing for South African Airways pointed out, Africa commands only 2.4% of global travel market share, with only 64 million people taking trips to Africa.

With a new breed of ‘sustainable tourists’ seeking culturally authentic travel experiences that protect the environment and integrity of the destination, VolunTourism and travel philanthropy opportunities are on the rise. Africa is rich for its natural resources, tourism and wildlife, dancing and music – among others.
Opportunities for ‘Doing Good in Africa’:

Corporations and individuals have abundant opportunities to make a difference by addressing causes in need and making a personal connection with African communities. Some suggestions include:

• Engage in ongoing education for the public about the realities and opportunities
• Encourage family and stakeholder visits to see communities with causes in need
• Align with NGO/non-profits to help mitigate extreme poverty, disease, threats to wildlife and tourism, and infant mortality
• Provide benefits and incentives for local businesses, workforce, products and services
• Donate funds and/or volunteer in communities

A special thanks to my fellow panelists’ on Experiential Tourism, their engaging presentations and fascinating work. Sean Barlow - Afropop Worldwide, El Hadji Aziz Gueye – Senegal Tourist Office, Lelei LeLaulu - Counterpart International, Dr. Lawrence Martin - Stony Brook University, Sharr Prohaska - New York University, Kevin J. Wright - World Religious Travel Association.

The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) and Africa Travel Association (ATA) Host First US-Africa Tourism & Sports Seminar in New York

The seminar theme - Making Africa the World’s Next Premiere Travel Destination - will provide more than 200 leaders from the public and private sectors an inside look into the vast array of business exploration and investment opportunities in the travel and tourism industries in Africa.

Africa is poised to increase its world market share in tourism and this seminar will help lay the groundwork placing Africa top-of-mind among American tourists and investors.

Currently sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 1.3% of the world market share in the travel and tourism industry. In 2007, the sector generated close to $90 billion in economic activity and is expected to exceed $185 billion within the next 7 years for the region, demonstrating positive growth and investment opportunities.

Sam Taylor, founder of Reputation Dynamics and Associate Partner of Corporate Donor Travel for Elevate Destinations, will be participating in a workshop and address the growth of Experiential Tourism in the context of alignment with economic, social and environmental responsibility trends. Experiential Tourism, encompassing eco-, nature, heritage, community and adventure tourism, is expected to grow three times faster than the tourism industry as a whole. In fact, beginning in the 1990s, this sector has grown 20-to-34% per year and could grow to 25% of the world’s travel market within six years, taking the value of the sector to $473.6 billion a year.

Event topics include sports and tourism, infrastructure development, marketing Africa, traveler perception, travel industry-related investment opportunities, airline and hotel development, as well as travel trends in Africa.

CCA, established in 1993, is a nonpartisan 501 (c) (3) membership organization of nearly 200 U.S. companies dedicated to strengthening the commercial relationship between the U.S. and Africa. CCA members represent nearly 85 percent of total U.S. private sector investments in Africa. The organization is dedicated to bringing together potential business partners and to showcase business opportunities on the continent. For more information on CCA, seminar and agenda visit www.africacncl.org.

The seminar will be held February 27-28, 2008 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, immediately preceding The New York Times Travel Show 2008.

Statistical Reference: World Tourism Organization (WTO).

Reputation Dynamics Joins United Nations Global Compact

Reputation Dynamics today announced that it has signed the United Nations Global Compact, reinforcing the company’s commitment to help companies advance their corporate social responsibility agendas among key stakeholders (employees, customers, board members, investors and suppliers).

Established in 2000, the Global Compact, the world’s largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative, brings together nearly 3,700 companies from more than 120 countries to advance ten universal principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environmental sustainability and anti-corruption. Through the power of collective action, the Global Compact seeks to promote responsible corporate citizenship and integrate these ten principles in business strategies and operations around the world so that business can be part of the solution to the challenges of globalization and sustainable development.

Joining the Global Compact is an extension to Reputation Dynamics corporate responsibility advisory services and current initiatives such as Conscious Commerce - an innovative business model and methodology to help companies properly align and market stakeholder-driven programs - and it’s strategic alliance with Elevate Destinations providing corporations with opportunities to visit destinations where they have business and/or philanthropic interests (http://www.elevatedestinations.com/).

Additionally, Reputation Dynamics engages in education and advocacy by providing perspectives to help companies align ‘Doing Good in Society’ with competitive business edge via this popular blog.

"We are proud to be supporting the organization’s 10 principles and its efforts to advance corporate citizenship and challenge business to take a responsible leadership position," said Samantha Taylor, Founder of Reputation Dynamics. “This is well-aligned with our core values and corporate vision."

More information about the Compact can be found at www.unglobalcompact.org.

Fast-Tracking Kenya’s Recovery….

It seems just like yesterday when my mother and I were driving to our home outside of Nairobi barely making the curfew deadline. Our heads were slightly ducked behind the car windscreen as my mother revved the accelerator past the security checkpoint.

In 1982, my family witnessed the devastating effects to a country and its people of a Kenyan coup d’etat attempt, which failed to overthrow President Daniel arap Moi’s government. On August 1, a group of soldiers from the Kenya Air Force took over the local radio station and announced they had overthrown the government. Sending Nairobi into utter chaos, about 145 people were killed and losses from widespread looting and destruction of property amounted to $111 million. My family was forced to hide out at home ‘on rations.’

Some parallels can be made between the ‘Hours of Chaos’ in 1982 and recent events surrounding President Mwai Kibaki’s disputed re-election, violence and deaths.

Of note, the poorest living in the slums of Nairobi and in rural areas, had all too little to lose in the violence and life for Kenyans once again more difficult.

The Kenya Presidential Elections of December 2007, are potentially the most damaging episode to national unity since the assassination of Tom Mboya in July 1969.

While there is celebration among select supporters for President Kibaki, the fear gripping the country is almost unprecedented in its 44 years of independence - as the Government and ODM continue to differ over the way forward for a peaceful settlement to the political crisis.

And, this is such bad timing for Kenya…..

Considered one of the most beautiful and more prosperous regions of Africa, Kenya has an estimated GDP growth of 6.7 percent and its unique landscapes, natural world and wildlife attractions brings in $900 million in tourism a year.

Kenya’s economy has been devastated by the violence and its reputation as a stable haven tarnished in a matter of weeks. As of 1/7, the economy was reported to have lost approximately $1 billion as a result of the post-election violence.

Some Perspective…

Kenya’s transition from dictatorship to democracy continues to be a tumultuous journey owing to its deeply rooted history in the political economies of colonialism, neocolonialism and neoliberalism. The country is further tainted by ongoing corruption and scandals under the rule of former dictators’ such as President Daniel arap Moi.

The first Kibaki government was elected in 2002 on a strong anti-corruption platform at a time when the country wanted a transparent government, justice brought to former corrupt officials and focus on economic development. While new corruption scandals occurred, the Kibaki administration delivered on the economy – jumping from 0.6% in 2002 to 6.1% in 2006. Despite its economy, Kenya still has some serious social issues and extreme poverty.

In 2006, the government unveiled Kenya Vision 2030, a development blueprint to turn Kenya into a newly industrialized ‘middle income country providing high quality of life for all its citizens by the year 2030.’

Kenya needs fast-track solutions to restore social harmony and aid recovery:

• Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga enter negotiations to find quick resolution to end violence and restore peace to its people
• More British and international intervention to help a humanitarian crisis
• Contending parties agree to a binding independent and monitored investigation of the election results
• Establish stronger anti-corruption platforms, transparent and accountable legal/government systems
• A new parliament should be called into session with the new post of Prime Minister directly answerable to Parliament
• Restore tourism and confidence
• Corporations and NGOs/non-profits should align social, economic and environmental responsibility programs with causes in need

The country’s economy will continue to lose hard-won ground if the political situation is not resolved quickly.

Harambe.