Why Sustainability Reporting is Good for Your Health

I've never been much of a one for exercise, although, for years, before my kids were born, I would go out walking for about an hour every morning around 6am. I love that time of the morning, when the city slowly starts to come alive. I would walk regularly, every day, week and weekends. There was a period I used to go with my husband to the gym about four times a week as well. Then, the kids came along - yep, you can blame them for everything, (including the fact that I never actually shed those XXX lbs gained during pregnancy so many years ago, hahah), and taking an hour to exercise early in the morning was no longer practical, as it was always my job to get the kids to their kindergartens, then schools, then high schools etc, make the sandwiches and sort out all the last minute stuff that needs to be sorted.

Then, in 2005, I started my own consulting business, and day and night and even weekends just blended into one another and every spare minute of my time just got consumed by my work and things associated with work. Of course, work is no longer work, it's life, and it's fun, when you are independent, doing the stuff you love doing. But a consequence of being gobbled up by work was that the hour before getting the kids out in the morning became screen-time, picking up emails from far corners of the world and ensuring I got up to date before the hecticness of the day set in. For a long while, I just didn't make time for any kind of exercise at all. And the elliptical we optimistically acquired rapidly became an interesting but useless piece of modern home decor.

At some point, I got into a routine of walking for an hour in the evening, together with my husband and son. That was fun, especially when we stopped for falafel on the way back. Haha. But then, in 2012, on one evening walk, I took a fall and broke my kneecap.

And for over a year, I was too scared to go out walking again in case I broke the other one. 

And that's where Sustainability Reporting comes in. 

In 2012-2013, I worked on the first Sustainability Report for GSK Latvia. As part of the community volunteering programs run by GSK in Latvia, there was a piece about helping elderly people in the community learn Nordic Walking.

I'll be honest, and confess that, while working on the report, I didn't really understand the attraction of Nordic Walking. I had never heard of it before. I did a quick web search and found a few video clips of people walking with poles, and it seemed to me rather unremarkable. Walking is walking. So what if you walk with a couple of sticks? How much healthier can that be? Why buy special poles just to walk?  

Now, you can see where I am heading. After breaking my leg, and being rather sensitive in general where knees are concerned (my other knee was operated on when I was 22 and it's never been quite right since), I suddenly remembered the Nordic Walking Poles I had written about in GSK Latvia's report. I bought myself a set, and lo and behold, I have become a Nordic Walker. And guess what. I now understand why Nordic Walking so much more invigorating than simply walking-walking. By moving with poles, you actually give your upper body a workout at the same time as your lower body, while reducing the stress on your spine and knees. I actually feel the benefit in my arms and shoulders, as well as my shins and thighs. I also feel much more stable and much more confident, even at quite a pace. I now really get it. And I have become Nordic Walking's number one fan. I still have to get myself into a routine where I can Nordic Walk every day, as work and family are still all-consuming, but I am starting to form a plan. 

And that, my friends, is why Sustainability Reporting is good for your health!

And here is a photo taken during this morning's Nordic Walk at 8:30am in Herzliya Park.

Oh and by the way, GSK Latvia's 2012 CSR Report is shortlisted in CRRA '14 online reporting awards in the Best First Time Report category.  As it is most definitely a report with a proven health benefit, I think it deserves your vote!

PS: Thanks to the great Veronica Scheubel who posted on Facebook her New Year Resolution to do more Nordic Walking, which inspired me to write this post!

Happy New Nordic Year everyone!



elaine cohen, CSR consultant, winning (CRRA'12) Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Ice Cream Addict. Author of Understanding G4: the Concise guide to Next Generation Sustainability Reporting  AND  Sustainability Reporting for SMEs: Competitive Advantage Through Transparency AND CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices . Contact me at www.twitter.com/elainecohen   or via my business website www.b-yond.biz   (Beyond Business Ltd, an inspired CSR consulting and Sustainability Reporting firm)

Sustainability: What the Numbers Tell You

Sustainability is not only about numbers. When all is said and done, sustainability is about people, community, society, collective responsibility and action, stories and interventions. But, sometimes, the numbers form a picture, and pictures can help us develop new insights and change our paradigms. And this can lead to new action. So,  when the The Conference Board, a non-profit organization which creates and disseminates knowledge about management and the marketplace to help executives make the right strategic decisions,  published a deep-dive study - perhaps the most comprehensive study available - of Sustainability Practices of thousands of companies around the world, containing more numbers about Sustainability Practices than I suspect you have ever seen in one place, you have to sit up and take notice. Ready?

The study is called Sustainability Practices 2012 Edition and is a 176 page epic, containing more data than anyone can absorb in one sitting and a wealth of relevant information for anyone interested in sustainability numbers, trends, areas of focus by sector and by subject, and opportunities to make a difference. The report was prepared in collaboration with Bloomberg, who runs one of the most extensive real-time financial and non-financial information networks to hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and with the GRI - no introduction necessary.

Sustainability Practices 2012 Edition is based on a global sample of 3000 business organizations tracked by Bloomberg's Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) database and covers 72 environmental and social practices including: atmospheric emissions, water consumption, biodiversity policies, labor standards, human rights practices, and charitable and political contributions. For benchmarking purposes, Bloomberg ESG data is compared with the S&P 500 (large capitalization U.S. companies) and the Russell 1000 (market cap-weighted index of U.S. companies), and further analyzed across 11 business sectors, using the CIGS code, and four revenue groups (under $1 billion, $10 billion, $100 billion and over $100 billion). The findings of the report are split into three broad areas: Disclosure Practices, Environment Practices and Social Practices.

Now for the numbers. Sitting up and taking notice?

19%

This is the overall social and environmental disclosure rate for companies in the global Bloomberg ESG 3000 Index, which is made up of largely non-U.S. companies. Does that surprise you? Only 574 companies out of a total 3,000 disclose on the full spectrum of 72 sustainability practices analyzed. This compares with 15% in the S&P 500 and 10% in the Russell 1000, showing that U.S. companies are lagging when it comes to overall sustainability disclosure. Match this with the next number:

25%

This is the number of companies in the Bloomberg ESG 3000 Index which released Sustainability Reports - 747 companies. More companies are reporting than disclosing. What does that tell us? That Sustainability Reporting is not delivering full transparency. In other words, just because it's called a Sustainability Report doesn't mean that it's transparent. By comparison, in the U.S., 45%  of the S&P 500 and 24% of the Russell 1000 publish reports. However, these indices are smaller and include large-cap, often global, companies, headquartered in the U.S., versus the Bloomberg Index which includes only 510 U.S. companies, 17% of the total 3000 sample. Overall the Bloomberg 3000 is weighted towards Japanese companies who have 27% of the sample, and with strong representation from India, China and the UK, and a host of other countries.  So Sustainability Reporting is more widespread globally than it is in the U.S. But that's not news. Match this with this next number:

80%

This is the rate of Sustainability Reporting for companies with more than $100 billion in annual revenues. Not surprising, perhaps, that this is a high figure. The larger the company, the greater its impacts, the more extensive its resources, the greater its risk exposure, the higher the expectations from stakeholders. However, 20% of these mega-corps are still resisting the reporting opportunity. The rate of Sustainability Reporting drops to 63% for companies over $10 billion, 25% for companies below $10 billion and only 4% for companies below $1 billion. $1 billion is still a heck of a company size and has potential for some serious impact. Who is chasing the other 96%? Match this with this next number:

46%

This is the rate of companies in the telecommunications services sector which publish Sustainability Reports. This is the highest reporting sector in the Bloomberg 3000. Contrary to the long-held view (and data) that financial services companies and energy companies have been leading the fray in sustainability reporting, only 20% and 25% respectively in these two sectors are publishing reports at a global level.

 Great work by telcos. What's driving this industry's reporting prowess? Match that with this number:

48%

This is the rate of telcos which use the GRI guidelines to report. Again, this is the highest rate of all sectors, with an overall average being 30%, generally lower than the hype would suggest. Consumer Discretionary and Information Technology companies have the lowest uptake rate of the GRI guidelines, at 27%.  Again, we find that the highest revenue companies are more likely to use GRI guidelines (66% - 23 companies) versus the lowest revenue companies (10% - 109 companies). The picture in the telecommunications sector is both of high disclosure and high use of the GRI guidelines. Telcos also have the highest rate of report verification and assurance at 26% (versus an overall average of 13%).  Match that with this number:

24%

telcos. No wonder it's so expensive to connect.  But take a look at these numbers:

54% - 43%

The numbers of women employed in the workforce and the numbers of women in management in the telco sector. Hah! One of my favorite indicators.  Not so rosy in the IT sector, where women make up 13% of the workforce and only 9% of management. Across all sectors, the lowest revenue group of companies has the highest proportion of women in management - 24%. Telcos stand out for positive diversity in other respects too - with 26% disabled employees, and 7% of minorities in management. Apparently, if you are a disabled woman from a minority group,  you stand the best chances of advancing your career in a telco. If you are a man, the materials sector is for you. A median 86% of managers are male, and 85% of the total workforce. Match that with this number:

7%

This is the proportion of companies reporting employee fatalities in the Bloomberg 3000. Only 197 companies out of 3000 disclose this figure (even less in the U.S. large company Russell 1000, where only 36 companies disclose). The average rate of fatalities across all those companies reporting is 2, but the Information Technology Sector inflates this average with a total of 6 fatalities. Conclusion: don't go into IT if you value your life. Match that with this number:

59%

This is the proportion of companies that disclose their Health and Safety Policy. This includes 58% of Information Technology companies where six people died. Just think how things might improve if 100% of companies had a Health and Safety Policy. Would things get worse, or better? Match that with this number:

1,367

This is the average number of workforce accidents reported by the 12% (364) companies who disclose this information. I calculate this to be a total of  almost half a million accidents in this small sample. Only 5% of companies report how many lost workhours result from these accidents, reporting an average 56,111 lost hours across only 137 companies, but this is much higher than the average in large U.S. companies, which report an average of 36,121 hours (13 companies) in the Russell 1000. This might indicate that it is safer to work in the U.S.  Or that you have your accident, and get back to work pronto. Even so, the Russell 1000 indicates the lost-time equivalent of 18 employees per year per company that do not come to work as a result of an accident. Rather shocking, don't you think? The impact on families and communities of such safety issues can be quite significant. Match that with this number:

36%

This is the proportion of companies which disclose their charitable giving. I would have expected this number to be higher. Companies like to tell their good news. Match that with this number:

$161,522,597

This is the average community spending reported in the energy sector in the Bloomberg 3000. This is by far the highest rate of charitable giving, comparing with an average across all companies which disclosed of almost $28 million. The healthcare sector is the second largest giver with an average of $98 million reported by 47 companies. Industrial sector companies have not been bitten by the bug to this extent, apparently, with the giving average at a mere $10 million reported by 232 companies. Match that with this number:

$66,800,000

This is the median total corporate giving reported for 21 companies with in the highest revenue group - over $100 billion. If ya got it, share it. Seems to work for them. Companies with under $1 billion revenues give a median of $88,552. Yes, that's thousands, not millions. Match that with this number:

$1,000,353

This is the average utilities sector spend on political lobbying, more than double that of any other sector in this study. Overall, in the Bloomberg 3000, the average amount spent on lobbying is $226,065 per company (though only 14% of companies disclose this information). Interestingly, in the U.S. alone, the amount spent is three times that much. The politicization of business in the U.S. is quite some investment, it seems, if you are a utilities company. Wonder if it's worth it?

I am going to stop here for now, while I continue to study this report. You can read a great review of key findings and  broader conclusions of this report  in the Conference Board's Press Release. Or you can wait for my next post, as I will definitely have more to say about this in the coming week, after getting to the rest of the numbers that I have not looked at yet in detail. 

In the meantime, you might now like a little light relief, by watching the Sustainability Practices 2012 Edition authors, Matteo Tonello, Director of Corporate Leadership at the Conference Board and  Thomas Singer, Conference Board Research Associate, talk about the importance and relevance of this study and what this means. It's short and to the point and contains no numbers.

Thomas Singer rounds off with this perspective: "To a large extent, sustainability is about long-term risk management. It's about making sure that, if you are a company that is dependent on finite resources, you make sure that those resources are available, that they are clean and that you have access to them in the long haul. However there is a very important second part to sustainability which is ensuring innovation and new products, new markets. It is those companies that actually go beyond seeing sustainability as a risk strategy and more of an innovation strategy, those are the companies that really become sustainability leaders in the long term"

Final Tip: ice cream is a great remedy, if your eyes are getting a little fatigued from figures and percentages. Any flavor will do.

elaine cohen, CSR consultant, winning (CRRA'12) Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Ice Cream Addict. Author of CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices Contact me via www.twitter.com/elainecohen   on Twitter or via my business website www.b-yond.biz  (Beyond Business Ltd, an inspired CSR consulting and Sustainability Reporting firm)

Learning CSR Lessons in Romania

Following my posts on the Value of Case Studies and the Ukraine Case Study contest, the third in this Case Study Trilogy is set against the backdrop of the Transylvanian Mountains and Count Dracula, who could probably have written several Case Studies but not necessarily about sustainability. This post takes us to Bucharest, home to 2.2 million people and the center of Romania's growing economy. It is also home to Dragos Dehelean, Managing Partner of Selenis, a PR  and Communications firm and CEO of ResponsabilitateSociala, a comprehensive portal for all things CSR in Romania. ResponsabilitateSociala is the driving force behind a two day annual event, presenting European CSR Lessons, or Case Studies, for the benefit of the local CSR practitioners, professionals, academics and NGO's. While I was unable to attend on Day One, I had a fabulous time on Day Two (16th May 2012).

The first part of the day was devoted to a panel discussion on community development with speakers from Petrom, Erste Bank Serbia, GlaxoSmithKline Romania, Raiffeisen Bank, and Fundatia Vodafone. All presented fascinating examples of the way they had developed their programs, and spoke frankly about the challenges, dilemmas and choices along the way. An audience of some hundred participants was highly engaged, and each presentation was met with several questions.

Mona Nicolici from Petrom described how  Petrom developed a new strategy which started with educating employees in Sustainability and forming ten action teams throughout the company's operations to support community empowerment programs.  Andrea Brbaklić from Erste Bank in Serbia described her company's program, called Centrifuge, to promote cultural decentralization, youth activism and prevent deviant behavior. Andreia Cucu of GlaxoSmithKline Romania talked about the company's  'The health of kids in the Danube Delta,' program, together with the Association Save the Danube and the Delta by which 80 percent of the kids in this poor and isolated area of Romania benefited from a free medical examination and a health campaign. Corina Vasile of Raiffeisen Bank described the bank's program of donating funds to NGO using social media tools. Finally, in this fascinating session, Elena Serban of the Vodafone Foundation explained how the global foundation provides grants for six-month professional volunteering opportunities, with fifteen people from Romania taking part this year.

The afternoon session was devoted to stakeholder engagement and ways in which companies interact with stakeholders. In this session, I presented a case study from my client comme il faut, an Israeli fashion house, and the way this company engages with different stakeholder groups and also leverages a much broader dialog in society to advance the position of women.

Here is my presentation:

Europe CSR Lessons: Lipstick, Food, Fashion and Prostitution

View more presentations from elaine cohen.

What impressed me most about the day, however, was not only the high quality presentations and generosity of the presenters in sharing their approaches, but also the intense engagement of the audience who fully involved themselves in the debates that arose. Overall, there is a fine sustainability movement building momentum in Romania, and this is a pleasure to see. Kudos to Dragos Dehelean for making a formidable contribution.

As for me, I will be back in Bucharest next week, working with a client on their first Sustainability Report. Hope they haven't run out of ice cream.

elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Ice Cream Addict. Author of CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices   Contact me via www.twitter.com/elainecohen   on Twitter or via my business website www.b-yond.biz (Beyond Business, an inspired CSR consulting and Sustainability Reporting firm)

Community giving: Motorola Solutions Foundation reveals all

Last week, it was my pleasure to facilitate a fascinating meeting at Motorola Solutions Israel in honor of the visit of Matthew (Matt) Blakely, the enthusiastic Director of the Motorola Solutions Foundation. Founded in 1953, the Motorola Solutions Foundation focuses its funding on public safety, disaster relief, employee programs and education, especially science, technology, engineering and math programming. In 2010, the Motorola Solutions Foundation invested $18.4 million in strategic community programs around the world, which was supplemented by an additional $7.1 million in employee giving and other cash and product donations. The largest chunk of this total amount - $13.9 million - went to support educational programs. The assets of the Foundation are over $70 million. You can check out the Foundation's activities on their Facebook page.

Matt getting ready to talk to a group of CSR Managers and NGO's

In his talk to a selection of CSR Managers from local industry and some NGO leaders, Matt emphasized:

The Focus on STEM Education: (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) This makes sense for Motorola, because, "as a company of scientists, we feel it's important to support the next generation".  This is particularly important for women, and other underrepresented groups in technology careers, so that they can gain exposure to the possibilities of developing a science-based career and gain tools to pursue such opportunities. 

The Focus on Public Safety: Motorola Solutions makes the radio technologies and communications equipment that government entities and fire departments use, as well as  logistics and large retail companies. These are communications devices, which are typically rugged and durable  for use in a range of challenging applications such as coastguard organizations, federal law enforcement and more. Because of this, the connection to support public safety and support for the families of fallen first responders is a natural link and focus of outreach for the Motorola Solutions Foundation. In addition, the Foundation often works together with customers and partners on volunteer activities. Supporting the work of the Red Cross, for example, is a key part of Motorola Solutions efforts.

Supporting Local Communities: "We want to make sure our impact is felt at local level". Local involvement in community causes is very important to Motorola Solutions employees and a range of activities are progressed around the world. Part of this is by way of cash donations from both the Motorola Solutions Foundation and employees, but many of these programs are about personal volunteering and engagement.

Long Term relationships: The Motorola Solutions Foundation likes to maintain long-term relationships with the causes it supports and 72 percent of the beneficiary organizations are ones which have been connected with Motorola in previous years. However, grants are made on an annual basis, to prevent complacency in the annual allocation process and to "refresh the partnership" - each year,  requesting organizations are asked to submit a new grant request  and reaffirm progress made so far and new objectives. This provides the opportunity to review, discuss and ensure that allocations are made for the right reasons.

The Stability of the Foundation: Because the Motorola Solutions Foundation funds its annual budget from assets, there is a high degree of stability from year to year. The total amount of funds allocated is not subject to short-term pressures, market downturns or changes in management.

The Measurement of impact: Prior to approving grants to any local cause, the Motorola Solutions Foundation examines the effectiveness of its social activity and the nature of the impact the organization has in society. For example, there are several programs in which improved school attendance and performance has been documented as a result of Motorola Solutions Foundation-supported programs and interventions.

It was very interesting to hear from someone whose job is to give away over $20 million per year. It was more interesting to hear the very careful, strategic, impact-focused approach. It may be easy to give away money, but it is far less easy to ensure that the money is used effectively to create positive social outcomes. Aimee Schutzman, the CSR Manager of  Motorola Solutions in Israel, and a highly-experienced local CSR leader, who hosted the meeting, was on hand to give local examples of how the Motorola Solutions Foundation supports programs in this country.

Aimee Schutzman - the Motorola Solutions Israel CSR Champion

Following Matt's talk and discussion with other local companies, three NGO's presented their activity:

Time to Know: This is a fabulous initiative that provides a breakthrough solution for one-to-one computing classrooms. Teachers use Time to Know's interactive comprehensive curriculum and digital teaching platform to manage all classroom activities and deliver a personalized curriculum to every student with significantly enhanced learning outcomes. This is a tremendous futuristic, almost surreal, type of classroom environment which is incredible to observe. Apparently the future is already here. Check this out:

T2K: a Paradigm Shift in K-12 Education from Time To Know on Vimeo.

Lior Boker Foundation (Hebrew website only) :  Lior Boker was a firefighter who heroically lost his life during a beyond-the-call-of-duty attempt to rescue victims of the Carmel Fire which raged in Israel's Carmel Mountains, killing many and displacing hundreds of families. Lior's widow, Nava Boker, established a Foundation in her late husband's name to help support firefighting activities - train firefighters, support firefighting rescue services and encourage and train volunteers. An inspiring example of bravely turning adversity into the opportunity to help others in the name of one who gave his life to do so.

Project Wadi Attir - A Model Sustainable Desert community

Project Wadi Attir seeks to develop and demonstrate a model for sustainable, community-based organic farming, adapted to a desert environment. It is designed to combine Bedouin aspirations, values and experience in desert agriculture, with sustainability principles and cutting edge green technologies, including renewable energy production, resource recycling and arid land stewardship. It is intended to showcase a breakthrough approach to environmentally sound sustainable development, which could impact the Middle East region as well as other parts of the world. Check it out - and be inspired - here:

Anyway back to strategic philanthropy. In my opening remarks at the meeting, I mentioned four purposes of corporate community investment:

Uno: To meet a community need by leveraging the resources and capabilities of business in a way which complements and augments work done in other sectors.

Due: To demonstrate good corporate citizenship – which gives reputational value.

Tre: To provide a benefit for the organization - in terms of supporting a team-culture, service-orientation and exposing employees to new challenges which build their skills.

Quattro: To provide a personal benefit for employees – the feeling of giving to the community is genuinely appreciated at a personal level.

Unfortunately, though, in Israel, the concern with the first purpose tends to be subordinate to the other three. That means, companies are more concerned with seen to be being good and making their employees happy than they are with using their precious resources to contribute to truly long term systemic change that enriches communities and the quality of life for all.  The short-termism of community involvement and the lack of any real measurement of the effectiveness – the outcomes - of community involvement are two things that characterize the way things work in here. In fact, that's the big difference between involvement and investment.

Investment is about strategic philanthropy – creating collaborative partnerships and working to bring about deeply-felt impact over time to meet defined needs in society. It's about creating – and calculating – a social return on this investment, not only an economic return for the business. Internal organizational benefits are also important but they need to be combined carefully with social needs in order to find the optimum mix.

In Israel, community involvement is generally short-term, employee-focused and outcomes are not measured. Companies record total giving and volunteer hours, but rarely much more, with a few exceptions. 

The Maala Ranking for 2011, which included 85 (mainly publicly traded) companies, reported a total community contribution of  $144 million – with around $1.5 million being the average per company – less than 1% of pre-tax profit (compared to 1 – 3% average in more CSR-developed countries). 10% of these companies gave over $ 2.5 million per year – in fact, two organizations alone contributed over $18 million in total . Around 50 companies contribute less than half a million dollars. 87% of these companies encourage employee volunteering with an average 20% of employee participation.

This compares with median total giving in a survey in the US of 184 leading companies where the median total giving was $22.10 million  in 2010. 81% of companies reported have a corporate foundation.

Corporate foundations in Israel are not popular. There are very few. One of the main reasons is the amount of money that corporations are investing in communities is relatively low, partly due to the size of the local market and partly due to other corporate and cultural considerations. Perhaps one of these considerations is the long-term commitment that is required before you establish a foundation. In the 2011 ranking (covering 2010 data), for example, when the economy declined, Israeli companies contributed over 40% less than in 2010, and the lowest they have contributed for four years on average (according to the Maala Ranking) . In the U.S, in 2010, where economic conditions were no better, corporate charitable giving rose by 10.6%.

All in all, a very worthwhile opportunity to listen, share, think and discuss matters related to corporate community involvement, investment, giving and volunteering. Kudos to Matt Blakely, Aimee Schutzman and the Motorola Solutions Foundation.

elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Ice Cream Addict. Author of CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices  Contact me via www.twitter.com/elainecohen   on Twitter or via my business website www.b-yond.biz/en  (Beyond Business, an inspired CSR consulting and Sustainability Reporting firm)