An exceptional ESG strategy leverages employees through employee-driven innovation, impact measurement support and decision-making responsibility. — The pressure is on for companies — pubic and private — to take environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns seriously. Investors want to see it, customers want to know about it. No matter what their size, companies should take steps to begin encouraging, monitoring and reporting on ESG initiatives.

Going agile can help organizations be more responsive to the needs of the communities they support and make a greater impact on stakeholders. — For the past year, I’ve been part of an agile project management team overseeing a major website overhaul. We use Jira, we have user stories, we hold daily scrums and we work in 3-week sprints. We are a pretty typical agile project that has a framework guiding how we work…

CSR is a lot of bullshit, but by understanding its nature, we can fix it and motivate companies to act. — Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a lot of bullshit. Companies jump on the latest CSR trends. Bland, vague goals are prone to manipulation and grandiosity. A company may not have the intention to deceive us when it declares, “We’ll help achieve gender equality by 2030!”, but the statement is bullshit…

To help people be their best selves at work, organizations need to reflect trust in their structures, not just in policies — Last year was a lot. By October, with the US election looming, my existential dread about the state of the world reached an all-time high. Thankfully, just at the same time, I read the latest book by historian and author Rutger Bregman called Humankind: A Hopeful History. The book gave…

Companies’ corporate social responsibility efforts should be integrated into content marketing, but to create stories with integrity marketers need to consider ethics and purpose — Hopefully, right now, your company is already doing some work to make the world better and cause less harm. …

Mindfulness can develop behaviours that make us more socially responsible and sustainable — Over 10 years ago, I went on a 10-day silent meditation retreat. Each day consisted of a very early wake up call, many hours of seated meditation, a couple of simple meals and absolutely no digital or physical distractions. We were also encouraged to mindfully walk around the grounds. …

Diversity, equity & inclusion isn’t just about company employees: it is also a company’s responsibility to incorporate DEI in its external-facing work — Like the reverberations of the #MeToo movement, #BlackLivesMatter has opened up a space and dialogue about systemic issues in society and the workplace. It’s a long awaited reckoning and a catalyst for change. …

It’s not just about cryptocurrency: smart contracts are making philanthropy more sophisticated and encouraging non-profit impact measurement — Applications of blockchain technology¹ are set to be revolutionary for the non-profit sector. Blockchain is already affecting how services and projects are implemented and managed and how donations are being received and distributed. …

Many companies make mistakes with corporate advocacy, or “brand activism”, but here’s how you can build a solid strategy that’s meaningful — Corporate advocacy is no longer only stodgy political lobbying for profit motives. These days, it’s about being vocal and making impacts on social, political, economic and environmental issues. Ideally, it has the goal of improving society and addressing systemic issues.