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1 A Guide to the “Qualities of a Transformational Company” Executive Summary Ca

1 A Guide to the “Qualities of a Transformational Company” Executive Summary Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR), has developed this guide on “The Qualities of a Transformational Company”. The goal is to provide an aspirational and inspiration roadmap for companies to scale up their corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability efforts in order to address systemic societal risks, challenges and opportunities and improve their long-term business prospects. Global research into ‘next practices’ in CSR and sustainability reveals there are 19 qualities of a transformational company. The Guide provides a description of each quality, including the business case, action steps, case studies and additional resources. Companies can use them to prioritize and develop initiatives that will enhance both business and societal prospects and build a better world for all. The Transformational Company Qualities Guide is the definitive go-to resource, benchmark and checklist for anyone interested in the essential requirements of CSR or sustainability leadership. Whether developing or refreshing your CSR or sustainability strategy, consider these qualities and this Guide for best practice inspiration and insight. This is the new leadership bar – and the compelling imperative for a sustainable future for companies and the present and future generations they serve. Introduction A growing and urbanizing global population, changing societal expectations, and continuous technology innovation are affecting the context in which business can succeed and thrive. These tectonic shifts compel companies to rethink their business models to ensure that they can create shareholder and societal value over the long term. This is driving a fresh look at the qualities companies must embrace to foster commercial and social success: the “transformational qualities”. For the past few decades many companies have improved their social and environmental performance on a continuous and incremental basis. The reality is, however, that slow and steady is no longer enough. Global social and environmental trends - such as resource, water and food pressures, climate change, unemployment, ageing, obesity, immigration, and rising income inequality - are creating new risks and opportunities for business. Increasing transparency and social connectivity coupled with growing consumer demand for social leadership are transforming the competitive landscape and opening windows to business-model and product innovation. Leading companies realize that to improve both their operating context and societal well-being they must act beyond their own operations and the foreseeable future. These companies invest in new measures to scale up their positive impacts and dramatically reduce their negative impacts to create a future-fit, viable business that is virtuous and collaborative by design. To better understand this new breed of company, Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR) commissioned global research in 2012 to identify these new qualities and to compile them into a framework for other companies to follow. These qualities are based on a scan of 20 global guidelines for sustainability and corporate social responsibility leadership with input from nearly three dozen sustainability thought leaders around the world. In 2013 and 2014 CBSR published forty case studies of the transformational qualities in action. In 2015 CBSR published this Guide to help other businesses identify opportunities to become transformational in their regions, markets, value chains, and sectors. Opportunities for Action: Using the Guide Businesses can scan the list of 19 qualities, organized by “what you do”, “how you do it”, and “who you interact with”, to quickly identify gaps and opportunities for action. Step 1: Review the list of 19 qualities and identify the top transformational opportunities aligned with your priorities and capacity. Step 2: Drill down into each chapter for further information on the quality, the business case and best practices of leading companies demonstrating the qualities. Step 3: Consider the suggestions on how to implement the quality. Step 4: Refer to the resources listed for more information. There is no magical formula or threshold for becoming a transformational company. The more qualities pursued by a company, the more transformational the company becomes compared to its peers, which remain focused on short term practices in their direct operational control. Business Benefits of the Transformational Qualities As revealed by the case studies in the guide, companies of any size, sector and type can adopt transformational qualities. Publicly traded companies, owner-operated businesses, and co-operatives have developed effective business models and strategies that generate both financial and social value. While there is no definitive ‘return on investment’ yet, given the newness of these approaches, there are many business benefits that can be realized from a transformational approach: • Employee engagement: Improve employee recruitment, retention and productivity; be seen as an employer of choice • Customer satisfaction: Increase customer attraction, engagement and advocacy; provide access to new markets • Brand and reputation: Build a positive brand and reputation with key stakeholders; become a partner of choice • Cost savings: Lower costs from reduced materials, water and energy use and waste management • Government relations: Anticipate, prepare for and influence government regulations and standards • Supply and resource security: Improve supply-chain security and maintain access to scarce resources; manage price volatility • Innovation: Foster innovation and develop new products and services • Risk management: Decrease strategic and operational risks; enhance business continuity • Capital access: Increase availability of capital • Operating context: Improve the operating context of the business; create external conditions for future success • Competitive advantage: Build competitive and first-mover advantage • Social license: Strengthen stakeholder relations and social licence to operate and grow The 19 qualities are profiled below. They can be read in sequence, or selectively, depending on preferences. Please visit our Transformational Company Qualities website for more information, tips and tools. We value your feedback and encourage you to contact CBSR at info@cbsr.ca with your comments and ideas. Let us know if your company has transformational practices and we would be pleased to help you tell your story. Acknowledgements CBSR thanks the following for their contribution to this Guide: Coro Strandberg, CBSR Associate and Principal of Strandberg Consulting, for researching, compiling and creating the Guide and sharing her transformational tools and resources. She in turn appreciates the support and advice she received from the corporate sustainability and social responsibility practitioner community while compiling this Guide and acknowledges that the content incorporates and builds upon the work of many others. Employment and Social Development Canada for funding production of the Guide. Enbridge financially sponsored promotion and distribution of the Guide. The National Zero Waste Council financially sponsored Quality #10: Closed Loop. 2 # 1: SUSTAINABLE PURPOSE Transformational companies aim to align overall corporate purpose with sustainability principles where sustainability drives value, where what the company does is a benefit to society, and where profits enable fair and equitable compensation for natural and social resources. WHAT IS IT? Leading companies realize the importance of ensuring a healthy society and environment today and in the future and shift their business to achieve long-term commercial success while accelerating inclusive and sustainable prosperity. They rewire their business so that their growth is a positive force in society and gain competitive advantage in doing so. Many take explicit responsibility to reduce their impacts on future generations. They adopt a compelling and aspirational core purpose, quest or mission that goes beyond making money to create value for both business and society. This core purpose – their contribution to society and the greater good – shapes and informs the company’s essential reason for being. It describes why the company exists, and the positive impact it seeks to make. This is placed at the core of their operations and at the heart of the brand proposition in one integrated strategy. For some it transcends maximizing profits and shareholder value, and for others it is the means by which they create value and grow. Either way, it becomes a business philosophy and a shared intent by everyone in the business, guiding every decision of the leaders and employees in all departments. These companies realize their success cannot be achieved at the expense of their employees, communities, and the environment and ensure these stakeholders are compensated fairly for their contributions. This includes pay equity and living wages for employees, fair pay ratios between executives and the workforce, ensuring suppliers treat employees well, benefit sharing with communities and internalizing the environmental costs of production through paying for environmental offsets or eco-system services. Sustainable purpose organizations take a holistic approach to measuring and defining value, in ways that include business and social value. # 1: SUSTAINABLE PURPOSE Transformational Company Quality “They rewire their business so that their growth is a positive force in society and gain competitive advantage in doing so.” Purposeful Companies Examples of companies adopting a ’sustainable’ purpose: “We create chemistry for a sustainable future”, BASF “Working with people and communities to help them thrive and prosper”, Vancity Credit Union “Make it easier for customers to have better, more sustainable homes”, Kingfisher 3 # 1: SUSTAINABLE PURPOSE WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? Expectations of business and its role in society have changed. As society faces more serious challenges from resource scarcity to rising inequality, stakeholders increasingly look to business uploads/Industriel/ transformational-company-guide.pdf