What’s new (and exciting) about Sustainable Value Creation?

 

 

Margaret Coady
Director
Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy

August 12, 2011 -- To paraphrase the remarks of Professor Stuart Hart, author of Capitalism at the Crossroads, in his keynote address at CECP’s 2011 Corporate Philanthropy Summit: you know an idea has caught fire when buzzwords for it proliferate. With that in mind, our ears perked up at the observation by Tim McClimon, President of the American Express Foundation, in his CSR Now! blog that a new crop of buzzwords has emerged to describe the win-win opportunity waiting for companies and communities at the intersection of business interests and societal need.

Tim notes, correctly, that CECP has added to the dense thicket of terminology with the introduction of the term “Sustainable Value Creation” (published first in our 2010 report “Shaping the Future: Solving Social Problems through Business Strategy” based on research by McKinsey & Company, which we followed-up on this summer with “Business at its Best: Driving Sustainable Value Creation” co-authored with Accenture).

So, in the context of a landscape buzzing with confusing terms, what do we think is exciting about “Sustainable Value Creation”? And why did we write two reports about it?

Interview conducted by Aaron Hurst, president and founder, Taproot Foundation
The Taproot Foundation's mission is to lead, mobilize and engage professionals in pro bono service that drives social change. This interview with Bobbi Silten, President of Gap Foundation and Senior Vice President, Global Responsibility for Gap Inc. originally appeared on the Huffington Post on July 6, 2011. To read more of Aaron Hurst's interviews and reflections, visit the Pro Bono Junkie's Blog.

 

Aaron Hurst
President and Founder
Taproot Foundation

August 3, 2011 -- One of the best parts of my job is meeting amazingly smart and cool people. This week I talked with Bobbi Silten, the President of Gap Foundation and Senior Vice President of Global Responsibility for Gap Inc., about her killer career, her passion for service and how her background in business is key to running a successful foundation. Besides being sworn in as a member of the White House Council for Community Solutions earlier this year, Bobbi is the central force behind the Reimagining Service collaborative, increasing the impact of volunteerism.