The Corporate Philanthropist: Stakeholders' Expectations of Business - Page 2
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Letter from CECP's Executive Director:
Global Business Leaders: Solving Social Problems through Business Strategy
Over the past year, every sector of society has experienced challenges of nearly unprecedented dimensions, causing us all to rethink the ways we engage with the world and its problems. We have entered an age of solution-oriented collaboration, in which each party coming to the table must leverage its unique resources for maximum effect.Businesses have many constituencies, and a new definition of “shareholder” has emerged as one of “multiple stakeholders,” a term that includes government, employees, consumers, activist groups, the nonprofit sector, and others. A broader view of business’ position in society requires a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities companies will face in social engagement and partnerships ten years from now.
As part of an exploration of this topic, CECP has reached outside the private sector in this issue of The Corporate Philanthropist, to a number of these stakeholder groups important to business, represented by national and international as well as public and independent leaders. Each of these contributors was asked to answer a single question: What do you expect of business in solving social problems, now and in the future?
We are grateful to our nine esteemed >contributors for lending their perspectives on this important question and hope the following articles will inspire the business sector to engage in new partnerships and to build a better society. We are impressed with the responses and consider this publication pre-reading for our forthcoming Board of Boards CEO Conferences in New York (February 22), in London (May 6–7) and in Abu Dhabi (November 11) – where the best in business will shape the future of our societies, focusing on Global Leaders: Solving Social Problems through Business Strategy.
