New Horizon, Better World
CEIBS’ HOMEGROWN BEING GLOBALLY RESPONSIBLE CONFERENCE ATTRACTED 34 EXPERTS AND 300 ATTENDEES FROM CHINA AND AROUND THE WORLD. NOW IN ITS THIRD YEAR, THE BGRC REMAINS ASIA’S FIRST, LARGEST, AND MOST THOUGHT-PROVOKING CSR FORUM LAUNCHED BY AND FOR B-SCHOOL STUDENTS.
By Laurie Underwood & Charmaine N. Clarke "How receptive is China to the concept of CSR?" "How can a company achieve socially responsible investing?" "Which types of alternative energy are most promising now?"
These were among the timely and provocative questions raised during the 3rd Annual Being Globally Responsible Conference (BGRC) hosted at CEIBS from June 6 to 7. The conference featured 34 international CSR experts speaking from their backgrounds in NGOs, government, business, or academia. Some 300 students, corporate executives and media members turned out for the event. This year's participants included 130 visiting MBA students from 36 top business schools in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Australia, Denmark, Spain and the United States.
Launched by CEIBS in 2006, the conference is the first and largest student-organized CSR conference for future business leaders in the Asia-Pacific region. This year's conference included a new "first" for CEIBS: the school's debut international business-school competition, innovateCHINA.
THE ROLE OF BUSINESS SCHOOLS IN CSR
In his opening address on June 6, CEIBS Dean and Vice President Rolf D. Cremer stressed the school's commitment to social responsibility in education. He also emphasized the importance of sustainable development practices for businesses in China and around the world.
CEIBS Distinguished Professor of Global Responsible Leadership Prof. Henri-Claude de Bettignies, who is also European Chair for Global Governance and Sino-European Business Relations, next argued that business schools have a clear responsibility to promote CSR. "Today's graduates will become tomorrow's business and economic leaders. Thus, it is crucial to equip them with the knowledge and sense of responsibility in order to create a healthy, ethical and sustainable economy that will lead to a better environment and a better world," said Prof. de Bettignies.
The need for Chinese companies to reach international standards in CSR practices was the topic addressed by Prof. Wang Zhile, Director of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce's Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. In his speech, "Chinese Enterprises Face the Challenges of Strengthening Responsibilities," Prof. Wang argued that now is the time for domestic companies to upgrade in such areas as worker safety, product safety, and environmental protection. "When companies become global, they should improve their mindset on CSR," he stated.
"CSR and Economic Development: Is CSR Really a Priority or Even Relevant?" was the question addressed by Professor of Corporate Social Responsibility Dirk Matten of York University's Schulich School of Business. Despite facing critics, CSR is becoming increasingly relevant, Prof. Matten argued. Today, he said, the concept goes beyond the "Bill Gates model of philanthropy," in which one makes money then gives some of it away. Instead, the idea now refers to "how you make your money in the honest interest of multiple stakeholders."
BUSINESS SOLUTIONS TO SOCIAL ISSUES
Kicking off a panel discussion with four China-savvy experts, Ms. Nancy Barry, President of Nancy Barry Associates, introduced her work for the organization Enterprise Solutions to Poverty. She explained how her organization attacks the root causes of poverty through promoting the concept of "doing well by doing good." Mr. Anthony Lin, Shanghai Branch Manager of Standard Chartered Bank, and Mr. Yong Tao, President of Beijing SDR, then outlined two projects supporting microfinance in rural China. Ms. Ying Lu, COFCO Rice Business Unit Deputy General Manager, shared her company's work to improve business and environmental conditions for Chinese rice farmers.
"Strategy and Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and CSR," was the topic addressed by UN Senior Advisor Fred Dubee Three senior corporate executives then shared real life experiences in incorporating CSR into corporate operations and strategy. Evonik Senior Vice President Dr. Matthias Kottenhahn addressed "Winning by Creation," Atlas Copco Vice President Magnus Gyllo discussed "Achieving Sustainable Profitable Growth," and Gamesa Energy China General Manager Alberto Mendez spoke on "CSR: Key Drivers and Challenges at Gamesa."
Day One of BGRC 2008 ended with a series of break-out workshops on the topics of Socially Responsible Investment, Alternative Energy, Aligning CSR in Marketing & Public Communication, and Sustainable Building Standards Implementation.
MBA TOOLTIT FOR CSR
The Second Day of BGRC began with practical advice on how MBA students can use CSR to make a difference to the business world and the wider society. In a presentation entitled "MBA Toolkit for CSR", Bayer's William Valentino stressed the difference between sustained CSR and feel-good quick fixes. He urged the MBA students in the audience to get involved: "The new paradigm is not about profits, it's not about money, it's about what value you create. You need to be the guinea pigs that are going to go out, after your MBA, and the new paradigm is not about profits, it's not about money, it's about what value you create. you need ... go out, after your MBa, and think how you can integrate these ideas into the companies where you work.
The government's role in CSR was addressed in a speech entitled "The CSR Navigator" by Associate Partner of Public One Ms. Carolin Welzel. Ms. Welzel emphasized the need for the public sector to play a role in actions often regarded as corporate-or private-sector initiatives. "In order to solve problems, there has to be cooperation between the three sectors. Cooperation is the key in this," she said.
BALANCING ACT
Focusing on real-life CSR examples, the next segment of the conference featured MBA students sharing case studies. During a speech on "CSR in Poverty Alleviation," CEIBS student Sebastian Zhang focused on the issue of rural education based on his work with the NGO Red Chalk. "The Sustainability Journey: CSR at Honest Tea and Beyond" was the topic explored by Ms. Jennifer Blazejewski from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. KAIST student Ms. Hee-jung Nam spoke on "The Role of Environment Protection in CSR ? 2007 Korea Oil Spill.," while CUHK's Mr. Gregory Lok presented "Challenges and Opportunities of Embedding CSR Principles and Curricula in MBA Programmes."
The afternoon session consisted of three simultaneous workshops that dealt, respectively, with "The Role of HR in CSR", "Corporate Governance" and "Developing an Ethical Supply Chain." Keynote speaker Porter Erisman, Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Alibaba Group, tracked worldwide attitudinal shifts toward CSR from simply donating money to active participation in socially responsible behaviour, using examples from Alibaba's CRS programmes. "The first place to start when doing CSR is to identify the core things your business does already, [and build on those areas to find projects] that you can get involved with," he said.
Other afternoon panellists included Senior Manager of the Listing Department of the Shanghai Stock Exchange Ms. Lin Li, Columbia University Professor Sirkka Korpela, Maersk Logistics North Asia Region's Head of Commercial Operations Kim Overman, and the company's Head of Supply Chain Development Mr. Stephen Lee. Tackling the challenges faced by big-name corporations in reducing their carbon footprints while actively pursuing profits was a panel of experts including President of Evonik Greater China Region Dr. Dahai Yu; President of Shanghai (Huayi) Group Mr. Xunfeng Liu; Executive Vice President of Shanghai Xinzhuang Industry Park Mr. Jianping Chen; General Manager of Evonik Sanzheng (Yingkou) Dr. Yutong Zhu; and Founder and General Manager of SynTao Dr. Peiyuan Guo.
After a lively Q&A session, CEIBS Vice President and Co-Dean Professor Zhang Weijiong brought the conference to a close by highlighting the need for both individuals and corporations to get involved in CSR. "In the long run, corporations should view globally responsible behavior as a competitive advantage, and combine it with corporate strategy and culture," he said, urging attendees to share the lessons learned at the conference. "B-school students, the world's future business leaders, should play a key role in educating and promoting the ideas behind these messages to the world," he said.
BOX:
Key Student Organizers
Fan Chao
Eileen Xiao
Sunnie Zhang
Judy Qu
Alex Li
Gulnara Abdullina
Tiger Yu
Natalia Gerasimenko
Students Who Helped With:
Sponsor, media & MC
Susana Miro
Jeffrey Teng
Sophia Xu
Kim Wei
Joyce Wu
Marius
Jeffrey Pi
Speakers Coordination
Jason Lee
Jadis Han
Bryan Que
Spring Xing
Bruce Cui
Eugene Kim
Robert Zhang
Gulam Ghaus Wani E
Logistics & Student invitations
Dong Lu
Martin Zhang
Vincent Zhu
Junji Okamoto
Will Wang
