June 5, 2009. -- Grameen Bank founder Dipal Barua, bestselling author and founder of 'Dream Change' John Perkins, and President of Evonik China Yu Da Hai were among the impressive list of speakers for Being Globally Responsible Conference 2009, which got underway today at the China Europe International Business School's (CEIBS) Shanghai Campus. BGRC 2009 is being held under the theme "Make a Difference". Organized by CEIBS MBA students, the conference is the largest student-hosted CSR conference in Asia. The two-day event will follow a four-year tradition of promoting CSR to future global business leaders through interaction between delegates from business schools around the world and major CSR players.
Day One began with opening speeches by CEIBS Dean and Vice-President Rolf D. Cremer, BGRC 2009 President and CEIBS MBA 2008 student Joseph Yu, and Evonik President Yu Da Hai. There were also special addresses by Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Government Development and Reform Committee Hong Chi and Consul General of Sweden in Shanghai Bengt E Johansson.
CEIBS Dean and Vice President Rolf D. Cremer
In his opening address, Dean Cremer talked about the importance of responsible management and sought to inspire his audience with the point that the real reward goes beyond short term benefits. He highlighted the importance of BGRC's motto: "Make a difference", illustrating it with an example of an American politician who resigned because, although he was well paid, felt he was not making a difference.
President of BGRC 2009 Joseph Yu (MBA 2008)
The next speaker, BGRC President Joseph Yu encouraged his MBA 2008 classmates to have a sense of purpose in their career goals. "Let profits become the tool that will help you achieve your goals," he said. He added that BGRC 2009 should be the starting point for MBA students to make a change, and stressed that believing in oneself is the key to effect that change.
Three-year plan
When he took to the stage to address the audience, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Government Development and Reform Committee Hong Chi acknowledged that China's role as the 'world's factory' had resulted in environmental problems and the over-use of lands. He cautioned against the long-term effects of the current practice of borrowing resources from future generations and talked about the Chinese government's three-year plan which includes the goals of fostering scientific development, promoting high-tech industries and cutting emissions. Vice Chairman Hong Chi explained that the measures to be taken include auditing companies that use a lot of energy, promoting clean trade and modifying pricing mechanisms of resources like coal and oil.
He unveiled the government's plans to develop the "new energy automobile industry" in Shanghai, which should generate production worth RMB 30 billion. The plan includes subsidies to buyers of new-energy automobiles, like hybrid cars, and development of the necessary infrastructure.
Consul General of Sweden in Shanghai Bengt E Johansson, who explained that CSR became a hot topic in his country in 2008 -- when CSR-related topics flooded newspapers -- was the day's next speaker. He told the audience that among all the points raised during discussions on CSR in Sweden at that time, sustainability generated the most interest (33%). Consul General Johansson also spoke about the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and gave examples of a number of Swedish companies that are using environmental and social performance indicators in addition to economic ones. The Consul General highlighted some of the issues that Swedish companies are facing in China: control of suppliers, complying with the tough guidelines provided by their head offices, dealing with corruption (he defended the 0% tolerance policy) and competing with companies that do not follow CSR rules.
Grameen: A force of change
Speaking under the theme "Pioneering and Expanding Green Energy for the Rural People: experience of Grameen Shakti, Bangladesh", the day's first keynote speaker was Grameen Bank founder Dipal Barua. He also serves as Managing Director of Grameen Shakti, a company that is successfully providing renewable energy to people in Bangladesh's rural areas. Grameen Bank came across this idea when it realized that rural residents cannot access development until they have access to energy.
Dipal Barua
According to Mr. Barua, in a country where currently 60% of the population does not even have access to the electricity grid, Grameen Shakti intends to provide 75 million people (50% of the population) with clean, modern and affordable energy by 2015. He explained that the market-based sustainable model to provide renewable energy is based on three pillars: innovation in financing, awareness creation and development of rural entrepreneurs.
He said that in order to convince rural residents to adopt an unfamiliar technology, they have created a package that reduces the up-front costs and includes installation, training and maintenance. Awareness is created by installing solar systems at schools and teaching children about renewable energies. In addition, more than 52,000 women have learned how to maintain the solar energy system.
Mr. Barua told the audience that training women and creating female entrepreneurs has a more significant impact on the community than training their male counterparts. This is because women are more family oriented and they reinvest their earnings in raising their families and providing a better education for their children.
The project has so far created 20,000 green jobs and 1,700 rural women have been trained as renewable energy technicians and entrepreneurs.
Other projects currently being undertaken by Grameen Shakti include solar-powered refrigerators for remote clinics, solar-powered computers for training centres and solar-powered Base Telecom Stations that enable mobile telecommunications in remote areas.
Mr. Barua listed several key factors of what he calls "the art of serving rural people": training rural women who understand people, providing cost-effective solutions (achieved by assembling the solar panels in Bangladesh), providing free maintenance during the repayment period, showing social commitment by creating jobs for the local people and motivating owners of solar systems by providing scholarships for their children.
These green initiatives have not only helped to reduce carbon emissions, but have also led to increased benefits for neighbourhood enterprises by providing three to four more street-lighting hours a day.
Grameen Shakti has benefited from an annual growth rate of 60% since 2002 and is currently installing 7,000 solar home systems (SHS) per month. With an installed base of 23,9000 SHS and 7,000 biogas plants, Grameen Shakti's plan for the future is to build 7.5 million solar systems and 2 million biogas plants by 2015. In order to support the expansion, their main challenge is access to working capital. Mr. Barua pointed out that obtaining loans at 3-5% would greatly facilitate their expansion plans.
Extending the model
When asked about his plans of extending the model to other countries, Mr. Barua explained that they prefer to focus on Bangladesh. To date, Liberia is the only other country where they have provided training. However, they have set up an international department that provides training to the people of any country willing to learn about their model -- and they have received visits from delegations of countries like Tanzania and India.
Although the Bangladeshi government sees Grameen Shakti as an ally in the battle to secure necessary energy for the country, their relations have been a continuous challenge. For example, it was only recently that Grameen Shakti was granted tax exemption status. "You need to demonstrate (what you can do) first, them you can convince (others)," stated Mr. Barua.
His speech generated an overwhelming amount of interest from the audience with students putting forth numerous questions about the details of financing, sourcing of equipment and the company's future plans. Through his inspiring speech, Mr. Barua gave the MBA students a valuable lesson on entrepreneurship, how to address rural residents' needs, and how to achieve high growth and profitability despite a cash-poor customer base. Grameen Shakti has shown that renewable energies are a powerful tool to solve problems associated with poverty at the local level, and to solve climate change problems at a global level.
The Evonik booth
Evonik's long history with BGRC
In making brief opening remarks, Evonik President Yu Da Hai explained his company's willingness to continue its long tradition of sponsoring BGRC. The student-led conference, he said, is an excellent venue to formulate and exchange ideas and best practices to issues such as energy efficiency and demographics, which he identified as the biggest challenges for the future. "Making a statement about CSR is easy, living it daily is not so easy," Mr. Yu said. He then used Evonik-Shanghai plant's initiatives on safety standards and energy saving as an example of implementation.
Workshop 1
The first half of the day's events also included three simultaneous workshops. Workshop 1, which examined environmental issues, was hosted by Dr. Wang Yong, Managing Director of ERM China; and Mr. Mark Cotter, Director of Operations at Haworth Asia Pacific, Middle East & Latin America. The workshop's main aim was to raise awareness among the participants about environmental challenges facing companies today and present solutions on how they can respond to them. These examples were drawn from Haworth's implementation of environmental best practices.
Dr. Wang Yong got the session underway with a presentation entitled "Make a Difference: Sustainable Planet in a new era" during which he pointed out that many of the environmental issues had their genesis in the western world over the last 300 years. China, he said, is in the process of replicating the western route -- but in a much shorter time span of 30 years. He added that faced with limited resources, it is each person's responsibility to use these resources responsibly.
Addressing today's environmental issues present an enormous challenge -- and also great opportunities. Dr. Wang Yong believes that companies must include environmental performance considerations in their business plans to promote a business culture where a combination of CSR and innovation will enable sustainable growth. He also pointed out that the government must show clear commitment and set clear frameworks, i.e. issue clear environmental regulations in order for companies to take action, such as implementing a low carbon manufacturing process.
Haworth's Mr. Mark Cotter followed up with a presentation entitled "Haworth: Design for Environment", in which he explained the company's cradle-to-cradle concept. He told the audience that Haworth is an excellent example of a company committed to implementing environmental best practices by considering the environmental impact of their product throughout its entire life-cycle -- from the initial design stage to manufacturing, and finally disposal, when the product has reached the end of its life cycle. Haworth operates a zero landfill production line, meaning that all of their waste by-products are either reused or recycled, or used for thermal energy production. Mr. Cotter believes that stakeholder engagement throughout Haworth and across the supply chain is the key to driving change. He also pointed out that, often, the biggest challenge to adopting environmental best practices is to get everyone in the supply chain to adopt the same philosophy.
The two presentations were followed by a lively Q&A session.
Workshop 2
Workshop 2 explored the theme of "Being Globally Responsible in the financial services industry" with Deputy GM of Rabobank Netherlands Patrick Bressers sharing his experiences in his capacity as the person responsible for risk management in a financial institution with a great commitment to social responsibility. Rabobank is a co-operative bank which focuses on food and agri-financing services, and it is the only bank that can still boast a triple A rating from Standard & Poor's. The organisation's values, according to Mr. Bressers, are: Respect, Integrity, Professionalism, and Sustainability. As a result, Rabobank placed CSR at its core, as a way to guide their investments, as much as possible, towards value creation over the long term. From that perspective, Mr Bressers explained, they are focused not only on generating profit but also on assessing and helping their clients to develop a commitment with the society.
The Rabobank executive added that CSR is also a risk management tool that allows them to make decisions about which activities they should not invest in, such as: production of, or trade in, substances (pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, ozone-depleting) subject to international phase-out or bans; trade in specimens of wild animals or products derived from wild animals which are on the Red List of Threatened Animals; and the Tobacco Industry.
As Mr. Bressers highlighted during his speech, CSR is the framework that specifies the desired behaviour the company should have in order to increase the value of their clients, and to improve the financial and operating situation in different sectors.
Press conference in the Spanish Centre during Day One.
Workshop 3
The morning session's third Workshop was held under the theme "A Mindset for CSR & Sustainable Development" and chaired by Vice President of CSR at Bayer China William Valentino. A recognized expert in the field of CSR and sustainability, Mr. Valentino made a link between socially responsible thinking on an individual level and how it is implemented on a corporate level. He first took a 'neurological' view of CSR, by introducing the audience to the differences between left-brain thinking and right-brain thinking. He elaborated that although today's business world is dominated by the rational left-brain thinking, the more holistic and creative right-brain thinking is what is crucial for CSR.
Next, Mr. Valentino addressed the topic of what goals corporations around the globe are ultimately striving for and leveraged his extensive China-experience (he has been working in China for over 22 years) to explain the impact of cultural differences on this topic. He explained that businesses should aim at achieving a balance between profit orientation and contribution to society.
Mr. Valentino paid particular interest to the topic of how to measure the impact of CSR activities and how these should be reported to investors. While it is easier to capture the cost-saving side of CSR, Mr. Valentino stressed its role in generating business and building trust. After all, trust is what most institutional investors are looking for, especially in these turbulent times, he pointed out.
Finally, Mr. Valentino introduced the audience to some projects he has worked on with Bayer in the past. These include micro-financing projects the company has been supporting, its contribution to HIV/health education, as well as its role in earthquake relief efforts in China.
Overall, the workshop provided great insights on the practical as well as academic side of CSR in China.
Evonik's CSR goals
After lunch, the President of Evonik Greater China Region and Chairman of Evonik Degussa (China) Dr. Yu Da Hai, the company's Director of HR in China Mr. David Lee and its head of Communications in China Ms. Grace Lee shared Evonik's CSR strategy, initiatives and main achievements.
Dr. Yu first introduced the company's background, highlighting its focus on three business areas -- Chemicals, Energy and Real Estate -- and shared important data such as Evonik's goal to reach Euro 1 billion in sales in China in 2009 (Evonik's global revenues in 2008 stood at Euro 16 billion) and double this figure by 2014. Regarding Evonik's CSR strategy he explained that they focus on activities related to what he calls mega-trends, which are Globalization, Demographic Change and Energy and explore how they can create opportunities from those trends.
Mr. David Lee then presented Evonik's best practices for human resources management. He explained how their management commitment and performance driven employee evaluation have contributed not only to an increase in the company's performance but had also engaged employees in activities related to CSR. Mr. Lee said, "There is a gradual trend of people thinking about CSR and how they can contribute."
Ms. Grace Lee ended the series of presentations by speaking on the issue of integrity compliance and consequences management practices at Evonik. She mentioned that merely "obeying the rules and doing his job is not enough for top performers". For that reason the company sets even higher targets for those top performers, thus making them an example to be followed by other employees.
Among the questions raised was a concern about the enforcement of compliance policies. Within the context that no organization is perfect, Dr. Yu responded, "Things can become grey, not only because of internationalization but also because of growth -- mainly based on joint ventures with different cultures and backgrounds." For that reason he said that there are "...different sub-policies in the region" and compliance can only be obtained through clear procedures, a fault identification system, and training. "Train, train, train," he urged adding, "training is very important to reduce the gap of what we want to be and what we are. Every company has a gap."
Gamesa's role
The day's second round of workshops included "Alternative Energy" which was chaired by Gamesa Energy China's Miguel Angel Rodriguez. He explained how Gamesa, one of the sponsors of BGRC 2009, is trying to make a difference in its various roles -- as a company, as a renewable industry player and as a member of the international community.
With more than 400,000 people employed, the wind power industry is already having a social impact as an economic catalyst. In addition to this social impact, the industry is having a strong environmental impact, preventing the emission of more than 158 million tons of carbon dioxide per year. Thus, as a member of the wind power industry, Gamesa is among those helping to make a difference. But the company wants to do even more.
CSR is embedded in its vision and mission statement: to create and distribute wealth and quality of life amongst its stakeholders in the economic, social and environmental spheres. As such, the firm has a company-wide engagement in CSR, where a dialogue based on trust and transparency with all stakeholders is a key factor.
Gamesa has developed seven principles of CSR, focusing on rights and freedoms, labour rights, human capital, community, environment, health and safety, research and innovation and good corporate governance. In order to develop policies and to track progress in these areas, Gamesa has a CSR steering committee, where most relevant aspects are discussed and analyzed. In addition to these seven focus points, Gamesa also has a global philanthropy and sponsorship programme, collaborating with entities such as Oxfam, Expo 2008, or Fundacion Vicente Ferrer, in India.
The company's efforts have won them recognition and the inclusion in most of the sustainability indexes, such as the Dow Jones Sustainability 100 or the FTSE4Good.
In closing, Mr. Rodriguez commented on how the international community can make an impact. The key milestone directly affecting the renewable energy industry is the coming Copenhagen summit to be held in December 2009. During this summit, the role of both the U.S (as the largest economy in the world) and of China (as the largest emitter or carbon dioxide) will be key, he said.
Afternoon workshops
The afternoon session was also scehduled to include the "EU-BMT Workshop: Give me Good Reasons to be a Socially Responsible Manager", led by Professor Antonio Argandoña who is 'La Caixa' Chair of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance at IESE, University of Navarra. There was also a discussion on "Corporate Engagement" which saw the participation of KPMG Partner Li Fern Woo and CSR Manager at American Chamber of Commerce Oliver Yang. The two speakers first introduced CSR practices in their organizations by explaining their respective company's CSR mission, how they engage stakeholders, as well as their overall methods and major initiatives. This presented the audience with a real world picture of CSR. For example, KPMG launched their CSR programmes under the "3E" approach (Education, Empowerment and Environment). Meanwhile, AMCHAM Shanghai covers a broad range of CSR areas, not only in the form of community outreach, environmental stewardship, employee health & safety and corporate governance, but the organization also touches other areas including public healthcare, NGO capacity building, and clean supply chain.
Mr. Yang then shared with the audience the 2008-2009 survey findings from more than 100 presidents, VPs or directors who responded to the questions and issues of "How is CSR viewed, What are the top CSR issues, How the financial crisis has affected their CSR plans for 2009, and What are CSR influences & challenges". Through the findings, it appeared that the notion of CSR has been broadly accepted by companies, but there are still challenges to a truly committed approach to CSR.
In the Q&A session that followed, audience members explored issues such as, why corporations should engage in CSR practice and the actual process of implementation.
CSR and the IDB
In the final keynote speech of the day, Senior Partnerships Officer for the Inter-American Development Bank Miguel Aldaz spoke on the topic "Partnering to Achieve Greater CSR Impact". He began by explaining that the IDB's mission is to promote socially responsible investments in Latin America. It promotes a culture of results-oriented philanthropy and CSR and engages with local and national governments and all stakeholders. For example, the IDB has partnered with Google to facilitate internet access in poor areas, Alibaba to facilitate trade in Latin America, Facebook to help promote local artists of Rio's Favelas (slum towns in Brazil) on the site, and other projects.
In addition to monetary support, the IDB provides many intangibles such as know-how to its partners which range from public, private and governmental entities. The only criteria in selecting a partner is that it aligns its goals to the development of the Latin American region and that it does not constitute a risk for the IDB.
One of the most important tasks that the IDB undertakes when it meets a partner for the first time is to clarify the language before they invest: publicity for a partner should not be confused with CSR nor philanthropy. When a project has been accepted, the individuals within the partner's organisation must be fully engaged -- this is the main factor that contributes to the success of the project.
Another important point raised by Mr. Aldaz is that CSR budgets should not be cut during times of crisis. These are times when consumers are most critical of companies' actions, he said.
Day Two
BGRC 2009 continues tomorrow with a full day of events that include a keynote speech by John Perkins, the bestselling author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. Also on the agenda:
- a panel discussion on "Leadership", moderated by CEIBS Distinguished Professor, Global Responsible Leadership, Henri-Claude de Bettignies. Among the participants will be David Grayson, Cranfield University Professor of Corporate Responsibility; and General Manager of SynTao Co. Ltd. Guo Peiyuan.
- Workshops 1, 2 and 3 which cover, respectively, "Foreign Government & Corporate Initiatives", "Best Practice Sharing & CSR in China" and "Student Empowerment". Participants will include Senior Executive of QQ group/Tencent Vic Lee; Engagement Manager at Technoserve/McKinsey Stefano Negri and Executive Director of Hands on Shanghai Richard Brubaker.
The second half of Day Two will also include:
- a panel discussion on "Business Solutions for Poverty Reduction", moderated by CEIBS Professor of Economics Bala Ramasamy. Participants will include Founder of Enterprise Solution for Poverty Nancy Barry, and CEIBS Student Project Groups
- a speech by the winner of the essay competition used to determine which global MBA students would participate in BGRC 2009
- a display of submitted MBA student speeches
- a keynote speech by Aegon Industrial Fund Management Co Executive Tianshu Xu
- a closing speech by CEIBS Professor of Marketing, Associate Dean and Academic Director of the MBA Programme Lydia Price
- a video screening by the BGRC team.
--Reporting by the BGRC media team.
