June 6, 2009. -- Close to 200 participants from business schools, universities and organizations across the globe, and members of the media attended the 4th annual Being Globally Responsible Conference 2009. The event wrapped up today after two inspiring days of debates, engaging speeches, insightful workshops and eye-opening panel discussions.
From left: Dipal Barua, John Perkins and BGRC 2009 Organizing Committee Member Puneet Butan (MBA 2008) during a press conference on Day One.
In addition to a well chosen potpourri of workshop themes ranging from "Alternative Energy" to "Corporate Engagement" and "Student Empowerment", BGRC 2009 was headlined by keynote speeches from:
- Dipal Barua (founder of non-profit enterprise Grameen Shakti and founding member of Nobel Peace Prize 2006 winning Grameen Bank),
- and John Perkins (author of the New York Times Bestseller Confessions of an Economic Hit Man and founder of the non-profit organization Dream Change).
Leadership Talks
Mr. Barua addressed the conference on Day One, while Mr. Perkins spoke on the second day. Also among the highlights of Day Two were panel discussions on "Leadership" and "Business Solutions for Poverty Reduction". The roundtable on leadership was facilitated by CEIBS Distinguished Professor of Global Responsible Leadership, who also serves as European Chair for Global Governance and Sino-European Business Relations, Dr. Henri-Claude de Bettignies. Panel members included Professor of Corporate Responsibility at Cranfield University in France David Grayson; General Manager of SynTao Co. Ltd. Dr. Peiyuan Guo and Mr. Sam Y.S. Lee, who founded and spearheaded the inaugural BGRC 2006. Dr. Bettignies began the formal discussion by posing three basic questions to guide the morning's session: 1) Why does leadership make a difference? 2) What is the profile of a responsible leader? and 3) Is it possible to develop a responsible leader?
Then, as he touched on several issues related to leadership as whole, Dr. Grayson focused on the concept and definition of a responsible leader. Among the points he raised was that responsible leaders have a sense of vision which is exciting, compelling and addresses issues of sustainability. According to Dr. Graysonn, these types of leaders should have a credible plan to achieve their vision, and are able to inspire by "telling stories" rather than quoting "statistics". Responsible leaders should have the capability to tap into each individual's passion to achieve the group's vision and strategy, he said. Most importantly, he emphasized the need for these leaders to understand their own set of values, innate purpose and genuine motivation. As a challenge to audience members to strive to become future responsible leaders, Dr. Grayson concluded his opening remarks with a quote from India's Gandhi, "Learn as if you will live forever".
The next speaker was Dr. Peiyuan Guo, who also participated in last year's staging of BGRC 2008. He mentioned that there are two types of leaders: Individual and Corporate. He specifically addressed the issue of corporate leaders and how, given their opportune positions in society, they can carry out larger initiatives in CSR. He gave real-life examples he has encountered through the course of his company's consulting business, such as a Survey on the Carbon Management issue in China, as well as various initiatives by the major players in China's financial sector.
Grandfather of BGRC
In his address, the grandfather of BGRC Mr. Sam Y.S. Lee first shared BGRC's history with the audience and expressed his excitement at how much the annual conference has achieved since its founding in 2006. Speaking within the context of social responsibility, he then gave his insights on the traits leaders should possess. Leaders, he said, should aim to be socially responsible by striking the difficult balance between obtaining value for business and value for society, in order to deliver sustainable profit in the most ethically possible manner to all stakeholders. His key point was that there are intangible values in each individual's job and he encouraged each audience member to link these intangibles with their passion for business. In concluding, he encouraged everyone to stick to their values, which would help them discover that everyone is indeed capable of being responsible within the context of their own enterprise.
A lively interactive session followed during which the audience -- including CEIBS Dean and Vice President Rolf Cremer -- participated fully. Several interesting and complex issues were raised, such as: the role of passion in creating change, practical tools which managers can implement to measure the progress of CSR initiatives, corporate philanthropy, among others.
Throughout the discussion, the discourse between the audience and the panel of speakers shed light on the two key questions initially brought forward by Dr. Bettignies. And as the session came to a close, the panel brought forward several key challenges and issues that needed to be addressed in moving forward. One of these was shifting from a shareholder perspective to a more stakeholder-oriented perspective. Another was redefining the meaning of success. Dr. Bettignies left the audience with some food for thought by leaving the third question -- whether responsible leaders can be developed -- for them to answer. He explained that his aim was to simply focus on the process rather than on the outcome, the journey rather than the destination; because it is from the process of doing that a true realization of success and genuine satisfaction can come about.
The Dutch Government & SME Initiatives
Day Two also included a one-hour workshop on "The Dutch Government & SME Initiatives" which featured three speakers who then followed up by interacting with the audience. Among the panellists were Vice Consul and Head of the Economic and Commercial Department at the Consulate-General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Shanghai Mrs. Astrid Boschker. She is a firm believer in the importance of CSR in promoting international business between the Netherlands and China. The Vice Consul highlighted the approaches that the Dutch government has taken to promote CSR among SMEs such as: hosting a forum on strategic co-operation among Dutch companies in China, compiling a publication promoting CSR best practice, and raising awareness of CSR programme among stakeholders.
The other panellists were representatives from Dutch SMEs operating in Shanghai: Managing Director of Paques Environmental Technology, Dr. Wei Zhang; and Managing Director of KOW International Dutch Design Consultants, Mr. Dirk Eero Bekkering. Dr. Wei Zhang spoke about CSR from three perspectives: environmental, human resource, and risk management. From the environmental perspective, he noted that Chinese companies are strongly committed to CSR and his firm is similarly committed.
In his address, Mr. Bekkering introduced the concept of "Sustainable Buildings", saying clients increasingly demand a good performance from buildings in terms of energy efficiency, maintenance, flexibility, and comfort. Despite being from such very different industries, the two speakers from the private sector made a similar point: CSR is achievable for SMEs, and CSR in China creates opportunities for companies.
President of Evonik Greater China Region Mr. Yu Da Hai (centre) was among the VIPs.
Sharing Best Practices
Day Two also featured Workshop 2 which explored "Best Practice Sharing & CSR in China", as well as Workshop 3 on "Student Empowerment". Workshop 2 was scheduled to be chaired by Senior Executive of QQ Group/Tencent Vincent Lee. There was also a panel discussion on "Business Solutions for Poverty Reduction". The session began with CEIBS Professor of Economics Bala Ramasamy who used hard facts to hammer home the magnitude of global poverty. He told the audience, for example, that thousands of children die each day from poverty, and the majority of the world's population makes less than US$2.50 a day. After his introduction, Prof. Ramasamy introduced the five panel members: Founder of Enterprise Solutions to Poverty (ESP) Nancy Barry, and four CEIBS students who participated in ESP's most recent challenge of finding workable solutions: Jim Whittington, Sentayehu Belay, William Keithler, and Joyce Huang.
The ESP founder began with a brief speech explaining the mission of the organisation, which tries to mobilize CEOs and entrepreneurs to work with companies from China, India, Columbia, Mexico, Brazil and Kenya to find ways to turn a profit in these developing countries while helping the poor. She also stressed the importance of the private sector's role in helping mitigate poverty and how the paradigm has shifted away from the government bearing all the accountability for a country's poor.
Students and ESP
The discussion continued with speeches by the students. William Keithler spoke about his involvement in the Agribusiness sector of the ESP initiative and how he and his team interacted directly with pig farmers in Sichuan Province. William's team worked with the Chinese company New Hope to help them survey pig farmers and, in order to ensure that both parties' interests were aligned, gain an understanding of what the farmers expected from New Hope. William provided insight on his team's findings and some of the challenges they faced during the process.
Next, Sentayehu Belay elaborated on the initiative on which he had worked -- a project that explored possible business collaboration between China and Kenya. He shared two examples of companies from each country that had a huge potential for profits -- and for helping the poor. These examples demonstrated that there are indeed many opportunities in emerging economies for making a profit and helping the poor at the same time.
The session ended with a discussion on the changing dynamics of poverty and the government's role in this change. The audience raised various questions regarding funding for social projects. This prompted a brief speech by Tom Schimtze, the founder of the social venture fund InnoVent. He explained the role of such funds in the grand scheme of corporate social responsibility and how his company is trying to make a difference while making a profit. Professor Ramasamy wrapped up the session by emphasizing that, with passion and drive, there are many opportunities out there for individuals to make a difference.
Winners of this year's BGRC-organised essay competition.
In addition to the formal discussion sessions and various keynote addresses, BGRC 2009 also provided participants with opportunities for less formal talks and fun-filled events. The Welcome Dinner at the end of Day One, for example, presented students with a valuable opportunity for one-on-one discussions with many of the event's impressive speakers. Throughout the conference, passionate and inspiring speeches by members of the BGRC Organizing Committee -- as well as the winner of the BGRC Essay Contest Ella Chan from HKUST -- provided a wonderful round-up of the spirit of the conference's slogan "Make a difference". And the screening of the BGRC 2009 video that was filmed and cut in real-time throughout the two-day event was not only a good synopsis of the conference but will also be a great memory for every participant.
The journey towards a more sustainable and balanced future with an intrinsic focus on the bottom line might be a thousand miles, but it begins with the first step. BGRC 2009 provided the platform for all participants to take this step together -- it truly Made A Difference.
-- Reporting by members of the BGRC media team
