I have to admit, for transparency, that I am more than a little biased in writing some reflections on the session this week with Andrew Dunnett, the head of the Vodafone Foundation. Having worked with him during my time at Vodafone, I am personally aware of how impactful he has been in enabling Vodafone to be recognised as a leader in the fields of both Corporate Foundations AND ESG. Always captivating and equally humble, he gave a great overview of his approach. Rather than replay his words, I wanted to make a few general observations that are hopefully useful for any of us looking to shape and influence our companies approaches to both ‘charitable’ work and policies and practices around ESG.
Whatever you do, be authentic
All companies face the challenge of ensuring they attract and retain the best talent. An increasingly important part of this is the ability to demonstrate that companies are genuinely committed to contributing positively to the world and the communities they operate in. But your employees are just as savvy as consumers in general – they will very rapidly see through activities and plans that are lacking real commitment and authenticity – some call it ‘greenwashing’ in the ESG space; whatever it is called, don’t fall into this trap. Instead, identify genuine activities that deliver a genuine impact
Make leaders want to lead
With authenticity comes the importance of leadership. If a leader regards these areas as a task they have to complete, the likelihood of failure is high. In Andrew’s case, he was passionate about the benefit of leaders engaging emotionally and personally in the initiatives and programmes being undertaken. Sometimes, this can be at a very human level – that they care about the issues being tackled; on other occasions it can be around their targets and incentives – that achievement has a material effect on the evaluation of their performance.
Drive functional and emotional engagement
Vodafone have been very successful in focusing on how their products can make a difference to people who are, for some reason and in some way, marginalised in their communities. This is a great example of bringing together the functional (or product-specific) capabilities with the emotional engagement that comes from delivering real benefits. This blend is very powerful – if it can be achieved - in building both pride in the company and creating genuine advocates amongst your employees.
Be consistent
Once the path has been set and agreed, consistency is all-important. In Vodafone’s case, an example of this is the establishment of m-pesa – a service that has become truly transformational but one that needed to be nurtured and supported initially. All too often, initiatives are abandoned too early. Coupled with the need for consistency comes the need, on occasions, to take tough decisions. Many businesses will face short term challenges on their ESG policies that have been exacerbated by factors out of their control – like current energy prices. In this instance, consistency means sticking to the approach originally established, rather than amending or changing the approach or target based on these external pressures. The long term benefit of this consistency will significantly outweigh any short term impact.
Decide what to measure and measure it robustly
Andrew commented on the well-known challenge within ESG of the lack of a standardised set of measures. His approach was to agree a defined set of metrics to focus on and select the best data available. I think this is sound advice for anyone to follow. He also stressed the need for the same rigour to be applied to non-financial measures as is applied to financial data – again, a very sound and sensible approach to take until more consistent and standardised measures exist.
Make the data mean something at a human level
We all like to be able to demonstrate the scale of what we do and the outcomes it drives – usually with big numbers. What Andrew demonstrated brilliantly was the way to demonstrate the human and personal impact of the work his foundation has delivered alongside this scale impact. He told three very simple stories based on real conversations with individual beneficiaries. For me this balance of scale (we make a big difference) with intimacy (we made a difference to this person’s life) is the most powerful combination we can all aspire to.
These may all be observations that we are all familiar with and practice effortlessly – but the benefit of listening to Andrew tell his story helped reconfirm for me how important these guiding principles are – and things we should never tire of reminding ourselves (and others across our organisations).
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