Congratulations to the quiz winner Connie Low!!

Our ‘hot topics’ break-out discussions, covered the following topics:

Climate Change: Is it a Personal, Political, or Private Responsibility?

There was much debate on our group about who needs to take responsibility for dealing with climate change. Several people thought it was the responsibility of the Government, and noted legislation was the way to get things done, plus holding responsibility for the State should also mean taking responsibility for the environment. Several others however argued that whilst the Government should be responsible, they are not doing enough about it. Canada pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol was cited as one timely example of this. In that case, thought our group, businesses and individuals themselves need to step up. It was pointed out that in the past, lobbying to the Government was instrumental in getting the Government to act. It was also noted that individuals do need to play a role in this as well, and that we should all be looking at our own actions before transferring the blame to someone else.

Was the Durban Climate Change Conference A Success? 

The consensus was ‘yes’ mainly because the US, China, India and Europe agreeing at all was a surprise, and it is pretty much unprecedented within the climate change agenda.  Members in the discussion had insight into the US delegate’s experience of negotiating at the Durban conference.  Apparently the US had their bluff called when China, much to people’s surprise, pushed for international agreement.  Bowing down at that point would have been majorly embarrassing, and so the US and others decided to agree.

To recap, the conference resulted in 1) extension of the Kyoto Protocol for additional 5 years period which otherwise was going to expire in 2012; 2) Agreement to establish a $100 billion Green Climate Fund to aid developing countries and;  3) Agreement to seal a new legally binding climate treaty by 2015 including developed and developing countries, with agreement to implement it by 2020.

There have been criticisms that the outcomes didn’t go far enough (we appear to be hurtling toward at least 2 degrees global warming, which may stabilise at an increase of 4 degrees or more). However, given the loggerheads that have existed to date between the large negotiating countries, agreement was perceived to be a good thing.

The social stock market: Good or bad for business?

We had a great discussion and our conclusions were that the social stock market is a great idea but only if there are ways to monitor the quality of the companies involved and that the market did not become too segregated from the regular market. It should be a place that companies aspire to rather than something seen as “something for small eco companies”.

Is Microfinance Sustainable?

We were divided in our consensus as to whether or not the Microfinance industry is sustainable, as we agreed that Microfinance has made a positive impact with assisting people to build assets and improve their living standards. However, over the past year there has been certain events that have resulted in negative headlines and somewhat tarnished the reputation of Microfinance. We discussed whether or not the industry should provide other product types (such as education and health services) and if governments should be involved in establishing a regulatory framework when they too provide Microfinance services. At the end of our conversation we came to the conclusion that for the industry to evolve the exorbitant interest rates in order to guarantee a return for investors needs to be addressed and that MFIs should conduct credit checks on potential clients to prevent over indebtedness.

The aftermath of Fukushima: Is the Demise of Nuclear a Lifeline for Renewables?

Despite recent moves by Germany and Switzerland to phase out nuclear from their energy mix the group felt that this would not directly propel Renewables forward.  There are still fundamental challenges to be solved around grid parity, the point at which the levelized cost of generating electricity from Renewables is equal to the price of buying power from the grid.  In addition the intermittent nature of renewables (wind, solar PV) limits its ability to provide base load energy.

On the positive side developments in molten salt storage technology have allowed solar energy to be produced for 24 hours straight.  Future advances in renewable storage coupled with smart grid solutions to manage the distributed renewable assets will help boost investment in the coming years.  In conclusion the group consensus is no, nuclear’s demise is not renewables lifeline.

Thanks to all who participated, and to our Net Impact London Professional leadership team members for facilitating the discussions.

Come celebrate the New Year with Net Impact London Professional.  This social event will be focused on networking, discussion of hot topics in sustainability, and a sustainability focused pub quiz.  We will be breaking out in small discussion groups to discuss the hot topics so please vote for your prefered topic when you register.  Topics include: Was the Durban Climate Change Conference A Success?  Is Microfinance Sustainable?  The Aftermath of Fukushima: Is Nuclear’s Demise Renewables Lifeline? Climate Change: Is it a Personal, Political, or Private Responsibility?  The Social Stock Exchange, Good for business?

This is a great opportunity to learn more about Net Impact, network with others and hear about our upcoming events in the new year. Nibbles will be served and alcoholic drinks are available for purchase at the bar.

18:30-19:00 – Registration
19:00-19:45 – Hot Topics Discussion
19:45-20:15 – Sustainability Pub Quiz
20:15-21:30 – Networking

PS – We have the room reserved at the back of the pub behind the curtains

(Photo credit: Sarunyu_foto – www.freedigitalphotos.net)

“40 skills a swapping, 21 Net Impacters Networking, 10 Mixtape songs a singing, 3 mince pies eaten (by me), 2 speakers speaking, one Christmas tree…”

That’s the song-based summary of Tinsel, Time and Treats event run by Net Impact, London earlier this month. The event brought together professionals from a range of sectors for a festive gathering and for Spots of Time and fellow social enterprise Ecomodo, a chance to share what we get up to. Both of our organisations are about giving and sharing; for Ecomodo it’s about making lending and borrowing everyday objects, skills and spaces easy, and for ourselves at Spots of Time it’s about making it easy for people to give small moments of their time to provide fun activities to benefit others in local communities.

What Tinsel, Time and Treats really demonstrated for me was the abundance of skills and talents that everyone has. Often these lie beneath the surface, easily forgotten in the everyday rush. I found someone who I could practise French with, two ladies who wanted to take me up on some piano lessons and a famous French onion soup recipe all in an hour!

And with this year’s festive season coming alongside an ongoing economic crisis finding new ways to share skills and give our time is increasingly important. At Spots of Time we’re hoping that 2012 can see us grow what we do to reach across London and get people giving time who might never have done so before. It might be just sharing a cup of tea but for us it’s about widening the circles of people you share meaningful moments with and recognising the importance and value this can have. Ultimately we hope that in the same way social networks have scaled and grown in a way that people didn’t initially imagine, that using these very technologies the ways we share and give time can grow too.

We’d love network members to get involved – you can book a time to volunteer at http://spotsoftime.org.uk/ Or if you know an organisation that might be interested in hosting Spots of Time volunteers , or you work for a company that would like to get involved then do get in touch with phillippa@spotsoftime.org.uk

Phillippa Banister
Spots of Time

Please join Net Impact London Professional for a fun filled evening of giving and good times. This event will be focused on networking and getting to know colleagues in the CSR professional community. Rather than buying a gift, everyone is encouraged to bring an item that they already own or a card with your contact info and a service that you could share with someone. For example, if you are graphic designer, you could offer 30 minutes of design time. Or, if you have a bunch of eco-friendly light bulbs, bring one to share with the group. During the evening our friends from Ecomodo and Spots of Time will share their experiences and help us facilitate the gift and skills exchange game!

Spots of Time - Phillippa Banister, Community Manager - Phillippa has experience of grassroots community building work in rural Cameroon and with the homeless in Bradford.  She is a recent graduate from the prestigious Forum for the Future Masters programme and as part of this has completed projects with Unilever, Fairtrade Foundation and Flintshire County Council. She completed an undergraduate degree in Drama and English and likes working on organic farms.

Ecomodo - Tracy Currer, Co-founder - With twenty years experience designing interactions between people and products, Tracy believes the power of design can find the common ground between the way the mass public want to live and the changes we all must make to create a more sustainable future. Her latest venture, Ecomodo, an award winning social enterprise, helps people consume less, whilst enjoying rich, fulfilling and social lives. Enabling people to share everyday goods, skills and spaces, Ecomodo is recognised as a pioneer in the emerging global market of collaborative consumption. Winner of the 2010 Green Award for the Best Use of Online Media, Ecomodo adopts a combination of gifting, micro-enterprise and fundraising to provide a unique motivation model.

This is a great opportunity to learn more about Net Impact, network with others and learn about our upcoming events in the New Year. Refreshments will be served! Mulled wine will be on sale for £1. We ho, ho, hope to see you there!

PS – Please note that the Hub Islington is a walk up and does not have an elevator.

(Photo credit: Naito8/Freedigitalphotos.net)

In the CSR world, we strive to improve things by giving our time and talents in a way that makes business smarter, faster, more effcient and most important – sustainable. Some of us work at large companies that provide grants and others work at small start ups that build communities. No matter where we work, we are all supporting a common goal and giving of ourselves and our talents.

This year, Net Impact London Professional is hosting a holiday networking event to help share all of the great skills that we use on a daily basis. Maybe you work for a consulting company and you can offer an hour of time to a startup. Maybe you are a start-up entrepreneur who could offer advice and encouragement to someone thinking of starting their own venture. Our hope is that this exchange allows Net Impact members to share their skills and build relationships in the CSR community.

Please join us on the 14th of December to take part in this exciting event: http://london.netimpact.org.uk/event/tinsel-time-and-treats/

PS – We’ll be joined by representatives from Spots of Time and Ecomodo (which just received a nice article in The Sunday Times)

We hope that you found the workshop both informative and inspiring.

The discussions on Wednesday last week highlighted some of the challenges people face when developing partnerships. It is a continual learning process for everyone involved.

There are multiple business benefits that can come through effective partnerships, such as:

• Increased employee engagement (recruitment and retention)
• Employee development (leadership development, secondments)
• Co-creation of new products and services
• Improved systems and processes (purchasing / supply chain)
• Building brands
• Licence to operate
• Societal learning (new knowledge/understanding of social issues)
• Increase in sales (through cause related marketing)
• Networking opportunities

However harnessing these benefits is not easy. There are different ways to approach this challenge.

Charities often have to negotiate power struggles in business charity partnerships. Here are six ways for charities to build successful partnerships with the private sector (1):

1. Choose your partner deliberately
2. Negotiate mutually beneficial terms
3. Know your own value
4. Make a concrete promise
5. Plan as partner
6. Leave ideology at the door

And how can businesses ensure they build successful business charity partnerships? Make sure you have (2):

• A clear business agenda
• Goals which are aligned to business objectives
• Offering the potential for employee involvement
• Clearly defined and realistic expectations
• Mutual respect and a willingness to learn
• Commitment to change
• A transparent and honest relationship
• Flexible working relations
• Commitment to ongoing and regular communications
• Investment by both parties
• A long term commitment to sustain and replicate the results
• Rootedness in the user community
• Links to other community organisations

Here are some links to case studies which Tom from Three Hands has put together. We hope that these case studies inspire you with the variety of mutual benefit which can be achieved through effective cross sector partnerships.

1.     M&S / Oxfam – a much-heralded partnership in which M&S have been driving consumer engagement by incentivising customers to give back to Oxfam. Every time people donate used clothing to Oxfam, they receive an M&S voucher. In three years, this has helped Oxfam generate an additional $7 million in revenue. This, in turn, promotes customer loyalty and brings M&S’s recycling commitment to the forefront of consumer action.

2.     Legal & General / Macmillan – Legal & General contracted Macmillan to improve the cancer claim services they provide to customers. For Macmillan this provides an important new revenue stream.

3.     HSBC Climate Partnership – an ambitious, five year partnership involving HSBC, The Climate Group, Earthwatch Institute, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and WWF working across four continents to inspire action by individuals, businesses and governments on climate change. This has spurned out of a ten year partnership between HSBC and Earthwatch. Great example of long term partnership with numerous organisations involved. Big aim of the programme for HSBC is to engage and motivate one third (100,000) of its global workforce to take action, see Guardian article

4.     Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances Group / Practical Action – great example of co-creation of new products: a smoke hood which aims to reduce the 1.5 million deaths a year which are caused by cooking over open stoves.

5.     Pampers / Unicef – cause related marketing at its best. Wonderfully simple.

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Recommended reading : Jem Bendell, Evolving Partnerships (a guide to working with business for greater social change)

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References:

(1) Linda Scott, DP World Chair Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
(2) Nikolai Rogovsky, “Corporate Community Involvement Programmes: Partnerships for Jobs and Development”

The Leadership Committee is a great opportunity to cultivate and demonstrate your leadership and expand and deepen your network.

The Commitment

• Voluntary posts; maximum 2 year term w/ opportunity for re-election
• Quarterly meetings (in person or teleconference)
• Plan at least one event per year
• Volunteer to lead projects/support ideas to continue the growth, thought leadership and impact of Net Impact London Professional

Roles

Chair

• Leads the Leadership Committee meetings
• Responsible for ensuring the delivery of events and activities via the Leadership Committee members
• Liaise with Net Impact Central
• Receives partial compensation for costs of attending the Net Impact Annual Conference

Secretary

• Minutes and internal communication

Treasurer

• Maintenance of accounts

Technology Manager

• Maintenance of the website; technology strategy

Marketing Manager

• Marketing and communications strategy; collateral

Membership Manager

• Maintenance of member lists; membership strategy

Partnership Manager

• Develop partnerships and sponsorship opportunities

General Leadership Member (up to 3)

• Plan events, contribute to strategy, take on new roles or opportunities as needed

Process of Election

Board membership is currently closed

For questions, please contact any member of the current Leadership Committee.

Recruitment – Tom Rippin

• The need for  talent management
• How and where social enterprises can find talent
• What On Purpose (and others) often look for in applicants
• How to reward and motivate staff through financial and non-financial means.

Tom Rippin is the founder of On Purpose –  a 1 year, full-time leadership programme for professionals who want to kick-start a career in social enterprise.  Contact details:  contact@onpurpose.uk.com

Marketing – Servane Mouazan and Kate Swade  

• Articulate your “WHY” into your marketing strategy, leadership and partnerships.  Listen to Simon Sinek “How great leaders inspire action” on TED. He is also the author of Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action (2009).
• It is important to know yourself – strengths and weaknesses – and being able to ask for help.
• Attitude, knowledge, competence, behaviour of all people involved in the team will all contribute to feed/support/ and grow the brand.
• Business support can come from a variety of places, and there are formal and informal networks which can provide sector or skill specific support. The most important support is having close friends, colleagues or associates who can really challenge you and speak honestly to you, and can help you question your own assumptions.
• Branding starts the moment you say hello and travels with your reputation and any trace you leave.

Kate Swade works for CoinStreet Consultancy, a social enterprise and development trust which  has transformed a previously derelict 13 acres of London’s South Bank into a thriving mixed use neighbourhood.  Contact details: consultancy@coinstreet.org or 020 7021 1600

Servane Mouazan is the founder of Ogunte that develops and promotes women social venture leaders, impact investors, and social innovators. Servane is also the creator of the Annual Women’s Social Leadership Awards and Make a Wave, a Pre-Incubator for Women Social Entrepreneurs. Contact details: www.ogunte.com

Fundraising – Casey Lord

• There are different stages of the journey that a start-up social entrepreneur goes along which carries different risks.  Therefore different types of investment are required.
• It is important to know what your potential investor will be looking for before you approach them.
• Refine your pitch, and think carefully about what types of investment you would like to access before choosing your legal structure.

Casey Lord is an Investment Executive at CAF Venturesome. Contact details:  Telephone 03000 123 279. Email: clord@cafonline.org  or www.venturesome.org  and http://caf-venturesome.tumblr.com

Policy – Matthew Scott

• We began by discussing general issues and opportunities for social enterprise.  There was a view that whilst the economy is tough, there is also a movement toward more socially beneficial outcomes. This was itself evidenced with the attendees present who included prospective investors (including from two investment banks) and entrepreneurs.
• The crux of the discussion centred around the process involved in setting up a business plan (echoing some of the discussions at the ‘Marketing’ table).  This is summarised in the diagram below.
• Essentially, you need to start with ‘why’ start a social enterprise business – what are your values and what do you hopt to achieve?
• Once your ‘why’ is clear, you can develop your business plan which you then need to test.  Benchmarking your idea against similar other businesses, and learning from what others are doing is a good way to start.
• You can then refine your plan before you set out to attract any necessary funding and invest in required resources to operationalise the plan.
• Listen to Simon Sinek “How great leaders inspire action” on TED who discusses’WHY’
• How to put together a business plan – look up these books: ‘Business Model Canvas/ Generation’, Getting to Plan B’, and ‘The Lean Start-up’ (by Steve Blank)
• Early Stage Funders include – Unltd, Hub Ventures, and Emerge Lab

Matthew Scott is lead mentor for the Emerge Venture Lab, a programme to develop the next generation of social entrepreneurs.  His background includes co-founding a solar energy venture in India and working for Bridges Ventures, an impact investing VC fund. Contact details: matt@theemergelab.org and www.themergelab.org

Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Time: 6:30pm to 9:00pm
Location: Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre
108 Stamford Street
South Bank
London SE1 9NH

Are you looking for the tools to start or expand your social enterprise? Are you curious to find out what social enterprise is all about? Well, the sky is no longer the limit! Please join us for an evening of learning and discussion as we hear from experts and social entrepreneurs in London. Come find out:

• Why social enterprise is booming
• How other social entrepreneurs created and built successful operations
• What the role of social enterprise is in our new economic reality
• How you can use this information to push your social enterprise to the next level
• What it takes to get the funding needed to “blast off”

This event will feature speakers from social entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurship experts. Our speakers include:

Casey Lord, Venturesome, Investment Executive – Casey works with Venturesome, a leading social investment fund providing unsecured capital for charities, social enterprises and community land trusts.

Kate Bull, The People’s Supermarket, Founder/CEO -  The People’s Supermarket sets out to use the standard business model of a convenience supermarket and twist it, to construct a social enterprise that is commercially sustainable to enable it to be socially and environmentally sustainable.

Matthew Scott, Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneur in Residence – Matt is currently working on issues around sustainability for the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and has also previously spent time with McKinsey & Company and AEA Technology.

Kate Swade, Coin Street, Consultancy Programme Manager – Kate co-ordinates consultancy services to ambitious community organisations wanting to develop or acquire assets, and has a background in community led regeneration.

Servane Mouazan, Ogunte and the Global Tribal Network, Founder – Ogunte develops and promotes women social venture leaders, impact investors, and social innovators. Servane is also the creator of the Annual Women’s Social Leadership Awards and Make a Wave, a Pre-Incubator for Women Social Entrepreneurs.

Tom Rippin, On Purpose, Founder – After years of working in Cancer Research and McKinsey & Company, Tom transitioned into the social sector as an advisor and set up On Purpose, which trains young high-fliers for management positions in social enterprise.

Our event would be a great fit for anyone who is thinking of starting or has recently started a social enterprise. It would also be interesting for individuals who are curious about social policies and funding around these ventures.
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Net Impact is a network of MBAs, graduate students and professionals committed to using the power of business to improve the world. With more than 200 student and professional chapters on 4 continents in 75 cities and 120 graduate schools, Net Impact is one of the most innovative and influential networks in existence today. The Net Impact London Professional chapter was launched in 2006 and has developed a reputation for exciting and cutting-edge events with influential and agenda-setting speakers. For more information about Net Impact, please visit our website at: http://london.netimpact.org.uk/

Business charity partnerships are a land of rich opportunities for co-creation and mutual benefit. Yet at the same time they are riddled with conflicting aims and objectives, clashing cultures and other unforeseen challenges, which people on both sides of the partnership have to grapple with on a daily basis.

Join us on 9th November 2011 to experience and explore these issues and opportunities in an interactive, challenging and fun way.

With the help of a business case and role-play developed specifically for our “Creating effective business charity partnerships” workshop, you will explore different stages of partnership development, from choosing a partner to three years into the partnership.

Register by Monday 7th November to have enough time to read the case-study before the event.

Attend this workshop to:

• find out what the companies and charities can gain from partnerships
• explore the issues to consider at different stages of partnership development
• learn how to choose a potential partner with care
• identify potential risks and learn how to manage your partner’s expectations
• discover how to build and maintain a successful business charity partnership
• benefit from real-life examples and have an opportunity to share your experience with like-minded people

You will gain a well-rounded perspective of the complexities involved, while learning from workshop experts representing three sides of a business charity partnership. Tom James, Three Hands, an intermediary in business charity partnerships, will show you how to link business with charities and community organisations for mutual benefit, while Nadia Al Yafai, White & Case, will offer a corporate take on the partnerships and Laura Westwick, Bromley by Bow Centre, will present a charity perspective.

SCHEDULE

6.30pm – Registration and Networking
7.00pm – Introduction
7.15pm – Case study scenario 1
7.35pm – Case study scenario 2
7.55pm – Case study scenario 3
8.15pm – What’s the future?
8.30pm to 9.00pm: Networking

ABOUT THE FACILITATORS

Tom James is a Senior Manager at Three Hands, a company that links business with charities and community organisations for mutual benefit. Three Hands brings together expertise in learning & development and community engagement to deliver experiential learning programmes and innovative community projects. Tom has been in his current role for 2 years working on programmes for BSkyB, British Gas, Morgan Stanley and Lend Lease. Tom graduated in 2010 with a distinction in his Masters degree in Corporate Social Responsibility from London Met Business School and was recently appointed as a Trustee at Emmaus South Lambeth, a charity in South London which provides a home, work and family for homeless people.

Nadia Al Yafai is the Community Affairs Executive at White & Case, one of the world’s leading global law firms, responsible for developing  volunteering programmes and selecting and managing key charity relationships. She designed a unique employability programme ‘Breakfast Club’ with Dress for Success which was run over 12 weeks in  the City and was covered in ‘The Big Issue’. Nadia believes that, as a Corporate Responsiblity professional, it is important to have a strong  perspective from the charity’s viewpoint so she is a Business Advisor to the employability charity,  IntoWork and the Clement James community Centre, the headquarters of IntoUniversity. She works with the charity’s business partners on developing their new programmes, brings on board expert supporters, reviews their community development focus and carries out mock interviews with the charity’s clients. She has also helped set up a social enterprise community cafe including winning funding in a ‘Dragon’s Den’ pitch event. She received a ‘Local  Heroes’ award at the Kensington & Chelsea ‘Make a Difference’ ceremony in June 2011 for, in the words of the charity, ‘her incredible support  and care, her enthusiasm and creativeness and for being a source of inspiration to us all’.

Laura Westwick is the Corporate and Events Development Manager at the Bromley by Bow Centre, an east London charity that helps up to 2,000 people a month to improve their health and skills and move towards and into work. She has responsibility for developing effective relationships with corporate partners, particularly those based in the City and Canary Wharf. Her area of responsibility also involves developing fundraising events ranging from sponsored sporting challenges to arranging formal dinners and auctions. This can mean anything from writing bids for six-figure partnerships, recruiting riders for a 100km night-time cycle ride to helping to organise a corporate volunteer-led summer tea party (complete with cupcakes) in the Centre’s therapeutic garden. Laura has worked in the charity sector for 3 years having previously worked in environmental sustainability.

Image: jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net