CORPORATE PURPOSE
THE NEW FRONTIER FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Leading The Way Since 2014
Faith Goodman , BSc, BEd, MBA, ICD.D
CEO, Goodman Sustainability Group
Founder & Director, VeriStell Institute
A global shift is redefining the contract between businesses and their communities from simply “being responsible” to creating real social value. Consumers, investors and employees increasingly expect firms to leverage their corporate DNA – and address complex societal issues through the adoption of Environmental-Social-Governance (ESG) & Corporate Purpose frameworks. Governments and society are urging firms to consider a wider lens – believing that firms can and must create both shareholder & societal value.
OUR
CORPORATE
PURPOSE
MODEL
Pressing societal issues remain the challenge of our time, and the tide has turned regarding the heightened need for corporate action! As such, the Goodman Sustainability Group’s globally focused mandate anchors on the ‘mainstreaming & adoption’ of sustainability across all of civil society. We aim to do our part to demystify the agenda for all sizes of firms in the developed & developing world. We tackle the challenges through a multi-faceted and cohesive lens – acknowledging that momentum on global sustainability is likely impeded unless corporations, entrepreneurs, Not-For-Profits, governments, cities and citizens collaborate in a different way.
There is ample evidence that global brands have prepared for the future, acknowledging that both shareholder & societal value creation is possible. We urge our clients and stakeholders to consider a wider societal lens that is underpinned by Corporate Purpose – WHY your brand exists beyond a ‘profit only’ model.
Defining and owning your Corporate Purpose is the most critical competitive advantage of our time. Dare to make the leap.
The Issue
SOCIETAL ISSUES have now become Boardroom issues! Society and government moving in unison urging corporations to remedy matters of inequity and inequality - while concurrently delivering shareholder value and social value. TRUST is becoming the new currency however this is easier said than done.
The Opportunity
"ESG & Corporate Purpose" – now the strategic duo as a BUSINESS ESSENTIAL, the new Frontier for Sustainability
“Defining and owning your social purpose is the most critical competitive advantage of our time. Bring your leadership to the most important challenges that business and society face. Make the leap forward.”
Our Thinking
Goodman Sustainability Group has pioneered a proven framework that empowers organizations to consider a Social Purpose agenda – one that is fit for purpose, transparent and quantifiable.
Our Ethos
Being Clear About Corporate Social Purpose:
Social purpose companies take actionable overt steps to be part of the long-term solution/fix – by partnering and applying business insights to complex societal issues. As corporations consider Social Purpose, tackling the root cause of a problem rather than simply funding its symptoms – brings optimal societal benefit (and shareholder value creation).
The simple Hallmarks of a defensible Corporate Purpose
- Linking the ‘why’ of your organization to a societal challenge (as defined by the UN SDG).
- Strong and ever-improving ESG performance as a necessary condition of being in business.
- Corporate Purpose as a cohesive strategy along with ESG performance.
- Strategic Public Private Partnerships should be the back-bone of Corporate Purpose implementation.
- ESG & Corporate Purpose embedded into the entire culture, supply chain and stakeholder framework of the brand.
- Willingness to be held publicly accountable utilizing the measures of business: systems thinking – root cause models, efficiency and effectiveness of capital and resources, transparent and clear outcomes, momentum towards solutions.
- New model of Courageous Leadership with Boards and the C-Suite out in front of the issues.
Our Mission
To help organizations consider ‘acting’ in a Social Purpose role – with a view to making meaningful and transparent progress on a societal ill. Goodman Sustainability will be the global thought leader for Social Purpose: what is it and how to measure it.
Our Vision
By 2025, all major global brands declare their Social Purpose commitments – cohesive with shareholder value creation.
Our Thinking
To inspire and URGE organizations to adopt a “Corporate Purpose” that enables long-term competitiveness and tangibly contributes to at least one of the 17 UN SDGs.
Guiding Principles
What we do
Core Competencies:
- CSR, ESG and Social Purpose Expertise
- Global Climate Change Policy Expertise
- Government Relations (managing complex multi-Stakeholder forums)
- Indigenous Community Partner Expertise
- Boardroom Governance and Risk Management
- Social Purpose Thought Leadership (Global Social Purpose Council – the VeriStell Institute Founding Member)
Board and C-Suite Services
Advisory Services
- Corporate Social Purpose
- Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Principles
- Climate Change Mitigation, Adaptation and Litigation Risk
- Strategy, Reputation Risk and Brand Promise
- Stakeholder Engagement
Reporting, Disclosure and Compliance Services
- ESG
- Climate Change, including TCFD and EU Taxonomy disclosures
- Assurance
Leadership Development and Coaching
Corporate sustainability
We enable organizational and board governance discussions regarding the management of societal risk.
Merging investor and societal lenses
Practical templates for understanding how your organization can think about risk and the imperative for this dual agenda consideration.
Considering a foundational guiding principle
Court a willingness to collaborate with authenticity without undermining an organizational value creation agenda — setting the tone from the top down.
Embedding the model
Encouraging organizations to embed societal purpose into their entire corporate structure and board governance model.
Stakeholder Clarity
Understanding Stakeholder complexities early on – allows for more optimal outcomes.
Single stakeholder category challenge
One issue, one line of site to advocate with government (relatively easy to resolve).
Multiple stakeholder challenge
Multiple stakeholders who don’t agree. High need to manage a consensus approach along with cohesive new metrics (complex to resolve but possible).
Extreme stakeholder challenge
One complex issue with a non-consensus future state, non-consensus solution, metric, or agreement about who the legitimate stakeholders are (no clear resolution example, although meaningful progress is possible).
Underpinning transparency
We help organizations ensure their mission, vision, and governance model all have a clear line of site to both the shareholder and societal pre-eminence lens.
Expertise
Our expertise in developing and leading diverse, multi-faceted alliances that enable consensus on key policy matters has shown success. Our governance and government policy work experience extends to advocacy and negotiations in multiple jurisdictions and with Indigenous communities. More specifically, Faith Goodman’s past work experience includes discussions in the EU, the U.S., the Canadian federal government and most Canadian provinces. In addition, Faith has travelled to over 75 countries and understands the cultural diversity elements of Social Purpose.
GOVERNMENT Relations and STAKEHOLDER Alliances
We facilitate government relations and stakeholder alliances.
Indigenous affairs
Faith Goodman has a history of building authentic and collaborative formal alliances with First Nations and Metis communities in Manitoba, Canada. As Founder of Until The Last Child, her innovation work is profiled at untilthelastchild.com
Climate policy
Canada is a world-leading climate policy jurisdiction. Each Canadian province has taken a “boutique policy approach” for energy and climate policy matters – in addition to that of the federal government. This jurisdictional complexity remains a challenge for organizations. Our well positioned expertise to navigate discussions on low carbon fuels and LFE emissions remains current.
Social impact bonds
Social Impact Bonds – an emerging field globally. This innovation allows for public/private partnerships to tackle costly and complex social policy issues by leveraging new sources of funding. Faith Goodman has been a pioneer in partnering with stakeholders on Canada’s first Social Impact Bond for child welfare.
Industry bench-marking
We have over a decade of experience with Solomon and Associates’ Complexity-Weighted Barrel benchmark model, currently used throughout Europe, California, Alberta, Ontario and the Canadian Federal Government. This model allows energy-intensive trade-exposed entities to credibly understand and measure progress against a global facility population of similar type.
Thought Leadership Engagements
We speak to groups and present at conferences.
- Daring To Leap, Energy Transition & Corporate Purpose Symposium, Feb 23, 2023
- Daring To Leap, Global Annual Forum, Dec 1, 2022
- Daring To Leap, Metals & Mining, Sep 29, 2022
- The Walrus & VeriStell Institute Present: Daring to Leap, Global Conversations on ESG & Corporate Purpose, Dec 2, 2021
- Daring To Leap: C-Suite Disruption, Jun 29, 2021
- Canadian Chamber of Commerce ESG &
Corporate Purpose Series, Nov 18, 2021 Jan 27 & Feb 24, 2022 - Canadian Green Building Council Innovation Series, Nov 17, Nov 24, Dec 1, 2021
- Toronto Region Board of Trade Social Purpose Workshop, Mar 31, 2021
- The Walrus & VeriStell Institute Present: Daring to Leap, Global Conversation on ESG & Corporate Purpose, Dec 3, 2020
- Canadian Chamber of Commerce AGM & Convention Expo, Oct 26-27, 2020
- CAGBC Building Lasting Change 2020,
Sept 22, 2020 - Toronto Board of Trade Social Purpose Workshop, Mar 5, 2020
- Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canada 360 Economic Summit, Jan 30, 2020
- ICD Social Purpose Forum Jan 29, 2020 “Event Planning”
- Institute of Corporate Directors Peer-to-Peer NFP Governance Forum, Oct 31, 2019
- Toronto Board of Trade Social Purpose Event Booth, Mar 5, 2019
- Institute for Corporate Directors – Social Purpose, Nov 6, 2018
- EcoFiscal Commission, 2016
- Ontario Chamber of Commerce, 2016
- Canada Economic Business Council, 2016
- Hart Energy Washington DC, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, San Diego, 2008, 2010, 2012
Daring to Leap Events: Global Conversations on ESG & Corporate Purpose
We are delighted to launch our online global series called DARING TO LEAP. It is a set of conversations regarding the strategic duo of “ESG and Corporate Purpose” – as the new business essentials. We are speaking to thought leaders and corporations around the world about the emerging corporate imperative to consider both the interests of shareholders and society. Societal issues are now Boardroom issues and failure to act is a brand risk. Defining and owning your Corporate Purpose is the most critical competitive advantage of our time.
Visit veristellinstitute.com
Dedicated to mainstreaming Corporate Social Purpose in the developed and developing world.
VeriStell Institute is dedicated to promoting the rapid global adoption of ESG and CORPORATE PURPOSE as the new frontier for corporate Sustainability. The organization is a global Think Tank (Not-For-Profit) – helping organizations positively impact society and remain highly competitive. The VeriStell Institute is an affiliated entity of the Goodman Sustainability Group.
Learn more at VeriStellInstitute.com
Memberships and Affiliations
Canada Green Building Council
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Canadian Chamber of Commerce
Public Policy Forum
Toronto Region Board of Trade
Institute of Corporate Directors
Who We Are
Faith Goodman BSc, BEd, MBA, ICD.D is CEO of Goodman Sustainability Group, Senior Editor of The Social Purpose Exchange, Founder & Board Director of the VeriStell Institute and Founder of award-winning Canadian national charity Until The Last Child (UTLC).
Team of Experts & External Consultants
Goodman Sustainability Group has proven expertise in tailoring the client organizational need with specific and relevant consulting support.
- Derek Purchase, Chief Development Officer – Former EY Partner (Risk Management & Sustainability Audit)
View Derek Purchase’s Biography - Glen Hodgson, Economist and Financial Consultant, Low Carbon Economy – Former Chief Economist, Conference Board of Canada)
View Glen Hodgson’s Biography - Renée Friedman, London, UK Consultant – Formerly Head of Events at Responsible Investor, Managing Editor at The Economist Intelligence Unit and Economist at the UK House of Commons
View Renée Friedman’s Biography - Tamara Close, Founder & Managing Partner, Close Group Consulting
View Tamara Close’s Biography - Sean Mallen, Strategic Communications, Host of ‘The Social Purpose Exchange” – Former Global News Anchor London (UK) News Bureau Chief (Crisis Communication Expert)
View Sean Mallen’s Biography - Dave Trafford, Executive Producer of ‘The Social Purpose Exchange’ podcast – Newstalk 1010 Radio Host & Executive Producer iContact Production
View Dave Trafford’s Biography - Geoffrey Rowan, Former Managing Director of Ketchum Public Relations (Crisis Communication Expert) View Geoffrey Rowan’s Biography
- Rachel Dobbs, Manager – Marketing & Operations
- KPW Communicatinos, Social Media & Communications Partner (Website)
- Leonard Wyma, Graphic Designer and Consulting Artistic Collaborator
- Michael R. Davidson, Videographer, The Social Purpose Exchange
- Redstone Agency, Event Management & Media Relations
Contact us
2 St. Clair Avenue West, 18th Floor
Toronto, ON, Canada
M4V 1L5
647-255-8108
To our Stakeholders from the United States:
We have a high interest in continuing to engage with you, to share insights & emerging best practices. We are looking forward to hearing from you. Please provide your contact information and submit the form below. We will be pleased to respond.
