The Issue
The current pandemic crisis highlights a global shift that is redefining the contract between businesses and their stakeholders from ‘being responsible’ to also creating real social value.
Firms can no longer sit on the side-lines of challenging societal issues. The incoming Gen Z, Millennials, and committed activists expect companies to serve a Social Purpose and they have the ability and willingness to punish companies that do not comply.
This growing global Social Purpose movement implores firms to go beyond ESG excellence – which is now a necessary condition of being in business – and in addition, consider lending their considerable innovation and ingenuity to helping solve pressing societal challenges.
The Social Purpose Exchange is a news and insight forum illuminating Corporate Social Purpose – the emerging frontier for Sustainability. Follow our latest insights via YouTube, Podcast and our Foresight newsletter.
The Opportunity
Social Purpose is the New Frontier for Sustainability
CEO’s and Boards have an opportunity to enhance their future competitiveness when they INVEST in Social Purpose: People increasingly want to be associated with brands that stand for something or are a force for change. This means that an organization’s duty to society will become at least as important as its duty to shareholders. Relying solely on shareholder pre-eminence may inadvertently create brand risk by ignoring the societal context.
The opportunity is this: defining and owning your Social Purpose is the most critical competitive advantage of our time. Reframing your business around its social value is the challenge most worthy of your leadership. Those who don’t embrace this opportunity will face serious risks in the increasing competition for TRUST, TALENT, RELEVANCE and long-term survival. Failing to LEAP is your biggest risk.
“To prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society. Without a sense of purpose, no company can achieve its full potential.”
2018 Letter to global CEOS: A Sense of Purpose
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
We help organizations understand Social Purpose as a necessary underpinning – ensuring their long-term business viability.
The Lost Opportunity, The Vicious Cycle
Old model “Corporate Social Responsibility” and the new world of Social Purpose is like buying a ticket to a play versus acting in it.
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 capital efficiency).
Kids in government care – a Social Policy issue exemplifying unintended consequences.
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 2030, all major global organizations declare their social purpose metrics alongside shareholder value creation.
Our Thinking
Our expertise in managing corporate societal challenges — as well as complex not-for-profit policy challenges — has had wide-reaching impact. Our guiding principles help define this impact.
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 Founding Member)
Our Commitment to Social Purpose
Goodman Sustainability Group is the anchor partner in an emerging “Global Social Purpose Council” – bringing together international partners who are thought leaders on Social Purpose principles, metrics, research, operations and adjudication.
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.
Speaking Engagements
We speak to groups and present at conferences.
- CAGBC Building Lasting Change 2020, Delayed
- Crush Life Sciences, Belmont, MA, Delayed
- Toronto Board of Trade Social Purpose Workshop, Oct 1, 2020
- Toronto Board of Trade Social Purpose Workshop, Mar 5, 2020
- ICD Social Purpose Forum Jan 29, 2020 “Event Planning”
- Institute of Corporate Directors Peer-to-Peer NFP Governance Forum, Oct 31, 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
Social Purpose Recommended Reading
We provide training – developing stakeholder relations strategy and building strong alliances. We understand the levers necessary to find common ground with diverse stakeholders.
Memberships and Affiliations
Governance Professionals of Canada
Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy
Canadian Chamber of Commerce
Public Policy Forum
Toronto Board of Trade
Institute of Corporate Directors
Southern First Nations Network of Care.
PWC
Who We Are
Faith Goodman BSc, BEd, MBA, ICD.D is CEO of Goodman Sustainability Group, Senior Editor of The Social Purpose Exchange 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 - Sean Mallen, Strategic Communications, Host of ‘The Social Purpose Exchange” – Former Global News Anchor London (UK) News Bureau Chief (Crisis Communication Expert)
- Dave Trafford, Executive Producer of ‘The Social Purpose Exchange’ podcast – Newstalk 1010 Radio Host & Executive Producer iContact Production
- Geoffrey Rowan, Former Managing Director of Ketchum Public Relations (Crisis Communication Expert)
- Rachel Dobbs, Manager – Marketing & Operations
- Christopher Hinchcliffe, GSG Foresight Newsletter Editor – DPhil, Law Oxford, Author
- Argyle Public Relations, Social Media & Communications Partner
- Leonard Wyma, Graphic Designer and Consulting Artistic Collaborator
- Michael R. Davidson, Videographer, The Social Purpose Exchange
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