Get Committed

Responsible companies and their employees have an obligation to be committed to sustainability. Corporate responsibility is an area that can be vast and complex, and getting together with colleagues to share best practices and offer advice is a simple way to take on this challenging topic; it’s also an activity that the COMMIT! Forum offers during its annual event.

Networking is a key part of the forum, and there will be many opportunities to gather with like-minded individuals to share innovative ideas during networking breaks and issue table sessions. Those attendees who are dedicated to corporate responsibility will be ready to discuss business challenges and solutions, catch up with old friends and colleagues, and to meet new ones.

Fellow attendees recommend making time to converge, too. According to Ben Pratt, vice president of corporate public affairs at the Mosaic Company, the best part of the forum is “having the opportunity to network with like-minded corporate responsibility peers from a variety of industries and experience levels.” “There are always takeaways and lessons to apply based on your own company’s needs,” he says.

This year’s speakers and sessions contribute to an exciting program. Below is a look at the agenda, and reasons to attend:

Exclusive Workshop with MGM Resorts International: Innovation and Engagement on Societal Issues

How important is the role corporations play in addressing societal issues? According to Rey Bouknight, director of corporate communications; Shelley Gitomer, vice president of philanthropy & community engagement; and Yalmaz Siddiqui, vice president of corporate sustainability at MGM Resorts International; it’s extremely important. The three MGM senior executives will come together in an exclusive workshop to discuss how companies can leverage innovation to solve societal issues and offer solutions that attendees can bring back to their own companies.

Bouknight, Gitomer, and Siddiqui will share how a company can pick the most material issues to work on, how to select the right partners, and how to engage employees and involve them in solutions.

Specific, society-related topics will be covered, and attendees will leave the session with practical tools for driving innovation and accelerating the resolution of key issues that face both their company and the community around them.

Managing Reputation Risk: A Low-Tech, High-Touch, Cross-Functional Process

Anthony Johndrow, CEO of Reputation Economy Advisors, and Joan Walker, former COO of Allstate, know how to manage reputation risk. They will spend this session showing attendees how to navigate this complex matter and offer recommendations on how to address these risks.

Board-level interest in reputation risk is rising, and collaboration between senior leadership is necessary to tackle the issues that may arise. Attendees will learn the importance of this collaboration-a solution provided to a board from a cross-section of leaders, rather than just one executive, has many advantages.

A View from the Top: Governance of the Corporate Sustainability Function

Investors who are focused on the role corporate boards play in sustainability performance will be interested in this session from Louis Coppola, executive vice president and co-founder of the Governance & Accountability Institute, and Veena Ramani, senior director at Ceres.

More than one third of large U.S. companies have begun formalizing systems for board-level sustainability oversight. Panel attendees will learn about the drivers of this trend as Coppola and Ramani review research on emerging best practices. They will offer advice related to sustainability strategy, reporting and disclosure, and investment tactics-skills investors need to know in order to successfully navigate the playing field.

How to Build an Inclusive Talent Strategy

Companies need to be aware of diversity and inclusion strategies to ensure a vast amount of talent in the workplace. Nereida Perez, CEO of Diversity Basics Consulting, will provide advice on how to build an inclusive and collaborative strategy to address talent development needs.

Perez’s organization is dedicated to helping companies understand the challenges of delivering results while ensuring diversity and inclusion are at the forefront. She brings her expertise to this session by offering tips on building up this important piece of CR in a business.

Participants will be given a template and checklist that they can use to create an action plan and measure impact in their own companies.

Understanding the Impact of Reputation

Some organizations tend to overlook reputational risk-the merging of the brand they built, how they operate, and how their stakeholders perceive them. Attendees of this session on reputation, hosted by Beth Rusert, senior vice president and partner at Standing Partnership, will listen to real-world comparisons of effective and ineffective reputational risk and share the five steps to mitigating reputational risk.

According to Rusert, “businesses are operating in plain view of those they are responsible to, and the number of those stakeholders is constantly growing. Managing risk to your brand’s reputation involves a system that allows for the analysis of multiple perspectives- from the inside out.”

Participants will leave equipped with the skills to assess the reputational risk management approach of their organization and learn how to build a consideration for reputational risk into their company’s business culture.

“Even for those who feel their organization handles reputational risk well, our recently released research on the subject revealed that many companies could benefit from a refreshed approach,” Rusert says.

How to Have it all: Collaborating for Agricultural Productivity and Supply Chain Sustainability

According to studies, food production will need to increase by 70 percent to feed an expected population of 9.1 billion people in 2050. To help mitigate future problems, Smithfield Foods, the Environmental Defense Fund, and other partners are advancing on-farm conservation practices that will reduce excess nitrogen fertilizer on 450,000 acres and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60,000 tons.

Join a group of experts as they discuss the food production problem and how this project will help. The panel includes Stewart Leeth, assistant VP of environmental and corporate affairs and senior regulatory counsel at Smithfield Foods, Inc.; Kraig Westerbeek, VP for environment, engineering, and support services for Smithfield Hog Production at Smithfield Foods, Inc.; Maggie Monast, sustainable sourcing manager at the Environmental Defense Fund; and Matt Carstens, SVP at land O’lakes, Inc.

This session provides insight into this project, highlighting significant impacts a company can make in its supply chain. Panelists will share lessons learned in creating and managing this collaboration.

Best Practices in Advancing Women in Middle Management

Women in business who are looking to expedite their career advancement will benefit from this session as they listen to practical, real world experience and best practices from those who have succeeded in this challenging area.

Joan Michelson, CEO at Green Connections Media, will discuss women’s initiatives, how they work, how women are advancing to senior leadership in the present, how women on boards help women in middle management advance, what innovative programs are working, and what women can do to advance.

Attendees will learn valuable skills they can use in order to further their own careers and receive advice on how to help colleagues do the same.

Next Gen Responsible Extractives: Leveraging Deep Ecology & Virtual Reality (VR} for High Impact Messaging of Mining’s Needs, Opportunities, and 21st Century Solutions

Charlotte Thornton, chairman and founder of Clean Copper Mining, Minerals & Manufacturing, Inc., will demonstrate the efforts the company is making to conduct sustainable mine tours.

They will introduce the “Deep Ecology” ideology as driving a new generation of corporate responsibility and sustainability driven by innovation versus regulation.

Participants will be able to “experience” touring a mine and they will learn how this helps the environment. This exciting demonstration will include new technology.

Innovation at Mosaic

The Mosaic Company is an integrated producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash. During this presentation, the company will discuss its innovative efforts in fertilizer manufacturing and how important this is for the sustainability of the earth’s natural resources.

Attendees will learn about Mosaic’s mission and innovative goals, which reveal that innovation is born out of a desire to continuously improve; innovation can happen when you have honest conversations about challenges; innovative solutions can sometimes feel out of the box in the early stages; and innovation comes from employees at all levels.

Ben Pratt, vice president of corporate public affairs at Mosaic, says he will discuss some of the challenges and barriers for a company operating in the commodities space and “how we’re harnessing the power and ingenuity of our people to improve our competitiveness and live up to our potential.” “We believe these are concepts anyone can relate to,” he says.

Around the Kitchen Table: Life on a Coffee Farm

Ken Lander, founder and chief sustainability officer at THRIVE Farmers, will discuss how the company is transforming the coffee industry by helping farmers solve challenges.

Attendees will learn about the company and its responsible efforts. They will also learn how to bring sustainability into their own daily activities-like having a cup of coffee-at their business and home.

Forum attendees will also have the opportunity to drink THRIVE’s own coffee at the event.

Driving the Future of the CR Profession

Experts Bart Alexander, principal of Alexander & Associates LLC; Crystal Adams, assistant director of corporate social responsibility at Crowe Horwath LLP; Nick Anderson, associate, MorganMyers; and Doris Gonzalez, director of corporate citizenship and corporate affairs for the Americas at IBM Corporation will discuss the CR profession today, what’s next, and what attendees can do to prepare for the future.

PwC Movie Presentation at Regal Cinema

Join Shannon Schuyler, principal, chief purpose officer, chief corporate responsibility officer, and president of the PwC Charitable Foundation at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Andrew Yang, founder and CEO of Venture for America, at the nearby Regal Cinema as they discuss the film Generation Startup.

Generation Startup showcases the struggles and triumphs of six recent college graduates creating startups in Detroit. The movie was shot over 17 months and reveals what it takes to launch a startup in a challenging economy. Attendees will enjoy this interesting documentary and learn more behind-the- scenes information about the making of the film.

“It’s my hope that those who attend the screening will walk away with a deeper respect for the personal and professional struggles of budding entrepreneurs and a desire to actively support the revitalization of American cities and communities through entrepreneurship,” Schuyler says.

Creating a Culture of Purpose and Engagement: The Approach, Programs, and Results

This session-which builds on the ideas from a John Hancock and Fidelity Investments presentation, titled “Common Impact, at the 2014COMMIT!Forum”-will explain how to build a purpose-minded culture that produces engaged, motivated, and high-performing employees to drive business success.

Attendees will learn about “Common Impact’s” three-pronged approach to building a sustainable workforce through conscious leadership development, community and employee engagement, and thought diversity. They will also see how the companies have implemented successful programs with great results.

Fidelity Investments, JPMorgan Chase, and Marriott International will explain how-through experiential learning-they have developed a human-centered, diverse, and conscious culture and, as a result, have gained an efficient workforce that creates a healthier bottom line.

Tanya Bolden, director of corporate responsibility products and services at AIAG, will share how the automotive industry has become a leader on conflict minerals reporting and supply chain engagement.

She will discuss the tools and resources used to conduct AIAG’s supplier outreach activities. This session will also discuss the strategy implemented and the resulting Conflict Minerals Work Group’s (CMWG} success over the past five years.

Interview with a Responsible CEO

CR Magazine and SharedXpertise CEO Elliot Clark will sit down with Emanuel (Manny} Chirico, chairman and chief executive officer of PVH Corp., for an exclusive, one-on-one interview. Clark will ask questions about Chirico’s business history, personal and professional challenges, and successes.

Check out the additional interview with Chirico in this issue for even more information on his experience at the helm of one of the largest fashion corporations in the world.

Effective and Innovative Ideas in Sustainable Supply Chain

Top companies will share insights on how they have successfully and innovatively improved the sustainability of their supply chains during this panel session. Attendees will learn how to improve the sustainability of their own systems, where cross-industry collaborations can help, and how companies can work with their suppliers to find innovative improvements.

Speakers include Daniel Aronson, founder of Valutus; Tom Carpenter, executive director of sustainability services at Waste Management; Erin O’Driscoll, director of ventures and business development at the Dow Chemical Company; and Matthew Swibel, director of corporate sustainability at Lockheed Martin.

Emissions Impact of Recycling and Evolving Goals for Today’s Changing Waste Stream

Susan Robinson, federal public affairs director at Waste Management, will discuss the company’s efforts to be more sustainable during this plenary session.

She will share how changes in the global economy, packaging trends, and recycling programs necessitate a shift in thinking to the EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management (SMM} policy policies. Attendees will learn about the importance of the focus on broader, overall environmental impacts and they will also discover how businesses can create and implement effective materials management programs.

WM is currently making efforts to advance technologies that reduce waste; increase recycling and reuse; create safe treatment and disposal options; develop sources of renewable energy; and share innovative news with its clients and collaborators.

Shared Responsibility: An Exclusive CEO Panel

Listen in as a panel of CEOs discuss how they run responsible businesses and share their vast successes. The CEOs will include leaders of distinction from our Responsible CEO of the Year Awards. Don’t miss this chance to hear anecdotes and advice from the top executives in business today. The full panel list is on our website.

Larry Basinait, vice president of market research at CR Magazine and SharedXpertise will reveal the winners of the 100 Best sectors. See who won from each sector of our annual list of the most responsible companies.

CR Magazine’s Responsible CEO of the Year Awards Dinner

The Responsible CEO of the Year Awards dinner is an annual forum highlight. The winners, who are from widely successful companies, will be announced during the evening. These awardees were nominated by fellow members of the CR community and selected by an independent panel of judges comprised of previous winners and other recognized leaders in the industry.

The 2016 Leaders of Distinction are:

• Emanuel Chirico, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PVH Corp.

• John Crowe, President and CEO of Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed Corporations, Saint-Gobain

• Sury Kant, President North America, UK and Europe, Tata Consultancy Services

• Mike Lawrie, Chairman, President and CEO, CSC

• Robert Moritz, Global Chairman and Senior Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers

• Richard Noll, Chairman and CEO, HanesBrands

• Christine Perich, CEO, New Belgium Brewing

• Richard Shadyac, President and CEO, ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

• David Steiner, President and CEO, Waste Management

• John Strangfeld, Chairman and CEO, Prudential Financial, Inc.

• Mark Wilson, Group Chief Executive Officer, Aviva

Be sure to attend to see who will bring home the honor of being named the best of the best responsible CEOs around the country. For more information, visit www.commitforum.com.