The rallying cry for corporations to make a social and environmental impact on their communities reached a fever pitch in 2020. When the COVID-19 pandemic collided with calls to address systemic racism and inequalities following the May 2020 murder of George Floyd, employees and consumers alike demanded that corporations听do something. With unprecedented times came immense pressure, and while some corporations buckled under the weight of inaction, others saw the challenges as opportunities.
Katherine V. Smith, executive director of the Center for Corporate Citizenship
Throughout the pandemic, corporate citizenship professionals have been on the 鈥渇ront lines,鈥� said Katherine V. Smith, executive director of the听Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, in her opening address at the Center鈥檚 annual听International Corporate Citizenship Conference. The event spanned three days in late April at the spacious Westin Copley Place hotel in Boston, in-person for the first time since 2019. Speakers highlighted the many ways companies have been tested over the last two years, whether the task was deciding how to support their local communities, or ordering masks and other personal protective equipment to keep employees safe and healthy.
Corporate social responsibility has recently gained greater visibility, but the Center, along with its annual conference, has been at the forefront of these conversations since its founding in 1985. More than 500 industry veterans, newcomers, and leaders鈥攎ost of whom work for the Center鈥檚 500 member companies鈥攋oined together to discuss the conference theme: 鈥淏etter, Bolder, Brighter Future.鈥� Developed by convening sponsor Liberty Mutual, the phrase entails 鈥渕aking the world better by being bolder and working together towards a brighter future,鈥� explained Melissa MacDonnell, president of the Liberty Mutual Foundation and MBA '98, during opening remarks on Monday, April 25.
Melissa MacDonnell, president of the Liberty Mutual Foundation, MBA '98
More corporations than ever are offering programs like charitable donation matching, paid time off for volunteering, and other perks to their employees in the wake of the pandemic. While such initiatives have to get a green light from sometimes reluctant senior leadership, boosting participation in efforts that require employee buy-in has become a challenge of its own. At an afternoon breakout session on Monday titled 鈥淔rom Woodstock to TikTok: Engaging socially conscious employees across generations,鈥� one conference attendee asked the panel of industry leaders how they address burnout within their organizations, particularly when it comes to encouraging employees to volunteer outside of business hours.
Although people 鈥渨ant to take action more than ever,鈥� clarified the attendee, 鈥渨e all need to take breaks, especially now.鈥� A feeling of mutual understanding filled the crowded conference room, with solemn nods of solidarity passing across the faces of about 75 professionals seated in long wooden desks adorned with reusable water bottles and insulated coffee cups.
Westin Copley Square ballroom
Gary Levante, senior vice president of corporate responsibility and culture at Berkshire Bank and moderator of the panel, offered some unexpected advice in response. 鈥淚ntentionally scale back the number of events and options,鈥� he recommended to the group of engaged industry members. In a landscape where it often feels like corporations can never do enough to combat the harmful effects of climate change and address challenging social issues like racial and economic inequality, scaling back might feel counterintuitive. With so many competing priorities, doing less, in some instances, may be a more realistic and necessary option.
Getting the word out
Yet for some businesses, the larger issue isn鈥檛 that they aren鈥檛 doing enough, or are doing too much鈥攊t鈥檚 that they aren鈥檛 communicating their efforts clearly.听
At a morning breakout session named after the conference theme, in a small room bursting with more attendees than seats, Smith asked the panelists to describe a problem their departments faced in the last two