RISE. Corporate Purpose Advisory
Corporate Purpose Advisory firm that helps organisations define and measure purpose and put it at th
Team summer drinks on the terrace at 🥂☀️
"Being purpose-led and embedding sustainability is a strategic management approach that deserves attention beyond the current obsession with ESG." Read our latest insights at the link in the bio!
Currently on our bookshelf 📚
Welcome to .v.m who is joining us for two weeks to do an internship, one week in Brussels and one week in London!
A warm welcome to Nicholas Jackson, who joins the team in Brussels as a Director. Nick has deep experience with strategy and disclosure, has worked at leading consultancies and further strengthens our sustainability expertise.
Delighted to welcome Charles Perry as our first UK-based Partner. A leader, green entrepreneur and UN Climate Champion, he joins to grow the business advising clients on , sustainability and . Click the link in bio for the full release ⬆️
Great news - we are partnering with our friend, former colleague and master storyteller Dennis Landsbert-Noon Panda Communications 🙌🏼
The Power in Wellbeing: Addressing Mental Health in the Workplace - 10 September 2020 from 10h00 CET - 11h00 CET.
A webinar with Geoff McDonald, Senior Adviser at RISE and co-founder of Minds at Work, and Jonny Jacobs, Finance Director EMEA Starbucks. Moderated by Katarina Wallin Bureau, Managing Partner at RISE.
COVID-19 has exacerbated an existing mental health crisis among the global workforce. There is increasing recognition that a happy, healthy and energised workforce is a key driver of business success.
We discuss:
- Whether COVID-19 provides an opportunity for organisations to reset their focus on employee wellbeing - both physical and mental - as a strategic priority?
- What are the key features of organisations that succeed in addressing this?
- What are the implications for organisational and individual accountability to enhance employee wellbeing?
- How can a sense of purpose add to motivation and overall wellbeing at work?
The pandemic has shown the strategic importance of addressing not only the physical but also the mental health of employees. The focus on mental wellbeing in the workplace cannot be put back in a box - it is here to stay - and companies need to address it.
RSVP: https://bit.ly/2YAGYFA
The Power in Wellbeing: Addressing Mental Health in the Workplace - Rise The pandemic has shown the strategic importance of addressing not only the physical but also the mental health of employees. The focus on mental wellbeing in the workplace cannot be put back in a box - it is here to stay - and companies need to address it.
Purpose-led or Purpose-washing?
On its 1-year anniversary the US Business Roundtable says signatories to the Declaration on the Purpose of a Corporation have lived up to their commitment, but we argue progress has been mixed.
While COVID-19 has allowed many companies to demonstrate their social value, this does not mean that there is a clear link between business strategy and corporate purpose. The real measure of whether companies are living up to the commitments made a year ago in the BRT Declaration is what happens after the pandemic subsides, and how they will use corporate purpose to guide decision-making into the future, integrating it with sustainability and business strategy.
Read the full piece here: https://bit.ly/31c2qCI
Purpose-led or Purpose-washing? - Rise The declaration by 181 major American companies on 19 August 2019 that the purpose of a corporation is to deliver a value to all stakeholders - not only its owners- was hailed as a major step in the evolution of responsible business. It affirmed that companies and their leaders should generate long-...
Our perspective on Germany's Presidency of the Council of the EU and how they can use the EU Green Deal and UN SDGs to put the EU on a sustainable and inclusive path to recovery https://bit.ly/38cvNXj
The German Presidency of the Council of the EU - Purposefully Driving Sustainability - Rise The German Presidency will take the reins of the Council of the EU on Wednesday 1 July following one of the most tumultuous times the European Union has faced in recent years. With the European Commission having committed to a ‘Green, Digital and Resilient’ recovery, Germany’s gargantuan task ...
RISE ABOVE BUSINESS AS USUAL
RISE above business as usual. Easier said than done. But many companies are doing exactly that during the COVID-19 crisis, which is vividly demonstrating the need for multi-stakeholder collaboration to fight common challenges and the role of companies in society as drivers of positive change.
Purpose defines a corporation’s underlying objective in a way that guides business strategy and its impact on society. A crisis makes it more difficult to “purpose-wash” – much easier when the going is good – and reveals those who are truly guided by their purpose, versus those who are using it as a convenient label or branding exercise.
RISE was already convinced that the “business as usual” model is broken. The crisis is making that evidently clearer. We are simply more effective when working together and no country or community is an island in that sense. Many companies are stepping up in responsible and innovative ways for their people and customers: doing all they can to try to diminish layoffs, increasing benefits for their employees or positively supporting their communities and society-at-large.
We have been tracking these inspirational and purpose-led responses and posting them under the hashtag . As we monitored activities, 5 main types of responses emerged:
Repurposed Business Operations: A redirection of core business operations to respond to the crisis. This has been demonstrated most clearly by fashion house LVMH and retailer H&M who are using their respective factories to produce hand sanitizers and protective clothing for healthcare workers. Major motor vehicle company Ford has risen to the challenge by collaborating with 3M and GE Healthcare to expand production of medical equipment (ventilators and air-purifying respirators) as well as supplies for health care workers. Flavours & fragrances leader Givaudan is using some of its facilities around the world to produce hand sanitisers, in addition to launching a community fund to enable teams around the world to support those most in need.
Flexible Finance: Banks changing their business operations to accommodate those who have been negatively impacted financially due to the crisis. RBS and TSB have deferred repayments on loans and mortgages. Lloyds, HSBC, Barclays and Bank of Mauritius have all announced relief packages to help fund small business and allow them to cope with their cash flow.
Adapted Operations: Signals a change to the way business is run, though not outside of their normal scope of operations. Grocery stores such as Iceland, M&S and Delhaize have announced dedicated shopping hours for the elderly, the vulnerable or for emergency healthcare workers. Global tech company Philips has increased production of critical health technology and the bank BNP Paribas has extended free health coverage under the UNICA policy to Italians.
Employer Leadership: Leaders, particularly in the United States, have taken upon themselves to ensure the wellbeing of their employees. The CEO of Delta Airlines and its executive board have all foregone compensation for one year and six months respectively to try to diminish layoffs. Patagonia closed their stores but continued to pay employees. Walmart, Apple and Darden Restaurants extended paid sick leave to employees.
Philanthropy: Financial support or benefits in kind that aid affected communities (not necessarily the employees). Bank of America and JP Morgan have both announced large investments to affected communities to mitigate the effects of the crisis. Nike created a fund to support communities where employees live. Unilever has pledged free soap, sanitizer, bleach and food while Tesla CEO Elon Musk acquired over 1,000 ventilators from China.
These examples highlight the critical role that business plays in society through enhancing the livelihoods of communities, working collaboratively and filling gaps that governmental bodies cannot. The also enable business to produce and sell more, or strengthen their reputation during the crisis, helping purpose to drive business performance.
What is apparent is that there will be no return to “normal” once this crisis is over. COVID-19 marks a defining moment in history, a turning point and the contrast between before and after will be stark. This is not a negative - there will be a new normal that builds on the shift in thinking about business purpose that had already begun. The Business Roundtable Declaration in August 2019 and the increased focus on the role of business in accelerating the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals are examples of this.
There will certainly be challenges and obstacles to overcome, but this is a unique opportunity for business to RISE above (the old) business as usual.
Please let us know if you want to discuss ideas for what you can do as a business to develop or live your purpose right now, or creative ways of communicating it. We are here to help.
www.risepurpose.com
The EU Green Deal is at the heart of the European Commission's strategy for implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Check out the RISE Guide to how the main Green Deal initiatives match the SDGs.
https://bit.ly/2TlZ244
Welcome Jenna! Our new Account Director for EU Affairs.
CSR can do good but it’s Purpose that will transform an organisation.
The difference between CSR and Purpose is worth re-stating. While CSR is usually made up of one or several initiatives for the benefit of the environment or community, Purpose defines a corporation’s underlying objective in a way that guides business strategy and is consistent with the interests of all its major stakeholders, including shareholders. Implementation and measurement are key to living the Purpose.
It has become increasingly clear that the business as usual model no longer answers to the questions and challenges presented by the fourth industrial revolution, as well as growing public consciousness of the long-term impact of business activity. Organisations are required to be more innovative and aspirational in how they run their everyday business to meet and surpass these challenges. Embedding an ambitious and aspirational Purpose with measurable goals into corporate strategy fundamentally changes the way the business is run on a day-to-day basis.
As the debate on corporate Purpose quickly moves from “vision to ex*****on to tangible action”, as Julie Sweet of Accenture has said it now must do, two topics are in the spotlight: implementation and measurement.
Implementation means living the purpose through an organisation’s business and sustainability strategies, and embedding it into its culture, systems, policies and processes. Setting ambitious and measurable goals is key in order to translate the purpose into something that is inspiring and engaging and that raises the level of ambition in the organisation. It is not enough to say you want to have a positive impact - on who, where, what is the timeline and how will you measure your efforts?
The goals and associated targets are likely to incorporate areas such as diversity and inclusion, an organisation’s carbon footprint, equality, citizenship and fair engagement with customers and suppliers. The more these goals are integrated into the organisation and its daily operations, the more they will be assimilated, absorbed and lived out.
Implementation is deeply linked to the second topic: measurement. Measuring and evaluating in a timely and transparent way will ensure that organisations are better able to navigate, adjust, manage and meet the goals associated to the Purpose. Measurement accompanied by constant follow-up and periodic comparison of one’s own performance against industry-wide best practices and/or international sector standards will allow the company to implement and track progress.
Until now, the lack of common guidelines for consistent reporting was a challenge to measurement. A consultation draft was released by the World Economic Forum (please find the link at the end), following the 50th annual meeting held last month in Davos with common metrics developed by the Big Four Accounting Firms in conjunction with experts from the World Economic Forum, the Bank of America, and IBC Firms.
Leading up to Davos, the goal was to present metrics for the most relevant ESG themes, namely: governance, human capital, prosperity and the environment. The final guidelines fall under four pillars:
Principles of Governance,
Planet,
People, and
Prosperity.
Each of these pillars has an important bearing on the capacity of a firm to generate, share and sustain value. Like the SDGs, success and performance in one pillar relies heavily on the performance in the other pillars. Conversely, failure in one will likely lead to failure in all.
Within the application of the guidelines, five different criteria must be used:
1) consistency with existing frameworks and standards, 2) materiality to long-term value creation, 3) extent of actionability, 4) universality across industries and business models and 5) monitoring feasibility.
The wide list of reporting initiatives, measurement systems and different methodologies are likely to fall by the wayside as these metrics become the norm. The standardised data we expect to see will allow us to monitor purpose-led objectives and SDG 2030 efforts much more effectively and realistically.
It is encouraging to see that the right efforts on measurement are being made and we hope that these metrics are quickly adopted by organisations everywhere. But measurement systems are only a means to an end. Purpose needs to be supported by strategic objectives and clear goals to drive business performance.
Coming back to the difference between CSR and Purpose - CSR can do good, but Purpose can transform an organisation and its impact on all its stakeholders. Aligning Purpose and business strategy, and focusing on implementation and measurement, will enable organisations to rise above business as usual and help ensure their longevity and legacy.
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_IBC_ESG_Metrics_Discussion_Paper.pdf
Disney Davos (Mayssa Badr, Senior Director at RISE, on her World Economic Forum experience).
-8oC degrees. It felt like -8oC too. I know because my feet were freezing and I found myself begging the Swiss policeman ‘Sir, we have a hotel badge, why can’t we take the free shuttle? Pleeeeaaase!’
‘Wrong badge’ he quipped ‘You must have a horizontal one, and you only have the vertical hotel badge. Out’. And off we went, walking back to our place, a couple of small rooms rented out by a kind local pharmacist who lived 40 minutes away on foot.
Indeed, Katarina and I decided to attend ‘Davos’ just a few weeks ago. After all, this year’s theme being ‘Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World’ it was hard to resist. We just launched a Corporate Purpose Advisory firm called RISE and the programme seemed made for us.
This was my first time, and as with all first times it was an eye opener. We had signed up to a few sessions, and been invited by 2 clients to their events, as well as helping out with the launch of an OECD study on children’s career expectations and the future of work at Davos secondary school. However, going to WEF is not like showing up to your usual big conference. It’s more like planning your next trip to Disneyland with your kids: you must plan and conquer. And include the detox afterwards.
Walking down what I called ‘Main Street’ every shop and restaurant was turned into a corporate window. Facebook house, Salesforce chalet, CNBC Sanctuary, even Philip Morris’s ‘Unsmoke your mind’ venue (!), all lined up one after the other. Offering free booze, soup or coffee to attract as many as possible. Just as Disney is, Davos this year was USA – American firms and American execs aplenty. The only thing missing from the Disney park was Mickey & Minnie walking around. The famous people were kept for ‘the’ convention centre, which, as you understood from my intro, we could not even get close to. Strong (free) coffee helped attend the numerous inspiring sessions, even when they started at 7 a.m. My personal favourite was the one hosted in the SDG tent called 'Business with Purpose'. I also loved going to the debates in the ‘Equality Lounge’ and, just as you do for ‘It’s a small world’ queue for as long as it takes to get in. So many good speakers, good points made and good business cards exchanged. However, as I left Davos, I could not help but wonder ‘how much of this is corporate talk and how much of what is being said actually implemented?’
The Forum, which was launched in 1971, was established to promote the idea that business should serve all stakeholders – customers, employees, communities and shareholders. In 1973 the “Davos Manifesto,” was written and has shaped the Forum ever since. We have entered the age of “stakeholder capitalism” and that is a good thing. I do believe that the WEF forum in Davos serves a strong purpose, whereby the Forum can assist with global conflict resolution in addition to promoting its own best practices in business management. However, from the outskirts of the convention center, after 2 days of going to all kinds of PR events, debates and cocktails…. I could not help but wonder how many of the companies present, actually ‘walk the talk’. How many bought a ‘fast pass’ and used this year’s theme to surf on the purpose-led wave just by being present by investing (lots of) time and money? I hope that businesses are truly inspired to follow through with the actions promised and pledges made, and that they don’t take us, the wider public, for a ride.
I left with my mind full, my feet aching and with a healthy dose of curiosity & cynicism to see what will happen this following year to ensure businesses follow up. I was happy to leave by the end of it and pick up again on my ‘Dry January’. In spite of all this, I already can’t wait for my limited access badge, the queues, the crowds, the nachos and the overpriced accommodation of Davos 2021.
On Early Gender Stereotyping
My comments to Women Political Leaders on how early gender stereotyping evidenced in research by Education and Employers charity (Inspiring the Future)and OECD leads to negative perceptions of female leadership.
RISE team having breakfast at Female Quotient at the World Economic Forum in Davos, after hearing Sheryl Sandberg talk about the importance of gender & mental health
Welcome to RISE, Tarryn Rennie!
72% of companies now mention the SDGs in their annual corporate or sustainability report - Climate Action ( ) is the most common priority goal.
(Source: WBCSD, Principles for Purposeful Business, PWC)
RISE and shine! Beautiful morning in the office and busy week ahead.
Happy Holidays and a Purposeful New Year from RISE!
“Some say China has all the data, and the U.S. has all the money. But in Europe, we have purpose" Margrethe Vestager
Companies with purpose last, brands with purpose grow, and people with purpose thrive.
Insights from the RISE launch debate on corporate purpose in Brussels:
https://risepurpose.com/2019/11/28/hope-or-hype/
What makes purpose a driver of performance?
Measurement is one of the key criteria.
Managing a business exclusively for shareholder value is not easy, but the objective is clear. Defining, developing and measuring your value to a broader set of stakeholders is more complex.
The RISE matrix measures corporate performance against a unique set of purpose-led goals.
All companies have a unique profile and position in the global economy and RISE works with them individually to tailor a set of parameters to measure and monitor performance and provide the framework for internal and external engagement.
The parametres include key purpose-dimensions such as diversity, equality, environment, sustainability and engagement.
RISE has developed its matrix to help companies strategically define, develop and communicate purpose, with a real evidence-based tool.
By continuous assessment against external and internal performance, as well as an agreed competitor set, the RISE matrix provides an ongoing guide for corporate leadership to drive the value-led culture investors, customers, employees and wider society increasingly demands.
How the RISE Matrix can help you define and measure purpose and performance? Please get in touch with McLeod
Identify your company’s purpose — then embed it
Convinced that your company needs to pursue a purpose-led strategy? Katarina Wallin Bureau, RISE Managing Partner, proposes two crucial steps:
1) Identify and articulate what that purpose is.
2) Embed that purpose throughout the company.
Published in the Financial Times:
Identify your company’s purpose — then embed it
From Katarina Wallin Bureau, Managing Partner, RISE Corporate Purpose Advisory, Brussels, Belgium
"Your editorial “How to build a more responsible capitalism” (October 14) suggests how to encourage chief executives and business owners to do the right thing. For those who have been convinced to pursue a purpose-led strategy, there are two key areas to tackle.
The first is identifying and articulating what that purpose is. Purpose should answer the question “why” a company does what it does - its the single underlying objective that unifies all stakeholders. In the case of Unilever, referred to in the editorial, this purpose is “to make sustainable living commonplace”. Identifying the purpose is a strategic exercise involving stakeholder consultations inside and outside the company and aligning with existing and future business and sustainability strategies. It involves a statement as well as - critically - a set of goals, that align to business strategy and that will engage and inspire employees, as well as serve as a means to measure progress.
The second is embedding the purpose throughout the organisation. This is the first immediate test of the purpose. It requires on the one hand changing systems and processes to align with a new way of doing things. But it also requires a mindset change - to a belief that purpose will drive business performance. This means putting it at the heart of business strategy, and at the heart of engagement with employees, customers, regulators, investors and civil society. Its a genuine shift in how to do business, and examples like Unilever show that the results can be transformational."
https://www.ft.com/content/5bd6a99a-effe-11e9-ad1e-4367d8281195
ft.com From Katarina Wallin Bureau, Managing Partner, RISE Corporate Purpose Advisory, Brussels, Belgium
"New Firm in Brussels"
We are featured in POLITICO Europe: "Katarina Wallin Bureau (formerly with BCW) has founded RISE, a new corporate purpose advisory firm (see above). Geoff McDonald, a former Unilever executive, has joined RISE as senior advisor. Joining them: Robert McLeod, former editor-in-chief and CEO of MLex market insight, and Mayssa Badr, most recently senior director at BCW."
http://ow.ly/nzEG50wOjw2
PRovoke
"Against the backdrop of the intensifying global debate on the role of business in society, our goal is to help organisations rise above business as usual." Katarina Wallin Bureau, Founder and Managing Partner of RISE.
Katarina Wallin Bureau starts her own business after spending the past 18 months with another startup, BoldT.
NEW ADVISORY FIRM TO HELP COMPANIES RISE TO THE CHALLENGE OF DELIVERING ON CORPORATE PURPOSE
Brussels / London, 14 October 2019
Companies putting purpose at the centre of their strategy need to actively manage and measure how that purpose drives business performance or risk losing the confidence of their customers, employees and investors, according to Katarina Wallin Bureau, the founder and managing partner of RISE, a new corporate purpose advisory firm.
“Against the backdrop of the intensifying global debate on the role of business in society, our goal is to help organisations rise above business as usual,” said Wallin Bureau, previously COO EMEA at BCW (former Burson-Marsteller).
Recent statements from corporate leaders such as the US Business Roundtable chairman, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, that business needs to refocus on wider societal goals, have generated headlines around the world. Whether the statements can – as the Financial Times splashed on its front cover – reset business so it can thrive will depend on a commitment to implementation.
“The benefits are real but there must be commitment and an engagement from the top levels of the corporation to transform the business to enable those benefits to be reflected in the balance sheet” said Geoff McDonald, a former Unilever executive who helped archetype the transformation of the Anglo-Dutch giant through its corporate purpose strategy and has joined RISE as senior advisor.
Joining Wallin Bureau and McDonald at RISE is a senior team based in Brussels and London, including Robert McLeod, former Editor-in-Chief and CEO of global regulatory risk specialist MLex market insight and Mayssa Badr, a marketing and communications specialist, most recently senior director at BCW.
“By working together with government and civil society, business can help accelerate the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals – and in doing so also help themselves. Competitiveness and sustainability go hand in hand and companies who have a clearly defined long-term purpose and put it at the core of their engagement with all stakeholders will have a competitive advantage,” said Wallin Bureau.
To assist companies successfully implement and measure progress, RISE has developed a matrix-based approach tailored across geographies and industries.
“Many organisations talk about purpose without actually having a strategy for developing or living it. The RISE Matrix will address this by providing a methodology that enables companies to measure progress and communicate their story, both internally and externally,” said McLeod, who is leading the development of the matrix.
“Having spent the last 10 years working on company purpose it is fascinating to see the current shift, where something that was considered marginal has moved to the centre of attention of decision-makers and business media,” said Wallin Bureau.
RISE is backed by Cronos, a large European technology group and venture capital firm.
About RISE
RISE is a Corporate Purpose Advisory firm that helps leaders and organisations define and measure purpose and put it at the heart of stakeholder engagement. The firm offers services in four key areas: business strategy, communications, regulatory affairs and sustainability.
MEDIA ENQUIRIES
KATARINA WALLIN BUREAU
+32 473 421141 [email protected]
Welcome to RISE. A corporate purpose advisory firm to help leaders and organisations rise above business as usual. Watch this space and join us on our journey.
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