A Roundtable was organized on April 22, 2009 in Karachi by tbl (triple bottom-line), on the concept of Cross-Company CSR (C3). This Concept has been developed by tbl as a future direction for CSR.
The primary objective of the Roundtable was to understand and discuss how the C3 concept can be further developed and practically implemented in corporate sector entities, via building and formulating specific, quantifiable models. These models form the foundation of Cross-Company CSR and give sustainable growth to businesses in the future.
The C3 Roundtable commenced with presentations by Mr. Zohare Ali Shariff, Editor-in-Chief, tbl who gave a background on tbl and CSR. Following this presentation, Mr. Shadab Fariduddin, Lead Consultant at Four Corners Group spoke about the CSR Types and Trends in Pakistan, and the final presentation was given by Ms. Khadeeja Balkhi, Editorial Director tbl, who presented the Cross Company CSR (C3) concept and application and implementation of the C3 model.
The C3 Roundtable participants included CEOs and senior executives of the following companies: Digispace, Engro Chemical, Engro Foods, Engro Polymer & Chemicals, Faysal Bank, Habib Oil Mills, KASB, National Foods, Naya Jeevan, Philips, Progressive Group, Unilever and Visa International (Asia Pacific).
At the end of the Roundtable, a lunch was held. Post-lunch, a Resolution was prepared by the tbl team and this was signed by all the participants, who committed to exploring a proto-type of the C3 – whereby a practical example of C3 can emerge. With tbl’s support, a basic hub-spoke model will be implemented and monitored and documented as a case study.
Throughout the Roundtable, participants engaged in a stimulating and intense discussion. The C3 discussions gave an opportunity to the participants to gather and exchange their thoughts on CSR and the C3. These sessions honed in on a discussion about how the participating companies CSR strategies can tie in with the C3 concept – and the potential collaboration opportunities. The brainstorming sessions concluded with ideas for C3 core values and success factors, mechanisms and platforms – and how the C3 itself will be sustainable.
The C3 concept inherently implies a close coope-ration between all participating companies. Such co-operation must include sharing of information to start off with, and later, by the sharing of resources in a mutually agreeable manner that leads to a much larger triple bottom line value creation.
tbl strongly believes that C3 must be seriously explored, as the potential it offers cannot be denied. Presently a company may already have a robust CSR strategy in place which is serving present and projected medium term business objectives. But corporate thought leaders need to think and plan for the long run and find ways and means whereby greater efficiencies are achieved in a world that will become increasingly complex as time goes on. In other words, C3 may well prove to be the ‘future proof’ direction for CSR to follow.
