Conferences

Summary

The Corporate Responsibility conference, being held from August 26-28 at the Grace Hotel Sydney,  is a cross-industry forum offering practical insights that will show you how to match your business capabilities and values with your social responsibilities and align these with your stakeholder’s expectations to ensure the long term success of you business.

If you have responsibility for managing, implementing or communicating corporate responsibility or sustainability strategies then you should attend the Corporate Responsibility conference to hear how leading organisations are:

• Achieve low cost CR without impacting core business needs
• Manage and maintain CR in the current economic environment
• Creating business opportunities through sustainability
• Align responsible business with long term corporate strategies
• Manage reputational risk through CR
• Introduce new resource efficiencies, on a budget
• Go beyond compliance
• Implement holistic best practice carbon reduction
• Meet sustainability reporting standards
• Measure CSR performance for your business
• Manage external influences & risks, such as the supply chain
• Understand international trends
• Manage and measure strategic CSR marketing
• Optimise corporate communication strategies
• Inspire corporate responsibility which supports your business
• Setting the sustainability agenda
  

 Key case study organisations:

• National Australia Bank
• IBM
• Australian Broadcasting Corporation
• Corporate Express
• News Limited
• PricewaterhouseCoopers
• ING Australia Limited
• Amcor Australasia
• Corporate Express
• The GPT Group
• Kimberly Clark Australia
• Bovis Lend Lease

Learning Objectives

• Achieve low cost CR without impacting core business needs
• Manage and maintain CR in the current economic environment
• Creating business opportunities through sustainability
• Align responsible business with long term corporate strategies
• Manage reputational risk through CR
• Introduce new resource efficiencies, on a budget
• Go beyond compliance
• Implement holistic best practice carbon reduction
• Meet sustainability reporting standards
• Measure CSR performance for your business
• Manage external influences & risks, such as the supply chain
• Understand international trends
• Manage and measure strategic CSR marketing
• Optimise corporate communication strategies
• Inspire corporate responsibility which supports your business
• Setting the sustainability agenda

Speakers

• David Morrissey, Director, CSR Sydney & Director, Sustainability Learning Institute
• Rosemary Bissett, Group Manager, Sustainable Business Practices, Group Regulatory Affairs, Operational Risk and Compliance, National Australia Bank
• Kathryn Wightman-Beaven, Director, Global Corporate Responsibility, PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Miranda Scarff, Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs, IBM
• Neil MacDonald, Director, Refreshe Pty Ltd
• Amy Foxe, Assistant Manager, Environment and Climate Change, News Limited
• Dr Juanita Day, Group Manager Sustainability Services, Amcor Australasia
• Simon Wright, Independent CR and Sustainability Consultant
• Charmian Barton, Partner, Environment & Climate Change, DLA Phillips Fox
• Dexter Dunphy, Emeritus Professor, University of Technology Sydney
• Gareth Johnston, General Manager, The Australian & New Zealand Sustainability Circle
• Ann Austin, Head of Sustainability, Bovis Lend Lease Australia
• Monique McNamara, Director, Creative Strategist, UP&UP Creative
• Jennifer Williams, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, Corporate Express
• Michael Ziviani, CEO, Precise
• Dr Caroline Noller, Head of Corporate Responsibility, The GPT Group
• Andrew Coogan, General Manager, goodcompany
• Rita Marigliani, Manager Corporate Volunteering, National Australia Bank
• Ross Wyatt, General Manager, Net Balance Foundation
• Ross Duggan, Sustainability Manager South Asia, Kimberly Clark Australia
• Mike McClusky, State Director NSW, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
• Alice Cahill, Corporate Responsibility Manager, Zurich Financial Services Australia Ltd

Conference Agenda

CONFERENCE DAY ONE:  Thursday 27th August 2009

9:00 Opening remarks from the Chair: 

Simon Wright, Independent CR and Sustainability Consultant

CORPORATE STRATEGY & CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP

9:05

CASE STUDY

Creating business opportunities through sustainability

• Identifying  where sustainability intersects with your business
• Highlighting and managing risks
• Aligning sustainability strategy and sustainable business practices with mainstream business strategy
• Capitalising on the opportunities

Rosemary Bissett,
Group Manager, Sustainable Business Practices, Group Regulatory Affairs, Operational Risk and Compliance, National Australia Bank

9:45

CASE STUDY

Creating, implementing and embedding a global corporate responsibility strategy

• Gaining traction and alignment across a global network- balancing priorities between territories
• Sharing best practice through networking to achieve regional ownership
• Achieving cultural change:
  - how we do business – service delivery and thought leadership
  - internalising responsible behaviours
• Addressing the challenges of measuring, communicating and reporting a global CR strategy

Kathryn Wightman-Beaven,
Director, Global Corporate Responsibility, PricewaterhouseCoopers

10:25

Inspiring corporate responsibility which supports your business, through innovation & vision

• Utilising your core competencies to develop innovative CR strategies which reflect your values and support your business
• Building connectedness with employees across geographies, time zones and cultures
• Applying technology and expertise to societal problems, in systemic ways
• Understand IBM’s ‘Smarter Planet’ vision

Miranda Scarff,
Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs, IBM

11:05 Morning tea

RISK MANAGEMENT THROUGH CR

Reputational risk management and corporate responsibility

• Identifying key reputational risk factors across your organisation
• Calculating the cost of reputational risk, and using this for CSR business plans and executive approval
• Maintaining trust and integrity in your company or brand which could help through a crisis
• Monitoring ongoing client/consumer/public values which could align programs to your business objectives
• Integrating CR risks into your main risk management plans

Neil MacDonald,
Director, Refreshe Pty Ltd

12:10

PANEL DISCUSSION:

Managing and maintaining responsible business in the current economic environment

• Understanding the drivers and issues for CR in difficult times
• Making current programs more effective, with limited budgets or executive backing
• Creating a business case around business ethics – balancing moral & social responsibilities with those of shareholders
• Considering how the diversity of your workforce, as stakeholders, reflects and supports community and social initiatives
• Demonstrating the credibility and business value of your corporate responsibility

Moderator:
David Morrissey,
Director, CSR Sydney and Director, Sustainability Learning Institute
Panellists:
Amy Foxe,
Assistant Manager, Environment and Climate Change, News Limited
Alice Cahill,
Corporate Responsibility Manager,
Zurich Financial Services Australia Ltd
Kathryn Wightman-Beaven,
Director, Global Corporate Responsibility, PricewaterhouseCoopers

12:50 Lunch

EXTENDING CSR PROGRAMS TO RESOURCE EFFICIENCY

1:50

Introducing new resource efficiencies, on a budget, which go beyond compliance

• Navigating through differing state legislative and compliance requirements
• Moving beyond a tick-the-box compliance framework mentality, to extend your CSR programs
• Balancing short term and longer term compliance and CSR objectives against budgetary constraints
• Review how Amcor addressed the above factors when reviewing resource efficiency targets and improvements

Dr Juanita Day,
Group Manager Sustainability Services, Amcor Australasia

2:30

Holistic best practice carbon reduction

• Assessing energy efficiency opportunities across the company
• Going beyond the regulatory requirements to achieve best practice
• Embedding best practice across your organisation
• Gaining employee buy-in on carbon reduction programs & overcoming scepticism
• Influencing the broader community to tackle climate change

Amy Foxe,
Assistant Manager, Environment and Climate Change, News Limited

3:10  Afternoon tea

SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING STANDARDS

Producing an outstanding sustainability report

• Understand changes to the AA1000 standards for your report
• Identifying the core issues required in your reports
• Discuss potential reporting requirements which may be required under new carbon or ETS programs
• Identifying appropriate benchmarks and indices for your reports
• Working with 3rd party assurance companies
• Manage trade practices compliance risks around green and carbon offset claims

Charmian Barton,
Partner, Environment & Climate Change, DLA Phillips Fox

TRANSPARENCY, DISCLOSURE & PERFORMANCE MEASURES

4:10

CASE STUDY

 Formalising your CR performance goals - CR governance structures

• Creating a CR governance structure from the top down
• Implementing strategic frameworks for the:
  - identification of CR performance goals,
  - day to day implementation of CR strategy across the business
• Specifying performance measures
• Monitoring compliance and tracking CR performance against targets

Dr Caroline Noller,
Head of Corporate Responsibility, The GPT Group

4:50 Close of day 1

CONFERENCE DAY TWO: Friday 28th August 2009

9:00

Opening remarks from the Chair:

Dexter Dunphy,
Emeritus Professor, University of Technology Sydney

SETTING THE SUSTAINABILITY AGENDA

9:05

Addressing future challenges & sustainable business practices

• Implementing a global sustainability strategy and making it relevant for diverse business streams
• Understanding Kimberly Clark’s Vision Strategy 2010
  - Designing business operations to address future challenges – going beyond compliance 
  - Identifying similarities between a diverse stakeholder base and identifying opportunities
  - Addressing the challenges
• Reconciling the value of sustainable business practices

Ross Duggan,
Sustainability Manager South Asia, Kimberly Clark Australia

EXTERNAL INFLUENCES & RISKS

9:45

CASE STUDY

Keeping your supply chain honest & aware

• Identifying potential and real CSR risks in your supply chain
• Implementing clear guidelines regarding ethical sourcing – particularly for offshore suppliers/partners
• Influencing suppliers for behavioural changes
• Developing supply chain monitoring systems to protect your company values
• Adopting the right communications strategy to mitigate risk
  

Jennifer Williams,
Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, Corporate Express

SOCIAL & COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY

10:25

Strategic and valuable social and community investments – corporate volunteering

• Measuring the value of your corporate volunteering
• Structuring your volunteer programs to add value to communities and employees by:
  - matching your volunteer programs with the key competencies of you business through skilled volunteering
  - implementing employee engagements and a  paid volunteer leave program
• Utilising your staff in economic downturn
• Examining emerging developments in general and skilled volunteering
• Highlighting key drivers and success factors in general and corporate skilled volunteering programs

Andrew Coogan,
General Manager, goodcompany &
Rita Marigliani,
Manager Corporate Volunteering, National Australia Bank

11:05 Morning tea

11:30

LATEST RESEARCH

Disclosures on Community Investment in the ASX50

• Analyse how well the top 50 companies in Australia perform in their disclosures on how they manage community investment
• This is the final report in the second trilogy of studies conducted by Net Balance and ACCA. Previous studies examined Climate Change, Stakeholder Engagement, Human Capital Management, Bribery and Corruption, and Corporate Governance.
• Learn the lessons of the top companies – What frameworks do they use? How do they perform? How do they manage Community Investment? How do they measure performance? What are the lessons to Learn?

Ross Wyatt,
General Manager, Net Balance Foundation

PERFORMANCE & IMPACT OF CR INITIATIVES

12:10

Assessing international corporate responsibility trends

• Review international CR trends regarding:
  - corporate strategies
  - performance and impact of CR initiatives
  - assurance, disclosure & governance
• Look at possible future CR regulation across industry, based on what is happening  across the Tasman and internationally
• Sectoral leadership and CSR 2.0
• Maintaining local relevance for initiatives in multi-national organisations

Gareth Johnston,
General Manager, The Australian & New Zealand Sustainability Circle

12:50 Lunch

1:50

CASE STUDY:

Aligning responsible business with long term corporate strategies

• Embedding CSR strategy throughout your business
• Establishing CSR as part of your company and workplace culture:
  - building employee understanding and buy-in by implementing skills systems and incentives
  - ensuring senior management is accountable for CSR performance
• Employee attraction – using CSR as a key employment value proposition & fit for new employees

Ann Austin,
Head of Sustainability, Bovis Lend Lease Australia

2:30

Low cost corporate responsibility without impacting core business needs

• Implementing core CSR strategies which reflect what the community expects from a Government-funded organisation
• Achieving low cost CSR initiatives which do not impact on delivering core business objectives
• Prioritising corporate responsibilities within existing frameworks
• Improving operational efficiencies which contribute to carbon reduction in your organisation
• Overcoming hurdles to community engagement when geographic reach is an issue

Mike McClusky,
State Director NSW, Australian Broadcasting Corporation

3:10 Afternoon tea

BRAND & MARKETING DRIVERS

3:30

Strategic CSR marketing and measurements

• Formulating values-based brand communication and drivers
• Integrating campaign plans with strategy
• Values mapping, using a sustainable pillars approach
• Tracking & measuring campaign successes

Monique McNamara,
Director, Creative Strategist, UP&UP Creative

OPTIMISING COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES

4:10

CR Communications as your strategic corporate asset

• Analysing CR communications
• Understanding how CR can reduce risk and build trust for your organisation
• Structuring / Managing your communications for optimal return-on-effort
• Uncovering the commercial ROI of CR communications

Michael Ziviani,
CEO, Precise

4:50 Close of conference

Workshop Agenda

Pricing
(must register & pay by dates listed)