KJAER ADVICE_Strategic Partnerships and Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration

KJAER ADVICE

IDEATION STRATEGY ACTION

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND MULTI-STAKEHOLDER COLLABORATION – CREATING SHARED VALUE FOR YOUR BUSINESS AND SOCIETY

KJAER ADVICE assists your company in forming the right partnerships, thereby multiplying your business potential Business at it’s best: innovating to meet society’s needs and build a profitable ­enterprise. Creating shared value is about achieving those twin goals. Shared value thinking represents the next competitive frontier for companies.

Corporate leaders have awakened to that fact. They realize that social problems present both daunting constraints to their operations and vast opportunities for growth.

According to a survey, conducted by analysts at ‘Monday Morning’, Danish top-leaders mention disruption as a key focus area on their business agenda.

Instead of waiting inactively for new players to enter the scene and destroy the business for established companies, still more Danish companies are working to invent the Netflix or Airbnb solution that may change the business sector. But even if disruption has become the hot topic at both CEO-level and in boardrooms, it is evident that many are struggling to plan for concrete action.

Many experience that something in the periphery of their business may threaten to erode their existence within few years.

But only few have a concrete answer to this acknowledged challenge, the commentary concludes.

How companies can take a ­ ction to change the world – right now September 2015, world leaders have a ­ dopted a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by the year 2030: 17 ambitious goals – ranging from ending extreme poverty to combatting climate change – that apply equally to every country. Reaching these ambitious goals will require multi-stakeholder p ­ artnerships between business, NGO, government, the UN and communities.

For companies, the SDGs bring opportunities to establish new markets, answer new customers’ unmet needs, and ultimately create shared value.

The SDGs point to tremendous untapped market opportunities existing in the world’s greatest challenges.

Because of our interconnected world, countries will have to work much more closely together to counter the triple threats of declining growth, emerging conflict and political instability that can destabilize entire regions. There is a growing recognition that

with most countries pursuing development through the expansion of markets, the private sector has ­become the major force for economic growth and job creation almost everywhere.

Many companies, from Intel to Anglo American, or in Denmark Novo, Arla and A.P. Moller - Maersk, are ­already assessing their business strategies against the global goals to see how they can establish new markets and reach new customers in a way that drives forward country achievement of the goals.

BUT WHERE TO START?

For companies and industries just beginning to think about the global goals, here are 10 top picks for ­industry-specific agendas that could rapidly advance the achievement of the goals. If your company is working in any of the sectors highlighted below, you are well placed to be part of the SDG transformation story over the next 15 years.

KJAER ADVICE

IDEATION STRATEGY ACTION

Multi-stakeholder partnerships GOAL 17 Enhancing multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, ­technologies and financial resources to support the achievement of sustainable development goals in all countries, p ­ articularly developing countries.

This goal is set to e ­ ncourage and promote public-­ private partnerships.

The financial sector is well positioned to drive progress on three of the most critical goals – Goals 1 (poverty), 8 (jobs), and 10 (inequality) – simply by aggressively advocating for trade liberalization, by investing in pro-jobs companies and sectors, and by expanding access to health and social insurance.

The food, beverage, and agriculture sectors should take advantage of the untapped opportunities to advance Goals 2 (nutrition) and 12 (sustainable consumption) by producing nutritious, fortified foods and beverages and marketing them in ways that change the food behaviors of populations everywhere. Every country in the world is now struggling with some form of malnutrition and over time, the economic and social costs of undernutrition and obesity will increasingly threaten economic growth and human development.

The information technology sector could drive achievement of Goal 4 (education) by developing specialized products and delivery methods to eradicate illiteracy, especially among adult women. 700 million adults in the world are illiterate, 2/3 of them women, and literacy is the basic building block of a productive workforce and strong consumer base. With so many new tools to reach and teach people directly in their homes and places of work, this sector could completely disrupt dysfunctional education systems and open up access to populations previously denied.

Pharmaceutical and consumer goods companies should embrace one of the highest impact investments in global development – contraception – and deliver on Goal 5 (gender equity). By dramatically expanding access to modern contraceptives, fertility rates decline, child survival increases, women’s education, and labor force performance. It is not enough to produce affordable ­contraceptive devices. Generations of women and girls need to be educated to understand their value and use.

The infrastructure and utilities industry should focus on both Goals 6 (water and sanitation) by finding new ways to provide clean water and sanitation where governments have failed. Basic public health infrastructure is the foundation for development, especially in societies experiencing rapid urbanization. With a tidal wave of urban growth around the corner in many parts of the world, especially in Africa and South Asia, companies investing in clean cities can make a major contribution to the global goals.

The energy sector should target Goals 7 (energy) and 11 (cities) and invest now in meeting the energy needs of the underserved mega-cities of the future like Delhi, Mumbai, Mexico City or Kinshasa – each forecast to have populations above 20 million by 2030. Companies with new clean ­energy technologies that can leapfrog the mistakes of the past and the bad energy behavior of many developed ­country cities and forge new paths in low and middleincome countries will be among the stars of the new ­development era.

The transport industry should lead on Goals 13, 14, and 15, all of which relate to climate change, by developing alternative forms of energy-efficient transportation. With such an interconnected world and such high and growing demand for mobility both within and between countries, the time is ripe for new transportation solutions that do not threaten the planet.

The telecommunications industry should target Goal 16 (corruption and bribery) by expanding access to mobile phones as tools for exposing corruption and holding ­authorities accountable. The world has already witnessed the extraordinary rise in the use of phone technology and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to expose human rights abuses and corruption and to support social movements that challenge dysfunctional regimes. The industry should weigh in to keep the balance in favor of democracy, freedom and human rights.

The extractives industry has the potential to transform population health (Goal 3) in many of the countries struggling with the highest burdens of early death and disability, by investing in health care infrastructure – including roads, water, and energy systems – alongside but not limited to, their areas of operation.

And finally, all industries can make a positive impact on Goal 17 (partnership). Shared value is not just a corporate agenda. It is a high-impact development strategy that involves active collaboration with local and national governments, the UN and the NGO community forming cross-sector partnerships. Lack of knowledge and understanding or even mistrust are often barriers to constructive dialogue and action.

We need bold leaders from all sectors to step forward to strike transformative partnerships.

Source: sharedvalue.org

KJAER ADVICE assists your company in forming the right partnerships, thereby multiplying your business potential Business at it’s best: innovating to meet society’s needs and build a profitable ­enterprise. Creating shared value is about achieving those twin goals. Shared value thinking represents the next competitive frontier for companies.

Corporate leaders have awakened to that fact. They realize that social problems present both daunting constraints to their operations and vast opportunities for growth.

According to a survey, conducted by analysts at ‘Monday Morning’, Danish top-leaders mention disruption as a key focus area on their business agenda.

Instead of waiting inactively for new players to enter the scene and destroy the business for established companies, still more Danish companies are working to invent the Netflix or Airbnb solution that may change the business sector. But even if disruption has become the hot topic at both CEO-level and in boardrooms, it is evident that many are struggling to plan for concrete action.

Many experience that something in the periphery of their business may threaten to erode their existence within few years.

But only few have a concrete answer to this acknowledged challenge, the commentary concludes.

KJAER ADVICE

IDEATION STRATEGY ACTION

How to go about it – in practice KJAER ADVICE offers the following a ­ ssistance:

IDEATION

We facilitate your initial assessment ­process NEW DEVELOPMENT/INVESTMENT • What is the driving business strategy behind the new investment you wish to make in a s­ pecific region?

• What is the relative importance of the i­nvestment for your company?

• What are the biggest threats to the successful launch of the new investment? What could go wrong, and what absolutely has to go right?

SOCIAL & ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT • What are the key social and economic impacts – both positive and negative – that the company has on its surrounding communities? What are the environmental impacts?

• Looking at the entire value system – which are the different stakeholder groups and how are they affected by the company’s operations?

• What, if any, criticism may the public / government / NGOs / investors / ­competitors make of the company?

• What are the most important needs you see left unaddressed in the ­country? In the region?

For more information:

KJAER ADVICE www.kjaeradvice.com mail: info@kjaeradvice.com mobile: +45 21 44 93 00

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP PLANNING

PARTNERSHIP ­ IMPLEMENTATION ADVICE

• Based on the above assessment we map opportunities for the company to use its core business capabilities to address different needs in the country of operation or in the region, e.g. considering if there are any other products or services the company could produce that might address social needs? Or if it should be recommended for the company to improve its supply chain or enrich its relationship with suppliers and contractors.

• We tailor a detailed stakeholder analysis to determine which other partners (NGO, government, community members, universities, other commercial actors) your company may prosper from partnering with.

• Working in partnership is different from business-as-usual. It may be difficult, time consuming and challenging. But when successful, it is highly rewarding.

We know the ‘script’. We help you plan well to cease the greatest potential and accomplish unprecedented results that will sustain your company’s operations.

• We help you sustain your business operations by safeguarding the more complex, collective decision-making process, the implementation set-up, the communication strategy, etc. This based on experience from incubating and assisting the implementation of more than 500 cross-sector partnerships.

• We offer assistance as neutral brokers or facilitators at the most crucial stages of partnership formation and implementation.

• We offer guidance in measuring new types of performance indicators.

• We offer training and advise to top-management, board members or key employees in this new concept of partnering collaboration for longerterm shared value creation.

KJAER ADVICE is Associate Consulting Partner in ­Scandinavia to the Shared Value Initiative (Boston, US)

KJAER ADVICE is an Associate at The Partnering Initiative (Oxford, UK)

We help you determine opportunities for multi-stakeholder partnership collaboration – creating Shared Value

We help you set direction and form the right partnership – thereby multiplying your potential