Give Back, Get Back: CSR at Home and Abroad

IMEX is the essential worldwide exhibition for the incentive travel, meetings, and events industry. This past May, 3,500 exhibitors from 157 countries and more than 3,800 hosted buyers from more than 60 world markets visited IMEX 2010, which takes place annually in Frankfurt, contributing to a total of nearly 9,000 visitors for the show’s busiest-ever three days. Next year, the first IMEX America will take place October 11-13 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center at the Venetian and Palazzo resorts in Las Vegas. (Full disclosure: I am part of the IMEX America organizing team. Northstar Meetings Group, parent company of Incentive, is the exclusive publisher of the IMEX America show daily newspaper and show catalog.)

Already known for its extensive environmental policies and social responsibility initiatives, IMEX has now launched the IMEX Challenge, a “new initiative designed to give meetings industry professionals the chance to work side by side on a physical challenge that will benefit a host community.” Supporting the inaugural IMEX Challenge through sponsorship are the Convention Bureau of Poland (part of the Polish Tourist Organization); Meeting Designers; Our Home; the Warsaw Convention Bureau; and the Radisson Blu Hotel Krakow.

The decision to undertake the first-ever IMEX Challenge in Poland, taking place this month, means that 20 individuals will have the chance to help Our Home refurbish and renovate a foster family’s garden in Warsaw. Established in 1991, Our Home has become the most prominent organization addressing the problems of orphaned and neglected children in Poland.

The chosen foster family is currently home to seven children of 12 years of age and younger. The IMEX Challenge Poland team will be tasked with creating a safe and enjoyable recreation area for the children, involving landscaping and supplying and fitting play facilities. The IMEX Challenge will also create funding for the continual upkeep of the garden and play area and the long-term educational development and care of the foster children.

Carina Bauer, IMEX Group CEO, explains: “We are not simply building a single playground and garden for one family here but improving the property for the long-term benefit of many young children in the future. The IMEX Challenge Poland team will leave behind an important legacy, and we hope our efforts will also raise awareness around the world and, of course, encourage others to get involved in as many ways as possible. At the same time, the IMEX Challenge will promote Poland as well as its partners and sponsors to the global meetings industry.”

Future IMEX Challenges will be held every two years.

“Aside from developing a humanitarian event that will have a positive impact on a local community, these IMEX Challenges will aim to stretch the individuals involved, giving them the chance to leave behind a very physical demonstration of their commitment,” says Bauer. “Rather than simply donating money, they will donate sweat, probably a few blisters, and a lot of heart.”

IMEX Group created two sponsorship categories to support the IMEX Challenge in Poland: local partners and volunteer sponsors. Briggs Inc. and Silversea Cruises are two of the North American-based volunteer sponsors. The third is Palace Resorts, a chain of all-inclusive resorts with properties in Mexico and the Dominican Republic; representing Palace Resorts in Poland will be Kevin Edmunds, who is a Site Southern California Young Leader. I spoke to Edmunds about his upcoming endeavor.

Incentive: Why did you decide to take part in the IMEX Challenge?

Edmunds: As soon as I received the invitation to the IMEX Challenge in Poland, I was eager to participate. Every minute we have choices to make, and some of these decisions can change outlooks on life for many people. I believed this could be one.

Incentive: Why is this particular project in Poland important to you?

Edmunds: I have the opportunity to participate in an activity that will improve the daily lives of present and future children. Whether it alters an entire childhood or just puts a smile on a face, it will provide ultimate satisfaction.

Incentive: What message would you like to give to people who aren’t involved in projects that give back?

Edmunds: The meetings industry provides us the opportunity to travel the world and experience places that the majority of others do not. From doing a clothing drive to taking time to work with children at a school, corporate social responsibility projects on incentive trips not only change attendees’ lives but the lives of others. I have this opportunity because Palace Resorts, the corporation for which I work, has generously sponsored me to participate. Palace Resorts has implemented its own CSR trips for our clients in order to show the positive difference these activities can make. It’s nothing short of a domino effect.

Incentive: What experiences do you think you will take away from the IMEX Challenge in Poland?

Edmunds: Chances like these do not come along very often because "life" seems to get in the way. However, I am looking forward to put aside “my life” for a few days and engulf my time in the service of others.

CSR at Home
All of us have heard that sustainability and corporate social responsibility is important, and many companies are integrating sustainability plans into their business strategies. The figures are compelling. In June, 2010, the United Nations Global Compact and consulting firm Accenture released a survey, called "A New Era of Sustainability," which indicates that a whopping 93 percent of the CEOs surveyed “overwhelmingly believe” that sustainability is becoming a critical component for success. This is an increase of over 20 percent from 2007.

For individuals and smaller companies without the resources of a major corporation, taking the first steps toward “doing the right thing” can be overwhelming. Where to start and what to do first are probably at the top of the list.

Bolder is a company I learned about recently whose services might provide a way for small companies to take their first small steps toward sustainability. In addition, it offers a potentially effective way of engaging both customers and employees: Bolder aims to “align a business and its customers around a challenge to do something good." This challenge clearly identifies the business' responsibility efforts and enables the business to reward its customers by contributing toward a project that makes a positive impact.

For example, Seventh Generation, a leading brand of eco-friendly cleaners, recently used Bolder to have customers commit to clean with cold water in exchange for discounted products.

It’s a pretty small step, you might think, but it does help to get people thinking about what they do and why they do it. Over 600 individuals thought it was worthwhile enough to participate. The opportunity also helps to create community and a shared vision of a larger goal.

Matt McDonald, one of Bolder’s founders, notes: “CSR is traditionally an internally focused concept for companies; for example, what are we doing to be better as a company? How can we spend money to be better and positively influence our image? We look at Bolder as a way for businesses to position CSR efforts to create external benefit. Why can't a piece of marketing be used to inspire external action related to the CSR message? The Pepsi Refresh Project is a great example. Our goal is to make action-based challenges an easy, turnkey solution for companies.”

Bolder is currently focused on providing external incentives from businesses to customers. Providing an internal company challenge service is currently in the prototype phase. I believe it will be a great addition to any company looking to add to its employee engagement program repertoire, as well as providing a means of creating and increasing awareness of the importance of sustainability.

Quote of the month

From caring comes courage. —Lao Tzu, Father of Taoism

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