The second event in our 10 Year Anniversary series invited thought leaders from various sectors to discuss corporate social responsibility and environmental, social and governance.
On the evening of 28 November we made our way to Franklin Templeton’s offices in Edinburgh for the second event in our 10 Year Anniversary series, Collaborating for Social Change, focusing on building collaborative partnerships with local business. This event series celebrates 10 years of People Know How, with each event focusing on a different aspect of the charity as we aim to tackle social issues in Edinburgh, the Lothians and across Scotland.
Collaboration is at the heart of People Know How, and our links with organisations and community groups across the third, public, academic, and business sectors have allowed us to form partnerships and gain indispensable learning that we have applied to our services supporting the community.
This event formed a milestone for the charity, digging deeper into our relationships with businesses through a discussion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social and governance (ESG). In doing so, we aimed to promote a deeper understanding of how collaboration among businesses, organisations and individuals can lead to positive societal and environmental change.
Working in partnership
A combination of networking and presentations, Collaborating for Social Change brought a wonderful variety of thought leaders, businesses and academics into one room. It was inspiring to see such diverse perspectives unite to discuss issues including climate change, digital exclusion, and social diversity. The talks and questions from our audience demonstrated the drive and potential for businesses and their employees to do social good, leading to further discussions on the best way to embrace social good, including fostering more community connections and partnerships.
In an event poll, attendees ranked factors for businesses to enable social change, placing the use of a corporate voice to provide a platform for social change at the top, evidencing an existing desire to tackle social issues. Active collaboration with the third sector and promote ethical practices also gained some votes but, interestingly, there were no votes for encouraging colleagues to volunteer.
The event also launched our Partnership Offering handbook, which demonstrates how businesses can engage with People Know How and their local community – including through volunteering. The booklet presents a variety of ways businesses can demonstrate place-based support for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in their communities by collaborating with third sector organisations like People Know How.
The variety of offerings listed are examples of corporate community engagement, including opportunities to boost employee morale via employee volunteering and pro-bono opportunities, and ways to increase brand reputation as a socially responsible business through public relations opportunities, press and social media coverage.
Taking this forward
We can’t wait to take these conversations forward, and continue developing our partnership offering, strengthening our ties with the business sector and beyond.
If you’d like to learn more about our Partnership Offering, or how to get involved with People Know How’s work, please get in touch with our Development & External Relationship Manager at tanya.anderson@peopleknowhow.org.
Big thanks to our hosts, Franklin Templeton, and to our wonderful panellists Dean Rougvie, Olga Murray, Martin Ewart, Dave Gorman, Kirste Johnson, and our Chief Executive Glenn Liddall.