On Friday, October 24, more than 200 Columbia students, faculty, staff and alumni attended the 2nd Annual Social Enterprise Club Conference, “Doing Well By Doing Good: Achieving Blended Value in Business.” The unexpectedly high turnout exceeded last year’s, and set the stage for an energetic day.
The conference featured keynote speaker Gary Hirshberg, president and CEO of Stoneyfield Farm, and nine discussion panels, led by professionals representing industries such as venture philanthropy, pharmaceuticals, and real estate development. Ben Kornfeind, who led the organizing team, enthusiastically reported, “We are thrilled with this conference! We’re reaching our broadest audience yet through a Social Enterprise Club event. Volunteers worked hard to organize this conference, and I’m proud that it has paid off. Our success will go a long way toward building the club’s brand image within the Columbia community, as well as on a national level.”
The Social Enterprise Club president, Rebecca Thomas, opened the conference with the exciting announcement that Columbia Business School has been selected to host next year’s Net Impact Conference, a three-day national meeting for “emerging business leaders committed to using the power of business to create a better world.” This nomination reflects the Social Enterprise Club’s success developing and expanding influential academic and extracurricular programs. It is also testament to the Club’s rapid ascension to a position of prominence among similar business school programs throughout the country. Next fall, Columbia will welcome more than 1,200 business students interested in social enterprise issues.
Among the highlights of last Friday’s Social Enterprise Conference was Mr. Hirshberg’s keynote address. His yogurt company, Stonyfield Farm, was founded in Wilton, NH, in 1983 as a project to help revitalize the struggling New England dairy industry and to support family farms. Mr. Hirshberg and co-founder Samuel Kaymen, one of the country's early authorities on organic and biodynamic agriculture, began with an organic farming school, a few Jersey cows and a great tasting yogurt recipe. Since then, through innovative marketing and disciplined fiscal policies, Stonyfield Farm has become the world’s largest producer of organic yogurt and is one of the top four yogurt brands in the United States – the company currently boasts a compound annual growth rate of 22.4. Additionally, Stonyfield Farm’s organic farming techniques are responsible for saving hundreds of New England family farms; returning over 50 different species of birds and mammals to the wild in Brazil, where the company buys its sugar; and cutting carbon dioxide per pound of product released by 41, thereby preventing 7,500 tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
Arguing that “the best way to predict the future is to invent it,” Hirshberg suggested that social and environmental problems exist because businesses have not made solutions a priority, and that businesses hold the power to create a hopeful future. Noting that “business is the most powerful force on the planet,” Hirshberg defined mission branding as an attitude, a management commitment, a conscious strategy, and a continually evolving process consistent with financial objectives.
Among the benefits of mission branding, according to Hirshberg, are consumer loyalty (“the holy grail of the consumer products world”), reduced selling costs, employee satisfaction, and share price: “no one has ever shown a negative correlation between mission branding and financial performance,” Mr. Hirshberg quipped. To achieve financial success at Stonyfield Farm, Hirshberg has applied several guiding principles to mission branding: build a relationship with consumers based on trust; make people feel good about the company’s brand; and don’t be afraid to take positions and be emotional.
While Mr. Hirshberg’s keynote address provided inspiration to conference attendees, the breakout sessions offered participants the chance to explore alternative channels for Doing Well By Doing Good. Forty-five different panelists and moderators led discussions on various topics including: Venture Philanthropy, Socially Responsible Investing, Volunteering Your MBA, Economic Empowerment in Harlem, Incorporating Responsibility, Navigating Your Social Enterprise Career, Corporate Vision and Leadership, Partnerships in International Development; and Enterprising Nonprofits.
Moderator Kieran McGrath (Senior Program Officer, Robin Hood Foundation) led a session on “Venture Philanthropy - The Investor's Approach to Grant-Making,” with Kelly Fitzsimmons (New Profit), David Hunter (Edna McConnell Clark Foundation), Courtney O'Malley (The Starr Foundation), and Vanessa Lacoss Hurd (Jumpstart) as panelists. Introducing the discussion, McGrath likened venture philanthropy to venture capital, describing the hands-on, disciplined and focused approach venture philanthropists use to create and measure social value. The panelists agreed that traditional foundation work is evolving from a general focus on research and development to more targeted support of individual social entrepreneurs and their organizations.
Professor Geoffrey Heal moderated “Incorporating Responsibility: The Balance Between Money and Mission,” which featured executives from Scholastic Publishing (Heidi Gilman), The Wall Street Journal (Penelope Abernathy, MBA‘86), McKinsey Consulting (Stephen Moss), and Pfizer (Nancy Neilson). During the panel, Professor Heal encouraged panelists to describe their roles shaping progressive policies on a corporate level. While the audience focused on the ethical challenges posed by Pfizer’s medication equity policies, the panel also provided opportunities to explore how Scholastic’s book donations, McKinseny’s pro-bono consulting, and the Wall Street Journal’s refusal to permit censorship have provided long-term benefits.
Moderated by Kevin McGruder (MBA’84), founder of Harlemade, Inc, “Economic Empowerment in Harlem: A Look at Cross-Sector Alliances” focused on community regeneration. The panel featured heavy hitters from Harlem’s community development landscape, including Carmen Maldonado (NYC Local Initiatives Support Corporation), Paul Quintero (MBA’95) (Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone), Deborah Widerkehr (MBA’87) (CPC Resources), and Sheena Wright, President and CEO of the Abyssinian Development Corporation. Panelists discussed the positive effects of the latest “Harlem Rennaissance,” including the creation of hundreds of new jobs and increased property values, and the downside of the “bubble”--the dramatic increase in rents and home prices that threaten to displace Harlem residents. The panel concluded with a discussion of how community-based organizations in Harlem are working to meet the needs of local residents through low-interest loans, grant programs, and partnering with New York City and for-profit entities.
Anna Powell (MBA’91) moderated “Navigating Your Social Enterprise Career,” which brought together Julie Hertzog (COO, The Afterschool Corporation, MBA’93), Miriam Katowitz (CFO, Safe Horizon, MBA’74), and Matthew DiLauri (senior manager, Professionals for Nonprofits). The panelists discussed their own nonprofit career experiences and the skills they found invaluable in navigating a social enterprise profession. In an industry in which cash management is vital, the panelists stressed the importance of not only pursuing a flexible and broad education but also taking traditional classes such as Finance, Accounting, and Negotiations. The panelists also recommended that students volunteer or intern to gain hands-on experience and embrace the concept of working to learn, not to earn. Additionally, the panelists recommended that students cultivate interpersonal skills through participation in clubs, take advantage of mock interviews, and learn how to sell themselves. Most important, the panelists encouraged students to take initiative, network with classmates and alumni, embrace risks, and be passionate about what they do.
Murray Low, Executive Director of the Lang Center, began the “Enterprising Nonprofits: Building Business Ventures” panel by observing that in the present funding environment for non-profits, there is a clear need for non-profits to generate income in order to stabilize their revenues from foundations and the government. The panel featured Nancy Biberman (President, WHEDCO), Toby Sherman (Director of Foodservices, Greyston Foundation), Rosanna Perry-Stephen (Senior Associate , SEEDCO), and Nancy Young, (Business Manager, Common Ground Ventures). The panel discussed the difference between being financially successful and accomplishing a social mission, and shared their experiences with startup ventures ranging from a catering service to a partnership with Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. Young gave insights into choosing a business venture: “It has to be on your mission. It needs to be a business program that solves your social mission. Otherwise, resources are devoted such as managerial thinking and energy is diverted.” Sherman spoke about creating a lasting income source: “The business model needs to work on its own. People may come to you once just for the social cause, but not repeatedly.”
Professor Ray Horton moderated “Corporate Vision and Leadership,” which featured Joel Forbes (VP Corporate Responsibility, UBS), Joan Helpern (Co-Founder, Joan and David), Marcela Manubens (VP Human Rights Programs, Phillips-Van Heusen), and Meeta Vyas (VP Living Oceans Program, National Audubon Society, MBA’84). Despite their varied backgrounds, the panelists all agreed that social responsibility is essential for business survival and the maintenance of brand value. Both Helpern and Vyas described themselves as capitalists first and foremost, arguing that making money is not inherently bad so long as it isn’t made at the expense of others’ well-being. Both women claimed that by succeeding in your job--pursuing profitability and making money--business leaders are likely to have a greater impact on social/environmental causes. Supporting some of the tenets related by Hirshberg in his keynote address, the panelists suggested that to be truly socially responsible, companies must fundamentally change their daily business practices.
Based on the conference’s success, the club is well-poised to mount Net Impact’s best annual conference yet. If you would like to assist with next year’s conference, or participate in other activities sponsored by the Social Enterprise Club, please visit the club's website.
What did people have to say about the Social Enterprise Conference 2003?
I’ve learned how much good stuff is going on out there in the corporate world. --Ray Horton, Director, Social Enterprise Program
I especially appreciated Gary Hirshberg’s point about translating social mission into dollar value, and was impressed by how Stonyfield Farm cut energy use and not only helped the environment but also saved money.
--Maggie Loo (MBA’05)