TECH FOR SOCIAL IMPACT
A recent KPMG report shows that only 26% of tech companies have significant incorporation of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) into their strategic planning and 45% are struggling to link their growth strategy with a wider societal purpose. There are many technology companies that want to implement ESG practices into their strategy, business model and operations, but have yet to take actions. With today’s technologies and support from business leaders; social change at scale is still on the rise.
If your company falls into the above mentioned group, here are 5 ways how your company can still be part of a positive social change:
1. Digital Platforms Empower Social Change at Scale.
Digital and collaborative technology can provide a powerful method for scaling social innovations through worldwide and high-engagement platforms. For example, Power of Us Hub by Salesforce.org partners with a worldwide community to tackle the world’s major problems. It’s one of the most successful online communities built on Salesforce technology to maximize social impact, where people can join and create groups, and connect with over 30,000 nonprofits and social organizations – helping them connect, operate effectively, and raise funds through the effective use of technology.
You could select social causes that your employees specifically care about that also align with the company values and mission, and create digital platforms (digital tools and collaborative efforts) to solve social or environmental issues.
2. Tech Skills And Innovations Increase Volunteer Impact.
Tech-focused volunteerism can make a positive impact by helping nonprofits and social organizations recruit and retain volunteers. For example, Blackbaud uses social data technology to address common challenges within nonprofits and social organizations, like volunteer management, by engaging volunteer networks. They identify and mobilize influencers through social media following that is more than fundraising. Points of Light and Hewlett Packard Enterprise are doing something similar by collaborating with All For Good and creating a digital hub for volunteerism and community engagement, which is a platform where social data is used to encourage volunteer opportunities, like creating apps and digital tools to improve people’s lives, with friends and family around the world.
Your employees could form teams among offices/departments, and compete for the most innovative project with social change by bringing business solutions to humanitarian problems. Let everyone in the company, or even clients, vote for the best social innovative project; and not only will it improve employee and client engagement, but it will also achieve a social purpose. Happy and fulfilled employees are those who feel that what they do matters.
3. Tech Companies With Positive Social Benefits.
It doesn’t have to be a product of the tech innovation itself for your company to provide positive social benefits. For example, your company can create jobs, pilot innovation, and or provide training opportunities to a low-income community, refugees, or former convicts. With this business model, your company not only provides benefits to an underinvested community, but also creates economic growth for your business by diversifying your workforce and exploiting new markets. Research has shown that companies with high levels of diversity solve problems more easily, bring in higher revenues and create a larger client base.
4. Digital Technology For Efficiency Of The Social Economy.
“Digital advances can support and accelerate achievement of each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) – from ending extreme poverty to reducing maternal and infant mortality, promoting sustainable farming, and achieving universal literacy”, quoted by the United Nations. Transformation and deployment of established digital technologies can lower financial cost and increase the effectiveness of social economy services and products. For example, the M-Pesa mobile phone banking and money transfer application, developed in Kenya, has empowered people across Africa to make financial transactions without a bank.
Your company could leverage digital technologies that create new jobs, contribute to GDP growth, develop new services and industries, or transform the workforce.
5. Partner With Deep Tech Start-Ups To Solve Challenging Social Problems.
There are highly technical and sustainable solutions to attack the most challenging social problems in the world. Deep tech, if sensibly deployed, can address the current unsolvable problems, such as reducing food wastage, skin cancer detection, disease prevention and prediction, and more. Deep tech can make a big social impact like inciting social / environmental change, but it takes a long time to reach market-ready maturity and requires a big amount of capital to develop and scale.
Your company could build long-term corporate partnerships with deep-tech startups and work together to tackle the most challenging and unsolvable problems that we are facing right now.
WemanConnect designs positive impact strategies and implements social strategic programs for tech companies to make a profit with social value. If you want to know more about how your company could use tech innovations to make a social impact, please contact us for a free consultation to make a change you want to see.