Corporate strategies for delivering community investment programmes have evolved significantly over the past two decades. Business are no longer content with simply donating money to charity. They now want to run innovative partnerships that are closely tied to the strengths of the business.
One thing has remained consistent though – the role of measurement in increasing programme effectiveness. This has traditionally begun with the contribution a business makes to society (the input), the number of people reached and organisations supported (the output), and now, more importantly than ever, the positive change this has on society (the impact).
LBG, the global standard in measuring and managing corporate community investment, has been at the forefront of social impact measurement for the past 20 years. In 2017, 58% of LBG members undertook impact measurement, showing the increasing commitment of business in achieving tangible impacts across society. This year, we look forward to supporting more companies to measure the impact of their community programmes.
This month, LBG continued its evolution and released its new website, to showcase best practice in measuring and managing effective community investment.
The website includes an introduction to the LBG Framework, a measurement methodology used in external standards and initiatives such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. The site also describes LBG Network in which around 150 members across the UK, Europe, Australia and further afield are applying the Framework to maximise their impact and compare performance.
In a fast-changing business and societal context, LBG members continue to focus on what’s next. What are the emerging issues that companies are well placed to tackle? How can employees be the catalyst for societal change? How should companies divert their resources to have the most impact?
The LBG network of like-minded companies and community investment practitioners is one platform to answer these questions, which will help shape the future relationship between business and society.
Interested in learning more about LBG? Drop us a line at lbg@corporate-citizenship.com.