Today at the Forum on Business and Society Relations, the White House Director of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, Sonal Shah (pictured), spoke about the intersection of corporate citizenship and the federal government, as well as the value of building up our nation’s social capital.

Ms. Shah called on companies to share important pieces of information with the Obama administration with the goal of strengthening public-private partnerships and helping to lead the nation through some of our toughest challenges.

Here are three ways Ms. Shah says that corporate citizens can offer leadership and partnership:

1)  Share with the administration your experiences. In terms of public-private partnerships, what has worked well in the past? And just as importantly, what has not worked and what should be avoided? “We are not looking to reinvent the wheel,” said Shah.

2)  Convey to the administration the characteristics of good partnerships. Help our government leaders understand, from the corporate citizenship perspective, what allows partnerships to be successful, and what can cause them to be nonstarters?

3)  Assist with creating a way to measure the outcomes of public-private partnership activities. Businesses are skilled in measuring, reporting, and adjusting to realities. How can this business acumen be applied to community and social partnerships?

Ms. Shah also called on BCLC and our Business and Society Program to be the conduit through which much of this information is transferred. And BCLC stands ready to help. “In 2010, we’ll focus on finding common ground among corporate citizens and the federal government, and being a support system for companies, nonprofits partners, and government agencies to work together to enhance our communities and create a successful future,” said Katie Loovis, BCLC director of business and society.

BCLC hosted the Forum on Business and Society Relations at the Reagan Building in the stunning Pavilion Room (left). The luncheon also included special recognition of the 2009 Corporate Citizenship Awards finalists, as well as a panel discussion of the future of business and society relations.

Yesterday BCLC hosted a Forum on Business and Society Relations featuring leaders from business, government, academia, media, and the nonprofit sector who discussed the current state and future trends of business and society relations.

The speakers acknowledged a chasm in business and society relations, specially pointing out the low level of confidence and trust in business and how this perception poses challenges.  Discussion threads included building trust, sharpening stakeholder relationship management, expanding innovative partnerships, and improving communication. 

Here is a snapshot of the discussion:

Panel moderator Stephen Jordan, U.S. Chamber BCLC:

Social capital is today’s currency. At the same time trust in business is plummeting, expectations of the social role of business are rising. Stakeholder relationship management is now more important than ever.

Shelly Esque, Intel Corporation:

Healthy businesses cannot operate without healthy communities, so how can companies help solve problems while benefitting the bottom line and engaging employees as part of the solution? The way we act in the long-term defines our commitment.

Hank Gilman, Fortune:

Even though public confidence in business is low, we can turn it around. It will take a long time to overcome the trust crisis but it’s not too late. Just look at the way Walmart was able t0 achieve a recent turn-around in its reputation. 

 
Mary Jo Waits, National Governors Association Center for Best Practices:

There are 39 gubernatorial races for 2010, and 22 states will definitely have a change in leadership. If companies like the progress their states have made — socially, civically, environmentally, etc. — then companies should help new governors maintain consistency and make strategic decisions.

 
Dr. Oliver Shlake, University of Maryland:

Trust is a function of time. Rebuilding stakeholder trust and improving business and society relations will take years. We should shift focus away from short-term action and move toward long-term endurance and impact. “Don’t shoot for most valuable player; shoot for lifetime achievment.”

Rick Martella, ARAMARK:

There is a new scorecard that companies are still trying to figure out. The scorecard measures a company’s performance in terms of responsibility and responsiveness to stakeholders. People will want to work for companies with “values connectiveness,” and customers will pay a premium, too. 

 Throughout 2010, BCLC’s Business & Society Working Group will help shape the national dialogue on business and society relations, and will educate the public on how business is part of the solution for tackling some of the toughest challenges in today’s society.  The findings throughout 2010 will culminate in a report to the nation on Business & Society Relations.

Today, the U.S. Chamber BCLC’s Katie Loovis, Director of Business & Society Relations (pictured), issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announcement that the unemployment rate rose to 10.2 percent in October:

“As millions of Americans struggle to cope with this recession, corporate citizens around the country are offering all kinds of resources to help address critical needs from shelter and healthcare to job placement assistance,” said Loovis. 

“BCLC has galvanized the business community for a national economic recovery campaign called Together For Recovery,” continued Loovis.  “This campaign includes an online portal featuring more than 250 free business offerings available right now to help the unemployed get free job training, housing and healthcare assistance, and small business start-up aid.”

“What we are seeing is that companies and civic organizations are coming together to get critical resources into the hands of those who are most in need. These business resources should help our neighbors get back on their feet, and help our communities get on the path to recovery,” concluded Loovis.

Together for Recovery is an initiative of BCLC’s Corporate Community Investment working group and is supported by Allstate, GlaxoSmithKline, Office Depot Foundation, and PAETEC. For more information about Together For Recovery and the hundreds of free business offerings available, contact Katie at 202.747.4924.

I just can’t get enough of reading all the Tweets and posts about the GreaterThan conference, so I wanted to share two photos that just came across my desk. Enjoy.

BCLC's Katie Loovis discussed business partnerships in the community.

The Power of Public Private Partnerships, as told by (l. to r.) Brian Dumaine of Fortune, Gigi Sanchez of Pierce Atwood, Katie Loovis of BCLC, and Chuck Banks of USDA and Kansas' tornado recovery team