Reflecting on the Ethical Corporation Responsible Business Awards held in London earlier this month, which Two Tomorrows sponsored. What struck me was the mix of attendees. We had the usual faces from the major corporations, but in equal number were delegates who had come, many for the first time, to learn about the latest thinking on all the topics covered during the two days.
Mark Line spoke about how to avoid the common pitfalls we see with companies trying to embed CR into their strategy. A number of people approached him after his presentation and said they were glad to hear someone say that embedding sustainability is difficult. They liked his tips on how to avoid the common obstacles to progress. His presentation can be streamed along with all of the others from the Ethical Corporation website.
On the Two Tomorrows stand, one of the main areas of interest from delegates was ISO 26000. People were generally aware of the standard, but still looking for further information on how exactly they can put it to work within their own organisation. Training and reporting also proved to be of interest to many delegates.
There was a wide cross-section of organisations there. Some were major global brands that we all recognise; others were much smaller, less familiar companies. The majority showed genuine interest in developing their thinking, having been stimulated by the discussions. An encouraging sign.