To mark and celebrate the season, we’re pleased to be launching the Junxion Global Foundation.

We believe strongly in giving to causes that matter to local communities where our business operates, and to global causes that are of significance to people around the world. Our Foundation complements and extends the impact we’re delivering with our consulting, volunteering and pro bono services. It provides grants and support to non-profit organisations working on issues we and our clients care about: Climate change, peace & conflict resolution, and social justice.

Junxion Strategy is a mission-driven consulting firm that strives to catalyse social and environmental progress. We support organisations and individuals working to make communities more resilient, organisations more sustainable, and the world more just.

We’re excited to add the Junxion Global Foundation to our growing operations. In gratitude to our clients and friends, we’ll be disbursing donations to local non-profits early in 2012.

The new Junxion Strategy, reflecting the merger of Octopus Strategies with Junxion, is just over a month old and the firm is on a growth tear.  Since early September, Junxion has landed a number of significant new project engagements around the globe.

In Canada, Junxion has been selected by Tides Canada to provide facilitation and strategic planning support to help further their national Energy Initiative. Junxion is just as excited to be working with 1% for the Planet on a Canadian dialogue series dubbed “Conversations on Conservation.”  Junxion is also working with The Reiki Foundation International on a brand and fundraising strategy for a ‘Reiki Home’ they’re establishing in Arizona. Finally, Junxion was selected by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada to lead a national rebranding and social action project.

In India, Junxion’s newest office, the firm is pleased to be working with the Heroes AIDS Project on a repositioning and branding initiative that will see Heroes broaden its unique “education entertainment” behavioural change approach to other critical social issues. We’re also working with Bricks India, a leading real estate advisory firm that caters to international and Indian clients, to broaden their reach and deepen their expertise in green buildings.

Finally, in the UK, Junxion has been selected to develop a new brand strategy for Ovarian Cancer Action, an organisation committed to improving survival for women with ovarian cancer through research, awareness and outreach.

Junxion continues to develop new relationships with a variety of organisations around social purpose and sustainability strategy, brand and communication development and design, and charitable fundraising and outreach. Get ready for more news on this front in the weeks ahead.

“Given the rapid economic growth in India and the serious social and environmental issues prevalent here, we’re eager to offer our skills and expertise,” says David about the expansion. “The country is an evolving superpower, and if sustainability can play a key role in it’s future development, India and the rest of the global community will benefit.”

The India-based team will focus on many of the same services as the other Junxion offices, with a strong emphasis on climate change and related strategies, social policy, assisting NGOs in achieving their goals, and fostering collaborations among progressive businesses and leaders.

There are also plans to develop India into the main hub for Junxion’s creative services, under David’s leadership.

Further details on Junxion’s growth will be announced later this summer.

With a mix of serious enquiry and engaging humor, Peter lifts the green veil to uncover the stories behind the global sustainability movement – the good, the bad and the ugly – from the perspective of business, advocates, consumers and citizens.

From food and fashion to fair trade and renewable energy, listeners will be challenged and inspired to lighten their environmental footprint and engage in their community. Each edition features the latest news in sustainability, as well as noteworthy events, interview segments and panel discussions on each week’s topical issue.

Tune in starting June 23 @ 10 am PDT.   Find us on Facebook here.

Does marketing debase social responsibility?

Two recent examples of consumer brand social commitments, from Lysol and Kellogg’s, highlight the inherent challenges of marketing social responsibility. Companies need to make us believe that their commitment is real and well-intentioned but spectacle can trump content.

Lysol’s new social purpose – a Mission for Health – is premised on a simple but bold assertion: “Health matters. To all of us. That’s why we started the Lysol Mission for Health.”

This mission is multi-layered: it involves tips for moms on how to raise healthy families; a school program complete with hand washing song contest; a disaster relief partnership with Save the Children; and product innovation, specifically, the new no-touch hand soap system. A web portal hosts the information, tools and tips, to help people and, in particular, children “live healthy, happy lives.”

Lysol raises awareness of their commitment through an advertising campaign. Showcasing beautiful images of a clean, healthy life, the TV spot ends by telling us that when we purchase Lysol products we can know that we are “part of something bigger.”

What’s notable is that this is not a promotion; we are not being told that the company contributes something for every product you purchase. It is not a sponsorship with an NGO that is in market for a brief period of time. Rather, this is a fulsome commitment to a social issue, delivered in multiple ways, and is now core to how Lysol operates as a business.

There is a rational business case. The more we collectively and individually take healthy habits seriously, the more we will purchase their products. Improving their reputational equity and our belief in their “good” motivations improves Lysol’s permission to operate amidst potential criticisms of the toxicity of their products.

The other example is Kellogg’s current advertising campaign called Share Your Breakfast. For every breakfast photo a user uploads to the website Kellogg’s will donate a breakfast to a child who otherwise would go without. This partnership with Action for Healthy Kids aims to donate a million breakfasts during the 2011-12 school year.

Child poverty and hunger in “developed” North America, is a real, under-discussed and under-addressed social issue. While the formal statistics have come under criticism, in the USA the estimate is 1 in 4 children go hungry, while in Canada the estimate is 1 in 5. Kellogg’s promotion will help raise awareness and profile of the issue and their US-based partner organization, Action for Healthy Kids. And Kellogg’s is marshaling its full market power: profiles on dominant morning TV shows, TV spots, full print campaign, promotions through a number of their brands (e.g., Mini-Wheats, Eggo Waffles, Corn Flakes), and a launch on National Breakfast Day in the US.

What is the rationale? Kellogg’s definitely wants parents, and children, to know that it is committed to this issue. This will solidify the relationship with current Kellogg consumers, and entice others to try Kellogg’s. And all those children who receive breakfasts, which presumably include some type of Kellogg’s product, may too begin to have a relationship with Kellogg’s.

How can we decipher the true intentions of these companies? Are we just seeing a new spin on corporate philanthropy? Every company knows it has to “give back” to protect itself from criticism. And in these cases, they are co-opting children, encouraging them to create songs and photos that celebrate healthy living habits, ensuring that they grow into adults who are strong consumers of cleaning products or breakfast cereals.

Behind both initiatives are rational business concerns. Does this fact alone impair the genuineness of their commitments? Do we require altruism to attribute good intentions? We know that this is unrealistic; indeed to require companies to champion social issues without benefit to their businesses would be to bankrupt perhaps the only viable pillar of society capable of having a positive impact on social issues.

The way these commitments are marketed may be what makes us question the companies’ intentions. Words that come to us in marketing formats can feel disingenuous. Does the Kellogg’s promotion–albeit with no purchase required–feel too slick, too event-driven to be experienced as a real commitment? Whereas the Lysol approach is not promotional but informative, not event-driven but focused on changing life habits. The Mission for Health is embedded – perhaps not absolutely and completely – into how Lysol does business. And Lysol has new products to support this. But Kellogg’s initiative, providing breakfasts through an NGO, is largely external to their business. (This in itself is complicated: Kellogg’s may be avoiding the “stigma” factor, budgeting breakfasts to those in need requires thoughtful planning.) Its thrust is participatory and promotional.

The old, but truthful adage of “actions speak louder than words” is the best indicator of good intentions or honest commitment. When all a company commits to is promotion, marketing and money, the commitment feels more hollow than when these are accompanied by business actions. The reason cause or social marketing is oft declared “dead” might be that commitment needs to be about more than money: to be experienced as real, commitment needs to be about action.

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Junxion’s Pamela Divinsky is a featured writer on Corporate Knights, a Canadian magazine and website committed to “clean capitalism”.

At the end of SPC’s first year, and again at the halfway mark of its five-year mandate, Fraser Basin Council enlisted Junxion Strategy to evaluate the program’s success in overall business objectives and identify emerging opportunities.

Junxion helped guide decision-making and priority-setting around subsequent years’ activities. This process was key to meeting the needs and expectations of the program’s funders, its partners, and the Fraser Basin Council itself.

In between these two program evaluations, we developed an Impact Framework, providing SPC with an ongoing structure by which to measure and drive its success forward. The mid-term evaluation looked at the SPC’s progress, in part against the Impact Framework, and offered mid-course correction recommendations to move beyond strategy and planning, and focus more resources on implementation.

Our evaluations demonstrated that SPC has effectively delivered against the vast majority of its mandate. Our work has helped the organization deliver its core offerings within the context of a rapidly increasing level of local government sustainability planning, and in an increasingly challenging funding climate.

This project focused on environmental and social sustainability, and building community capacity to succeed.

In early 2007, BC Hydro Power Smart engaged Junxion Strategy to develop a comprehensive strategy and marketing plan to support its emerging Power Smart for Business program. Focused on the Commercial/Institutional, Industrial, and Community/Government sectors, the program reaches all areas of the B.C. economy.

The objective? To grow the breadth and reach of the awards and conference events, while actively positioning them at the forefront of the energy conservation dialogue in BC.

The result? The Power Smart Forum has become the premier conservation event of its kind in B.C., with attendance up 400% over the past five years.  BC Hydro customers now view the Power Smart Forum as a valuable tool to help them reach their broader sustainability and conservation goals.

Since early 2007, we have provided strategic counsel and consultative marketing services to the BC Hydro and the Power Smart Marketing team, including the implementation of the Power Smart Forum and Excellence Awards microsites, new media strategy and activation, a series of ads for the Power of Business magazine, as well as a variety of print and web promotional materials.

We continue to enjoy a strong, and progressive working relationship with BC Hydro Power Smart. Following the success of the 2010 Power Smart Forum, we conducted customer research to ensure content is relevant and valuable. We are now applying that knowledge to the program development of the 2011 Power Smart Forum, including the conference theme, keynote speakers, plenary sessions, and breakout sessions.

This project focused on harnessing the power of business in energy conservation.

Why?

The obvious reasons are:

• Pride: we know that corporate responsibility commitments cultivate stronger pride – and ambassadorship – amongst employees.
• Loyalty: we also know that clear social purpose and action deepens consumer bonding, purchase and loyalty.
• Permission: genuinely playing a role in community development and corporate citizenship earns respect and forgiveness – and licence to operate.
• Capital: demonstrating trustworthiness is key to building a credible, well-respectable reputation – and the result is solid social capital, and access to financial capital.

Companies that demonstrate clear and enduring values have the power to win our wallets as well as our loyalty. This is because people purchase commodities, but they commit to values. Bringing your values to life through words and actions is good for business.

But what is truly at stake here is companies want us to fall in love with them. Be you a consumer, employee, commentator, community partner, distributor or a policy maker, companies want you to date them, repeatedly and loyally. They want to be in a loving, committed relationship with you.

So what are the features that get us to fall in love with companies – or brands?

• Function: The price of entry into the romance game is functional excellence. You have to offer something that I want to use, or convince me that I need to use. And you need to provide something that is functionally better than the other guy.
• Intrigue: You need to be interesting and alluring. You need to have a compelling story or proposition. You could start with a great “pick-up” line, but that needs to have substance and meaning behind it. You have to make me want to ask for more.
• Purpose: You need to have a clear, genuine purpose beyond your functionality. I admire commitment. I aspire to achieve a higher-order purpose. So if you want me to be your companion, you need to let me know that you are genuinely committed to a purpose.
• Values: You need to be guided by a clear set of values – and mean them. Successful marriages are based on sharing and agreeing on values, because it means two people want the same things and agree on how best to live their lives.
• Trustworthiness: Charm without substance is dangerous; you need to be trustworthy. I need to trust that you mean what you say so that I know I can rely on you. Successful relationships survive because of trust.
• Action: And finally, your purpose, your values, your commitments need to be brought to life through real action. Because remember, actions speak louder than words. And in today’s marketplace, outcomes are the proof of success.

As a client once said to me, “I get it. If I want to fall in love with someone, I need to know what they stand for. If you want me to fall in love with your brand or your business, I need to know what you stand for.”

So how are companies doing in terms of transcending function and articulating purpose and values, and driving real action?

That is what this Blog is designed to discuss.

We will explore corporate responsibility activities, cause marketing programs, corporate philanthropy contributions, and environmental stewardship commitments, and see how well companies and brands are doing in the romance department. Are they getting lots of dates? Are those dates turning into enduring connections?

We welcome your input: tell us your stories, your experiences, and your assessment of what companies and brands are doing to attract your attention–and your heart.

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Junxion’s Pamela Divinsky is a featured writer on Corporate Knights, a Canadian magazine and website committed to “clean capitalism”.

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It would appear that the romance between Coca-Cola and Save the Children has hit some troubled times.  Initially, the match was a good one.  With Coca-Cola’s commitment to “Live Positively”, and Save the Children’s committment to improving the lives of children, there was the opportunity for a solid connection.

But Save the Children wants to tackle childhood obesity and re-educate the public that soda pop is a significant source of unnecessary sugar that contributes to the complex problems related to obesity, and that runs directly into Coca-Cola’s core business. So while they may be friendly to one another, a serious rift remains. As my father often pronounces, the “relationship is doomed before they even take the vows”.

Coca-Cola has one of the most innovative and integrated approaches of large global corporations trying to define and bring to life its social commitments. Under the banner of Live Positively, Coca Cola now presents its numerous initiatives – building bike trails across the US, supporting academic scholarships, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, environmental stewardship programs, and adding caloric information to the front of their bottles – under one purpose: encouraging people around the world to live positively. Indeed, when asked over the past year or so what companies are doing corporate responsibility well, I have cited Coca-Cola as one of the very best.

Their erstwhile dating partner, Save the Children, shows a profound commitment to the social dimension. Operating for over 75 years, its mission in life is to “inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives.” Save the Children does outstanding work: responding to disaster and emergencies; programs in children protection, education and child development, HIV/AIDS, and health and education. The organization also sponsors global campaigns on serious issues. See Where the Good Goes is a campaign to mobilize people to help health workers around the work save more children. They also sponsor Rewrite the Future, a campaign to galvanize support for providing quality education to millions of children around the world, because, according to Save the Children, more than 75 million children are growing up without an education.

Save the Children has noteworthy partners that support them in their efforts: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; USAID and in Canada, CIDA; and a partnership with the luxury jeweller Bulgari, who has created an iconic co-branded ring with a percentage of proceeds going to the cause. Other corporate supporters are both Coca-Cola and Pepsico (Pepsico bestowed a $5 million grant for work in India and Bangladesh).

Social causes can create strange but effective partnerships. Coca-Cola and Save the Children is one example; a global beverage company partnering with an organization devoted to quite literally, saving the children of the world. Together they could accomplish great things because both have a significant commitment to “living positively”.

Sadly, there is a “but”.

As part of their commitment to having a real impact on childhood obesity, Save the Children has been advocating for a tax on soda pop. Such a tax would serve to make soda more expensive, and out of reach for many households and children. It would also serve to raise awareness of the issue – drinking sweetened drinks can be hazardous to your health. And we know from the long history of social change that much of high-impact change comes from the imposition of positive or negative incentives. In this case, the approach is to install a punishment on consumption. If we are not smart enough to decrease consumption on our own, we will be punished into doing so.

And here is where the relationship has hit trouble. Notwithstanding the wide product portfolio of Coca-Cola – which includes Minute Maid, Dasani water, Five Alive and PowerAde to name a few – a tax on soda pop is a threat to the business of Coca Cola.

So what’s a corporate giant to do? Stop dating the partner that can threaten its livelihood? Or does the potentially threatening partner have to change their ways?

In this case, it was the latter. Save the Children has backed down from its support of the soda tax. Paraphrased in a recent article in The New York Times Carolyn Miles, Chief Operating Officer of Save the Children, said that after much consideration the organization decided this approach was too controversial and did not fit with the way Save the Children works.

This is undoubtedly a blow to the effort to raise awareness of the dangers of high-sugar sodas, and to try to decrease their consumption. It also highlights the debate on the approach – do “sin taxes” have the right effect? Should legislation move into the realm of individual food consumption? Currently no soda tax legislation has passed – perhaps too controversial an approach, or too difficult for us to stomach.

We need to address what this reveals about public-private partnerships. We know that companies want to make a difference in order to repair, protect, improve their reputational equity and strengthen the emotional bonding people can have with them. They need the partnerships of “cause organizations” that have integrity and drive real action to achieve this. And cause organizations can surely use the capital and band-width of large corporations to achieve their ambitions. Hence, the dating game.

But successful dating needs an equitable balance of power. When one partner has the power to shut down the actions, impair the integrity, or damage the business of the other, it is an unhealthy relationship.

So what’s to be done?

I believe there are three important principles of engagement:

First, if companies truly want to cultivate reputations that we respect, they will need to partner with entities who are involved in activities that may threaten their business. This demonstrates their truly genuine commitment to issues. It is also politically wise; keeping your “enemies” close to you is always wise long-term planning. And if the threat to their business is real, then they need to be paying attention if they are interested in building an enduring business. In this instance, if soda pop is emerging as the new tobacco then Coca Cola might want to be part of the solution. Strong, high-integrity partners can be good sirens of the future.

Second, cause organizations might want to consider developing approaches in conjunction with their corporate partners that make it easier for them to be part of the solution. So rather than feeding the inherent antagonism, as prescient members of the community they could help lead corporations to better behaviour.

Third, if social issues threaten our ability to “live positively” then we need to understand that. If we are not a healthy, thriving public, that is perhaps the most serious threat to business. It will only be combinations of forces that can drive genuine social change. The conventional, often antagonistic divide between corporations and cause-defined entities need to be dismantled if we are going to have a real impact. To borrow the language of Adam Smith, we need to have a vision of the public good.

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Junxion’s Pamela Divinsky is a featured writer on Corporate Knights, a Canadian magazine and website committed to “clean capitalism”.

“One of our key goals was to examine the state of sustainability in the world’s most populous and dynamic region,” said Peter. Along the way, they met a wide diversity of people and “learned first hand about the challenges and opportunities facing people from climate change and its various impacts,” says David. The two made valuable contacts and are starting projects to forward sustainability in the region.

Asia is an economically dynamic continent where the pace of change is dizzying. Growth there continues as global economic and political power is shifting from west to east. It’s reshaping geopolitics and bringing new urgency to the global sustainability movement.

What’s really happening in Asia – socially, economically, and environmentally? How will those changes will impact you? How should Canadians respond?

Junxion has developed an interactive 30-minute presentation with David’s photography and offer it to interested audiences. Contact Peter for more details.