The More than a Market Forum 2017

How do we define CSR? What functions of a company can be integrated into a holistic CSR strategy and how can you bring a CSR concept to life, even when not having a big funding support? After a successful kick off in 2016, the second More than a Market Forum on 15 June 2017 was helping to find answers with “The ABCs of CSR” with concise and systematic overviews. Further workshops presented inspiring stories of enterprises that employed people with disabilities as well as explained on how to improve an existing CSR project with the input-output-outcome-impact (iooi) method and highlighted the importance of sustainability.

Please find below an overview of the topics and speakers.

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The ABCs of CSR – How to Embed CSR into Your Value Chain

Does CSR only mean charity programs? We had a discussion on what CSR really is about! This workshop was showcasing a concise, systematic overview of CSR concepts and how to best apply them to companies. We were inquiring into what functions of a company can be integrated into a holistic CSR strategy that includes each section of value creation.

Topics such as triggering bottom up commitment to CSR moving from charity to sustainability and connecting different stakeholders were covered. Also, we had a look into how to integrate CSR into the going to the market strategy and how to identify CSR projects. For instance, is an energy saving program a CSR program? What type of CSR activity can we do when we don’t have big funding support? What are the best practices? The workshop was giving an interactive introduction into central aspects of CSR.

Moderator: Sarah LI

Partner, SynTao

Sarah Li currently acts as Partner of SynTao. Graduating from Tongji University with the major in Financial Management, she has over 20 years of experience with the well-known global corporations. She owns extensive knowledge and expertise in the areas of business strategy, organization design, business planning, supply chain design and optimization, culture building, career coaching and professional trainings, collaborative team building, etc. Ms. Li has the enthusiasm to explore this CSR journey in partnership with all different enterprises, i.e. promoting CRO development, CSR strategy development, sustainability report design and writing, tailor-made CSR projects, design and managing the company pro bono and volunteer program, project evaluation methodology design etc. Meanwhile, she is also delegated to the mentoring and coaching program for the NPO organizations.

Making Inclusion Work – Creating Job Opportunities for People with Disabilities

In China, generally, every company is required to employ people with disabilities. But some companies have set more ambitious goals to support hiring people with special needs. There are very impressive success stories to share, but also challenges to discuss.

As special needs of employees vary and each company’s environment is different, each company needs to find strategies to safely employ people with special needs. This workshop was starting off with a discussion presenting inspiring approaches of social enterprises’ and a global enterprise’s approaches to providing people with physical and mental disabilities with challenging and meaningful employment. After the discussion with enterprise leaders, a breakout session was providing room for idea exchange and exploring one’s own company’s potential to hire a more diverse staff or to better include existing staff members.

Moderator: Tim WENNIGES

Director Shanghai Office, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung

Tim Wenniges holds a Bachelor Degree in Law Studies (Erfurt, Germany), a Diploma in International Studies from John Hopkins University Bologna Center, and a M.A. in Advanced International Studies from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna/University of Vienna. Prior to his engagement with KAS, he was Head of Organizational unit political and governmental at Südwestmetall, the Association of the Metal and Electrical Industry Baden-Württemberg. From 2005-2007 he was advisor at the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia and fulltime lecturer at Universitas Pelita Harapan, Jakarta, Indonesia. He is married and has three children.

Speaker: Clas NEUMANN

Senior Vice President, SAP China

Clas Neumann is Global Head of the SAP Labs Network since 2009, and has been leading the Fast Growth Market Strategy team since 2013. In his role as Labs Head, Mr. Neumann acts as the central coordinator of all network activities. In his role as Head Fast Growth Market Strategy he leads the investments for SAP’s growth markets in Africa, China, Middle-East and Russia. Mr. Neumann has co-authored different books & article son innovation in emerging markets and been recognized through different awards for his engagement in society and business.

Speaker: Marina KALNITSKI

Job Coach and SIA Program Director, ‘Inclusion Factory’, Taicang, China

Marina Kalnitski is a social activist focusing on the empowerment of individuals with disabilities through education, skill development and occupation; she specializes in projects that focus on inclusion. Ms. Kalnitski co-manages the first industrial workshop in China which provides dignified employment for intellectually and mentally challenged individuals. She initiated the Social Inclusion Academy [SIA] – a three-month training program to certify qualified job coaches for social integration. Formerly, Ms. Kalnitski coordinated an integration program for young adults with intellectual disabilities and founded a language training center for children with learning disabilities.

Speaker: Uwe BRUTZER

Founder and Manager, Bach’s Bakery

Uwe Brutzer was born in Karlsruhe. In 2002, he and his wife came to Changsha, Hunan Province, where he started learning Mandarin. He also took distance learning courses in special needs education and autodidactically taught himself Chinese sign language. He and his wife were first teaching and sponsoring deaf children. In 2011, he started the social enterprise Bach’s Bakery. His special bakery provides training and jobs for deaf people.

Improving Existing Projects – Impact-Oriented Corporate Citizenship

How did you do it? Collaboratively improving existing CSR projects.

Companies are facing growing demands to become socially active in the same way that societies are facing increasingly complex challenges. Consequently, the importance of CSR is growing and many companies are certain they have a responsibility to “give back” to society. Companies have therefore stepped up their efforts. However, these efforts sometimes lack effectiveness, since good intentions are not always sufficient to create genuinely productive social projects. How can existing projects be improved to make them more effective? Can the impact of social activities be measured and, if so, how? And how can social responsibility be productively coupled with sound strategies to promote goodwill, while building sustainable and impressive businesses?

This workshop was providing answers to these questions using the input-output-outcome-impact (iooi) method and best practice examples. Participants got the chance to learn in an interactive atmosphere how to improve their social projects. The iooi method is a recognized approach that serves as a tool to evaluate Corporate Citizenship activities and, hence, demonstrate their impacts. The workshop was thus designed to show “how to get it done” so that companies can effectively expand their efforts to give back and continue their impressive movement

Moderator: Birgit RIESS

Director, Business in Society Program at Bertelsmann Stiftung

Ms. Birgit Riess has been working on the conceptual basis of Corporate Social Responsibility, as well as on practical measures to promote CSR in politics, the private sector and civil society. Ms. Riess has worked on numerous publications in the area of sustainability, corporate responsibility, new societal partnerships and delivered many lectures on these issues. She holds a Master’s Degree of Economics from the University of Kassel in Germany. Before joining the Bertelsmann Stiftung in 1996, Ms. Riess had been working in the field of empirical economic and social research. She was also involved in the areas of corporate culture, corporate governance, industrial relations and wage policy. Ms. Riess has been appointed as a member of the National CSR Forum – an advisory council to the German government.

German-Chinese Initiative for Sustainable Business

Sustainability (regarding economic performance as well as ecological and social impacts) means investing in the conditions for long-term success. Therefore, a new cross-industry and cross-size initiative of leading German companies is committed to initiating a German-Chinese partnership to develop sustainable supply chains in China. For this purpose, (a) existing knowledge needs to be connected (b) a further need for action must be identified and (c) respective proposals for activities need to be developed.

This interactive, top-level workshop was introducing and jointly kicked-off this long-term project on sharing experiences and improving supply chain management of German companies in China. It was led by econsense and the Wittenberg Center for Global Ethics (two leading German think tanks concerning sustainability and business ethics) that facilitates the initiative.

Moderator: Friederike FRÖHLICH

Project Leader, Wittenberg Center for Global Ethics

As a project leader at WCGE, Ms. Friederike Froehlich oversees dialogue activities on the subjects of corporate responsibility, global value chains and digitalization. She is also responsible for the Wittenberg Leadership Colloquium. The WCGE is a non-profit Think Tank. They offer training in ethics to current and future leaders to equip them with systematic schemes of analysis and decision-making which can be applied in everyday work situations. WCGE, as an institution, are independent and take a global outlook. Their training is based on a long-standing tradition of academic research and the specific formats they offer include seminars, dialogue processes and research and teaching projects in cooperation with higher education institutions.

Speaker: Dr. Jana HEINZE

Head of Research and Knowledge Management, econsense

Dr. Jana Heinze is Head of Research and Knowledge Management. Her main area of expertise lies in corporate social responsibility, i.e. labor and social standards along the supply chain, change management and governmental communication. econsense is an association of leading, globally active companies and organizations of German business specializing in sustainable development and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Founded in 2000 on the initiative of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), the goal of econsense is to provide a dialogue platform and think tank, with the dual objectives of advancing sustainable development in business and assuming social responsibility.

Public Perception of CSR and Communication Strategies

The workshop was showing how CSR activities can be communicated internally and externally. The results of a survey among the award candidates, an analysis of the reporting of Chinese media and many concrete case studies served as the basis.

Among other things, the workshop provided answers to the following questions: Which internal and external communication channels do companies have? Which are used for CSR activities? Which CSR awards and rankings are popular in Chinese media? How to tell exciting CSR stories that journalists are interested in? Which storytelling techniques and principles can be used?

Research results, best practice examples and practical exercises were showing the workshop participants how to present their own CSR activities internally and externally in an optimal way and thus increase their visibility and acceptance.

Host: Dr. Stefan JUSTL

General Manager, Storymaker

Dr. Stefan Justl is a communications professional with over 20 years of experience in brand management, marketing, advertising and storytelling for international market-leading and top technology companies. He has been living in Shanghai since 2012. As General Manager for the communications agency Storymaker, he helps his customers to create communication strategies with the right angle and tone of voice for their stories.

Host: Dr. Evelyn ENGESSER

General Manager, UNICEPTA Information Consulting (China)

Dr. Evelyn Engesser is a communications expert who has amassed 25 years of experience in the field of media analysis, market research and strategic consulting services. Having lived and worked in China since 2012, she helps clients from big and small companies to measure the success of PR and Corporate Communication activities. Dr. Engesser is General Manager of UNICEPTA ’s office in Shanghai. UNICEPTA is one of the world’s leading international media intelligence companies, providing digital consulting, media monitoring, media analysis, research services and strategic communication consulting.

SAP Idea Lab

With the SAP Idea Lab the More than a Market initiative aims to catalyze further social engagement of German companies in China. It provides support to companies and organizations which have a strong intention to join forces for greater impact in the Chinese society and develop collaborative projects. The SAP Idea Lab is an open format where participants work together to sketch and develop collaborative project ideas.

This interactive workshop was applying methodologies inspired by design thinking: Participants were guided through the steps of generating ideas, developing concepts and / or prototyping a project on the topic of their interest. Design Thinking is the new way of envisioning technology. It is a thoughtful problem-solving framework that refers to a set of tools and mindsets to solve human-centric problems.

Who was participating?

German companies and Chinese society partners looking for answers to the following questions:

Do you have the intention for social engagement in China, but not yet a concrete project idea?
Do you have a project idea in mind, but do not know how to get started?
Are you a group of companies wanting to engage together, but in need of support for developing a concept?
Are you keen on engaging in a certain field and looking for new partnership models?

Moderator: Nicolas LECLERCQ

Program Leader for Design Thinking & Business Model Innovation, SAP Labs China

Nicolas Leclercq works at SAP Labs China as program lead for Design Thinking & Business Model Innovation. His work consists in helping development teams adopt DT & BMI as new ways of collaborating to ultimately deliver better solutions for SAP & its customers. Previously, Mr. Leclercq had spent his career in the design field, from interactive designer in the US startup scene at the end of the 90’s, to design manager at software giants Microsoft & SAP – until today. Whatever the situation, Nico firmly believes that understanding customers and users is the foundation of finding valuable solutions & building successful products. Mr. Leclercq holds a Master’s Degree in IT Engineering from Lille Telecom, France. He also enjoys spending time with his wife and three kids – who occasionally let him play bass guitar with friends during the weekend.

Facilitator: Bernhard BARTSCH

Senior Expert, Bertelsmann Stiftung

Bernhard Bartsch is Senior Expert in Bertelsmann Stiftung’s program “Germany and Asia”. Before joining the foundation, Mr. Bartsch spent more than a decade in China working as an East Asia Correspondent for major German media, working as a journalist for German business weekly “Wirtschaftswoche,” daily newspapers “Neue Zuercher Zeitung” and “Berliner Zeitung,” and the business journal “brand eins” reporting about political, social, economic and cultural issues in China, Japan, South and North Korea as well as other countries in East Asia. In 2013, Bernhard Bartsch joined Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Asia team where he continues to wrap his brain around the political, economic and social developments in Asia and their impact on Germany and Europe.

Facilitator: Olivia HELVADJIAN

Communications Manager & Chief Editor, German Chamber of Commerce in China | Shanghai

Olivia Helvadjian is the Communications Manager at the German Chamber of Commerce | Shanghai. She oversees all external communications of the Chamber and runs as chief editor the bimonthly China-wide business magazine German Chamber Ticker. Ms. Helvadjian has over 10 years of experience in communications, lobbying and public affairs within governmental and private institutions with focus on the European Union and Asia. She holds a diploma in journalism, a master’s degree in international business law and completed her MBA in Shanghai in 2012.

Facilitator: Anniwa ABULIZI

Program Leader for Design Thinking & Business Model Innovation, SAP Labs China

Anniwa Abulizi is the Localization Delivery Manager, SAP Senior Design Thinking coach, and Business Model Innovation coach. He leads the Design Thinking volunteer team in Shanghai to provide Design Thinking consulting and workshops for NGOs, non-profit organizations, universities and social Entrepreneurs in China.

Panel Discussion: Global Compact – A Model for a China Commitment!

The United Nations ‘Global Compact‘ started in 2000 and has become the world’s gold standard in Corporate Social Responsibility. It is a call to companies, big and small, to align strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labor, environment, and anticorruption and to take action to advance these principles.

One of the projects to deepen and strengthen the More than a Market initiative is a specific set of aims and values which German companies operating in China could adopt for their operations in China. This would include commitments to environmental protection, adhering to social and environmental norms, as well as eliminating corruption. Based on the ‘Global Compact’ – and, for those companies already adhering to it, as a complement to the ‘Global Compact’ – such a set of aims and values specifically for China (which could be called ‘China Commitments’) could send a strong message that German companies operating in China want to engage with their local communities as good corporate citizens, not as outsiders but as Chinese companies proud of their German roots and values.

2017’s More than a Market panel was discussing the idea of ‘China Commitments’ for German companies in China.

Moderator: Peter ROTHEN

Consul General, Federal Republic of Germany in Shanghai

Born and raised in Bonn, Peter Rothen studied economics at the Universities of Bonn and Nurnberg. After obtaining his Master’s Degree in economics, he joined the German Foreign Service in 1980. He became Germany’s Consul General in Shanghai in September 2014. Preceding, he spent six years in the US, five years as Germany’s Consul General in San Francisco and one year at Harvard University as Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.

While working on human rights issues from 1999-2008 he witnessed the creation of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s initiative for a “Global Compact” – at first, its rather reluctant reception, followed by a growing acceptance and increasing support from companies all over the world.

Speaker: Celina CHEW

President, Bayer Greater China Group

Ms. Celina Chew has been the President of Bayer Greater China Group and Chairman of Bayer (China) Limited since 2014. She joined the Bayer Greater China Legal Department in 1997 and assumed the position of Head of Legal for Bayer in Greater China in 1998 and later as the Country Group Head for Bayer Group in the North ASEAN Region and Managing Director at Bayer Thai Co. Ltd. in 2011. Prior to her assignment at Bayer, she spent 8 years working as a lawyer at international law firms. Ms. Chew holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honors) degree from the University of Western Australia and a Masters of Laws (Distinction) degree from the University of Hong Kong.

Speaker: Birgit RIESS

Director, Business in Society Program, Bertelsmann Stiftung

Speaker: Prof. Klaus MEYER

Philips Chair and Professor of Strategy and International Business, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)

Prof. Klaus E. Meyer is a leading scholar in the field of international business conducting research on the strategies of multinational enterprises. He holds an MSc from the University of Göttingen, Germany and a PhD from London Business School, UK and has published over 60 articles in leading scholarly journals as well as five books. He moved to China in 2011 to join CEIBS, where he teaches management and acts as co-director of the Center for Globalization of Chinese Companies.

Professor Meyer has been elected as a Fellow of the Academy of International Business (AIB) in 2013. In 2015, he received the decade award of the Journal of International Business Studies for the most influential paper published a decade ago.

Speaker: Christoph KAISER

Managing Director, Turck (Tianjin) Technology

Christoph Kaiser is Managing Director of Turck, Vice Chairman of the Board of the German Chamber of Commerce North China and member of the German Chamber Advisory Council Tianjin.

Mr. Kaiser has been studying, living and working in China for over 18 years and believes that social engagement with the local community is essential for a sustainable and long-term business development. Turck is a family owned, mid-sized German company and one of the leading manufacturers in industrial automation. As a typical example of the German “Mittelstand” (SMEs), Turck has a long tradition in CSR and is acknowledging its social responsibility all over the company’s worldwide subsidiaries.