SMT007 Magazine

SMT-Oct2016

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66 SMT Magazine • October 2016 bility, employee skills, worker safety, employ- ee health, water use, energy use) on businesses: "There are numerous ways in which addressing societal concerns can yield productivity benefits to firms. Consider, for example, what happened when a firm invests in a wellness program. So- ciety benefits because employees and their fam- ilies become healthier, and the firm minimizes employee absences and lost productivity." 8 They add that the ultimate goal of corpora- tions embarking on a sustainability program is creating shared value (CSV). Beyond corporate social responsibility (CSR), CSV focuses on eco- nomic and social benefits—more specifically, on value creation for the community and other stakeholders. Thus to assure inclusive and sustainable de- velopment, the responsibility rests not only on the corporations, but on the collaboration of corporations, governments, NGOs, and individ- uals and communities. A recent McKinsey study demonstrates the growing urgency of sustainability to business leaders: 36% of global CEOs consider sustain- ability as one of their top three priorities, and more than10% of CEOs consider it as the top priority. Arthur Tan, CEO of Integrated Micro-Elec- tronics Inc (IMI), a leading global provider of electronics manufacturing services, said, "We should be able to provide not only profitabil- ity and financial growth but, more important- ly, ensure that the people that are involved, the communities that we serve, and the products that we build are actually entwined in making the world a better place." He added that in doing so, IMI creates mean- ing: "We improve lives because we see poten- tial in our communities, and augment or build businesses that serve all of us." Gilles Bernard, IMI president and chief oper- ations officer, believes that corporations should go the extra mile to help poor communities. "We do this by engaging either in sustainable community development projects or shared- value businesses. The latter involves having in our portfolio profitable innovative businesses that propose solutions to social problems." In early 2015, IMI partnered with ChildFund Foundation and Yakap sa Kaunlaran ng Bata Inc. to gather women of the San Pablo Parents' Asso- ciation to form a group of seamstresses. The col- laboration aimed to provide the women with a sustainable livelihood. Besides giving them sew- ing machines, IMI also secured the participation of Krizia ladies wear, one of the country's pop- ular fashion brands, to ensure the project's sus- tainability and act as mentor and quality coach. When at last the brand's quality standards were met, the community became a subcontractor of Krizia for ready-to-wear items. Eventually, the community could be part of IMI's supply chain, providing corporate uniforms. In partnership with the British Council, La- guna Water Corporation, Ayala Corporation, and the Ayala Foundation, IMI will run a boot camp on social entrepreneurship for 15 Lagu- na communities on 3–7 October 2016. With expenses considerably minimized via collabo- ration with other institutions, IMI will be in- strumental in making 15 communities learn to manage their livelihood projects. Six of these communities will be receiving funding and all community projects will be monitored to en- sure profitability and sustainability. Every year, IMI aims to provide skills—and hope—to at least 10 new rural communities. IMI believes that the ability to profit and sustain growth drives innovations that improve the public good, make progress in the fight against climate change, and enhance lives and livelihoods. It assembles for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) safety electronics and pollution reduction systems in cars, theft pre- LEADERSHIP TOWARD GREATER MEANING

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