HIPTM: A new way to maximize both Human Impact + Profit for your company, your investment portfolio and your world. We advise companies and investors to be even more HIP: solving human problems to grow profit, talent and impact simultaneously.
IN THIS ISSUE:
- ARE YOU READY FOR THE “NEW ECONOMY?”
- INSIGHTS: WHAT COMPANIES ARE TELLING US
- COMPETE TO WIN: OUR 2007 HIP COMPETITIONS
- HOW HIP IS MY LIFE: WHERE TO WORK?
- DEMAND FOR HIP IS GROWING
- HIP EXPANDS TEAM AND PARTNERS
- READ HIP IN THE NEWS
- SEE HIP IN PUBLIC
- WATCH HIP ON YOUTUBE
- SHARE THE EXCITEMENT – HOW HIP CAN HELP YOU
ARE YOU READY FOR THE “NEW ECONOMY?”
As the economy evolves, businesses are creating shareholder value and competitive advantage in new and exciting ways – requiring new methods of measuring results for customers, employees and investors. As innovators in strategy and measurement, HIP Investor and our joint-venture partner, SVT Group, are highlighted in “When Balance Sheets Collide with the New Economy” in Sept. 9th’s New York Times Sunday Business section. An excerpt:
Today’s markets are being transformed by intangibles (such as social and environmental concerns), and a growing number of companies are scrambling to find the methods that will help them better use, develop and communicate about them.
INSIGHTS: WHAT COMPANIES ARE TELLING US
In our conversations with CEOs, executives and leaders - along with our continuing industry research - companies are reporting that all elements of their business are changing. Here are some cutting-edge insights we have uncovered:
- Customers Want to Buy HIP:
- Almost half (47%) of all customers research companies and their products for human, social or environmental impact.
- 46% of consumers said they would shop at a retailer more if it were environmentally friendly; and 47% said they would be willing to pay more for environmentally friendly services, products or brands.
- Two-thirds of small business owners say they would pay more if they knew the products were environmentally friendly.
- Two-thirds of all customers have taken action against (e.g. boycott, negative referral, refused to invest in) a company that does not treat society well.
- Employees Want to Work HIP:
- Three out of four (75%) employees want to find fulfilling purpose at work, benefiting society as well as earning a paycheck (up from 50% just four years ago).
- Of those seeking purpose at work, 90% want the company to provide an opportunity to help the world beyond the traditional business purpose.
- Most companies are finding 500% to 1000% (yes, five to ten times!) more employees interested in environment, sustainability or social impact initiatives than they expected or planned.
- Governance of Corporations Now More HIP
- Many branded multi-nationals, from GE to Starbucks to Wal-Mart, as well as industrial conglomerates like Dow, DuPont and United Technologies, now have senior executive sustainability officers reporting to the CEO. Most leading firms have Board committees focused on corporate responsibility, too.
- New Recruits Want HIP Information:
- General Electric, Baxter Health and Motorola state that their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report is the most downloaded document on their website.
- The number one question by new employees in their 20s and 30s is "what is this business doing for society, the environment or for other people?"
- Investors Want a HIP Portfolio:
- 3 out of every 4 responders believe corporate responsibility can enhance profitability and 77% said it will have a major impact on their business strategies for the next several years (Grant Thornton, 500 leading companies surveyed)
- Goldman Sachs reports that companies integrating a sustainable approach have outperformed the benchmark index by 25% over 22 months; and 3 of 4 stocks selected beat expectations (GS Sustain report, DOWLOAD REPORT)
HIP interprets all these trends as a "mass market" issue which needs to be fulfilled - not a niche to be ignored. Human Impact + Profit is an intrinsic part of the economy today and will be a transformational force in this generation.
COMPETE TO WIN: OUR 2007 HIP COMPETITIONS
HIP announces two exciting opportunities for you to help boost Human Impact + Profit by increasing the flow of information and understanding about companies and their products - and maybe even win a prize.
FOR STUDENTS AND PROFESSORS THIS SEMESTER
Launch My CareerTM: HIP Scorecard Competition for Students - Fall 2007 Edition
Want a chance to win a cash prize, make a difference in the world and learn about top international companies - including potential employers? All university students (undergraduate and post-graduate - MBA, JD, MD, MSW, PhD, etc.) are invited to participate in the inaugural Fall 2007 HIP Scorecard competition.
For this nationwide competition, you will create your own scorecard of 20 companies within an industry (e.g. health care, fast food, bicycles, micro-insurance) or geographic theme (e.g. Utah, Canada, South Africa, world-wide) of your choice. Winners with the top scorecards will receive up to $1,000 and have the opportunity to present to sustainability officers from leading companies around the world! See http://www.hipinvestor.com/ for complete rules and entry information.
FOR HIPSTERS AROUND THE WORLD
"How HIP is It?"TM : Monthly Contest for HIP Products and Services
Our monthly contest to rate your favorite (or most hated) product! First, choose any product on the market - this can be something very HIP (think electric-powered convertible autos, like the Tesla) or a new product (think iPhones) or even something clearly un-HIP (think cigarettes). Then, using HIP's innovative framework, analyze the product's HIP factor and demonstrate how sharp your HIP lens is. A winner selected each month can win $100, entry to our annual competition AND a chance to be published. See http://www.hipinvestor.com/ for complete rules and entry information.
** Good luck and please share these competitions with your friends and colleagues! **
HOW HIP IS MY LIFE: WHERE TO WORK?
When making decisions about where to work, where to invest, what to purchase or how to vote, it's important to have a framework for determining just how HIP your decisions can be.
To help get you started, in each newsletter, we'll highlight some questions you might want to ask in your daily life. The questions will not only help you be HIP, but simply by asking the questions, you can inspire companies to achieve a higher HIP factor as well!
When thinking about where to work, here are a few questions to ask:
1) Does the company's vision and timeline address Human Impact + Profit?
2) Do decision-making and business strategy incorporate Human Impact? How?
3) Who is responsible for measuring, managing and communicating human impact results?
4) How will Human Impact + Profit play a role in your future position?
5) Are the Board and CEO held accountable to Human Impact goals and outcomes?
6) Has the comjavascript:ice.rotateSubTabs('WYSIWYG') Edit Graphicalpany invested time, effort and money into its HIP practices? What are the positives and negatives to this commitment in their opinion?
7) Is this company better positioned to win on human impact than the competition?
Nike is an example of one company leading the way in its reporting: "Corporate responsibility [is] an intrinsic part of a healthy business model, an investment that creates competitive advantage and helps a company achieve profitable, sustainable growth." (Nike Corporate Report, May 2007)
Since the first HIP Scorecard was published in Fast Company's April 2007 issue, HIP has been taking off - as a new way of acting, investing, thinking and managing. Here's a snapshot of what we've completed over the past four months:
- Meetings with top executives at brand-name leaders in finance, banking, investments, high-tech, health-care, and consumer product industries - and innovative foundations as well - seeking to be more HIP. We expect that several will become clients.
- Joint-venture global partnership with industry pioneer SVT Group, and North American partnership with sustainability consultant Brown Flynn - plus more partners coming soon.
- Public speaking by HIP and our partners in Europe, Canada and the United States: to Fulbright scholars, top corporate executives, double-bottom-line investors, sustainability leaders and advocates, Echoing Green Fellows, and more!
- Expanding our HIP team to 7 entrepreneurial staff and interns; and our network of partner staff to more than two dozen.
HIP EXPANDS - MEET OUR TEAM AND PARTNERS
Jessica Skylar, Executive Vice President
Jessica joined the HIP team to lead research and analytics, operations and marketing in May 2007. She brings her experience in inspiring change at Ashoka; consulting with top NGOs at the Center for Development Communication; and leading marketing, fundraising and operations at the award-winning non-profit, Springboard Forward. Jessica also created youth programs for kids in Los Angeles, and spearheaded a human-rights task forces - all as a high-school social entrepreneur. Jessica earned a Master's Degree in International Peace and Conflict Resolution.
Sonia Talati, Business Development Intern
Sonia is a second-year with junior standing at UCLA, double-majoring in Economics and Communications. She is in the Honors Program and a recipient of the prestigious UCLA Alumni Scholarship. Sonia enjoys being an Anchor at the campus news station, Social Director of the Business Economics Club, and Scholarship Coordinator for the Alumni Scholars Club. In the future, she hopes to lead a media company of her own.
Dina Beigelman, Research Intern
Dina graduated in May 2006 from Case Western Reserve University with a major in business and a minor in entrepreneurship. She enjoys learning and contributing to sustainable living and sustainable businesses. In her free time Dina volunteers for non-profits focused on international issues, including poverty and health.
Isabel Storch deGarcia, Ph.D., Health and Pharmaceutical Industry Intern
Isabel has five years of professional experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Recently teamed up with HIP investor in its commitment to help companies and investors to drive profit through human impact, she is focusing on the health care, pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Isabel is a member of Net Impact and Doctors without Borders.
Cristina Alderete, Research Intern
Cristina Alderete is on the verge of graduating from San Francisco State University with a degree in International Relations. She wants to save the environment, and hopes to persuade you to do so as well. With HIP, she will be researching and writing our weekly perspectives.
HIP GLOBAL NETWORK - PARTNERSHIPS
Global Joint-Venture Partner - Measure, Manage and Communicate Impact
Social Venture Technology Group (http://www.svtgroup.net/) is a strategic advisory firm focused on measurement and valuation of environmental and social return on investment. SVT's work underpins the due diligence, valuation and ongoing management of intangibles done by a growing number of the world's leading institutions. These leaders recognize the competitive advantage to be gained by combining wealth-creation with environmental sustainability with health and opportunity for customers, suppliers and employees. Since its founding in 2001, SVT has become a world leader in the development of frameworks for measuring the value of intangibles, and communicating this value in terms practical for entrepreneurs, managers and investors.
In partnership, HIP and SVT jointly collaborated on the 1st Annual HIP Scorecard, published in Fast Company magazine in April 2007 (www.fastcompany.com/investing), and together serve corporate clients and investors to measure, manage and communicate their Human Impact + Profit.
Sara Olsen, SVT Founding Partner
Sara Olsen is the founder of Social Venture Technology Group (http://www.svtgroup.net/), and has led the firm to become a global specialist specializing in the development of frameworks for measuring the value of intangibles, and communicating this value in terms practical for entrepreneurs, managers and investors. Most recently Sara worked with the Environmental Investment Advisor to CalPERS, Environmental Capital Group, to design and pilot the Environmental Performance Reporting System used in its US$1Billion environmental technology private equity portfolio; and has teamed with HIP Investor to develop and launch the Human Impact + Profit (HIP) Framework for investors and publicly-listed corporations.
Brett Galimidi, SVT Partner
Brett Galimidi is a media communications and environmental management expert, with a gift for enabling disparate groups of stakeholders to arrive at market-based solutions to environmental and social problems. Brett brings his passion for the environment to help both corporate and non-profit clients solve sustainability issues. Prior to and with SVT his organizational affiliations include Grupo Ecologico Sierra Gorda, recognized as a world leader in environmental restoration in a rural market in the developing world; the Resource Renewal Institute in San Francisco, where he worked on market-based solutions to environmental resource management and protection; and the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, where he led research efforts on the topic of environmental protection in the information age. Brett drives SVT's use of web 2.0 technology to make measuring, managing and communicating impact easy and cost effective.
North America Partner - Sustainability Consulting and Communications Expertise
Brown Flynn (http://www.brownflynn.com/) is a consulting firm specializing in the integration of strategic agendas with responsible practices and targeted communications that yield positive 
results. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, BrownFlynn helps businesses across North America become more adept at recognizing momentum and synergy between corporate and community issues, anticipating and managing risk, and innovating corporate social responsibility practices to increase competitive advantage and set precedents in brand leadership.
HIP, SVT and Brown Flynn are cultivating clients in Chicago, Cleveland and Canada - integrating the measurement, management and communication of Human Impact + Profit.
** Want to join the HIP Global Network as a Partner? Email Paul@HIPinvestor.com **
SHARE THE EXCITEMENT - HOW HIP CAN HELP YOU
Help spread HIP as the new way to maximize both Human Impact + Profit for your company, your portfolio and your world! Here are three easy ways to make the world a more HIP place to be:
1) Enter HIP's competitions
2) Share this newsletter
3) Ask questions about impact at your employer
Learn more about HIP's services for INVESTORS and for COMPANIES or contact Jessica@HIPInvestor.com to help you or your organization be even more HIP!
When Balance Sheets Collide with the New Economy
New York Times By Denise Caruso September 9, 2007
HIP Investor and SVT Group measure exactly how social and environmental issues translate to market value and directly affect the bottom line –publishing a Scorecard in Fast Company.
READ THE ARTICLE
HIP Investing: Delivering Positive Human Impact + Profit
Elite Magazine (Europe)
By Bruno Giussani
August 2007
“Paul Herman is convinced that the world’s finances are under-invested. That is: they are under-invested until all investments yield both a human impact as well as a financial profit.”
Net Impact, Building a Sustainable Future
November 1-3, 2007
Nashville, TN
REGISTER TODAY!
Triple Bottom Line Investing (TBLI)
Europe
November 15-16, 2007
Paris, France
REGISTER TODAY!
Commonwealth Club
Business Forum
February 20, 2008
San Francisco, CA
Register in December
© 2007 HIP Investor Inc. All rights reserved.
http://www.hipinvestor.com/