LBG Canada in Dubai

LBG Canada has been represented in conversations about the potential of volunteering to contribute to the achievement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), i.e. Impact 2030, for just over a year now.  Chris Jarvis and the team at Realized Worth were founding partners of Impact 2030 in 2011 and continue to lead Impact 2030’s evolution.

LBG Canada was invited to participate as a result of 1) the data LBG Canada companies have been sharing regarding their volunteering efforts since 2006 and 2) the opportunity to use the LBG Model to measure the impact of volunteering in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Our involvement continues to deepen.  Stephanie Robertson is a Regional Voice Lead (RVL) for Impact 2030, a volunteer role responsible to stimulate discussion about volunteering and SDG impact in communities across Canada.  One community is (of course!) the LBG Canada community.  Others might be Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto … wherever LBG Canada companies are located.  (As an aside, if any person would like information on how to become an RVL, we would be happy to share.)

SiMPACT is also working with the Realized Worth Institute (RWI) on a capacity mapping exercise, to assess the capacity of employers to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs.  Step 1 is assessing the intention of a volunteering initiative.  Step 2 is assessing impact.  This is the reason LBG Canada was invited to Dubai with Chris Jarvis and Angela Parker of Realized Worth.  LBG Canada’s application of the LBG Model will be the process to complete that mapping exercise.  Clusters of employers have been identified in Dubai, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Chicago … about 21 cities globally in the next 18 months. 

Dubai was the first stop, as the UAE’s president His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has declared 2017 as the “Year of Giving’ across the UAE. One of the strategic initiatives outlined as part of that 12 month initiative is the pursuit of volunteerism at both the individual and employer levels.  The opportunity in Dubai is to work with employers such as DP World, to explore the potential of volunteering to contribute to achieving impact objectives.  Chris Jarvis’ post-Dubai blog is here.

With regard to volunteering and the SDGs, there is a new term in circulation – Blended Capital.  Coined by a Canadian Luc Lapointe, now living and working in Columbia and also an Impact 2030 RVL, Blended Capital refers to ‘an investment of both financial capital and human capital in a coordinated effort utilizing the best practice of multi-stakeholder partnerships.’ 

In essence, the United Nations recognizes that it will cost $1.4tn ($ trillion) a year to lift 700 million people out of poverty, therefore a significant shortfall is a reality that must be acknowledged and addressed. The opportunity for employers to contribute to the achievement of the sustainable development goals through deliberate and coordinated efforts is an exciting proposition. 

The prospect becomes even more exciting when employers also benefit as a result of achieving employee engagement objectives.  More and more studies are presenting research findings that link engagement to a meaningful volunteering experience organized by an employer.  If you are interested, visit www.causecast.com/resources or www.realizedworth.com.  There are many resources there to choose from.

We are really encouraged and energized to be a part of this historic project that will advance awareness of, understanding of and engagement in the sustainable development goal conversation.  Conversations need to be started globally, but also very locally, i.e. in our own neighbourhoods.  While we will keep you up to date with information as frequently as possible, please do feel free to reach out for more information.  In addition to the links provided throughout, above, another exciting initiative is Project Everyone.  More on this incredible project shortly. 

LBG Canada is a network of corporate community investment professionals from many of Canada’s leading companies, who work together to apply, develop and enhance the use of the LBG Model and measurement framework in Canada. For more information, please contact communications@simpactsg.com.