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When
Isdell discusses sustainability in the context of connected
capitalism, he is referring
to something larger than going green in the short term. He
advises making perpetually
green long-term investments. Sustainable communities are
essential to
sustainable businesses, he says. When business connects its core
agenda to the communities
it serves, it makes lasting investments that earn the
support of board members,
shareowners, and employees.
The
Coca-Cola Company, for example, has made long-term commitments in
improving water
worldwide. It made sense for the company to take on improvements
in water, which
is, after all, the essential ingredient in the beverages it makes. And
it
is a problem that
needs addressing: one-sixth of humanity, more than 1.1 billion people,
lack safe drinking
water. In a pilot project in western Kenya, Coca-Cola’s partnership
with government and
nonprofit agencies brought safe drinking water to 45 schools,
reaching more than
22,000 people in only nine months.
While
Isdell was at Coca-Cola, he says he was never seriously
challenged about investments
in water because the board members
and employees alike understood the importance of the
connection. Connecting business support to communities
in ways that
reflect its core strategy is “not just nice to do. It is a must do,”
Isdell
says.
That
way of connecting also ties into employees’ values. Workers are
a part of a community.
They volunteer at the school. They attend church. They work
on the neighborhood
garden. Yet if employees walk into a hermetically sealed workplace that
is uninvolved with the community in which they live, they disconnect.
The business doesn’t benefit from a fully engaged worker. On the other
hand, when a company does reach out and connect with the community, the
result
is better employees, positive ambassadors, and the ability to attract the best talent.
“Time
and again, I’ve seen it over the course of my career,” Isdell says.
“When business is trying
to positively affect the communities where it does business, people
recognize that.
They are drawn to companies that have values that they can identify
with.”
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