Doing well by doing good

The NYC Symposium for Social Change on Monday attracted a broad mix of New York professionals including social entrepreneurs, philanthropists, investment managers, and others. I was fortunate to spend the morning at Lincoln Center listening to the speakers and panelists discuss the essential role of the private sector in education, the environment and social impact investing.

The day started with two guest speakers. Joel Klein, the Chancellor of NYC Department of Education, delivered an upbeat appraisal of how innovations are improving public school performance. Seth Godin, author of Linchpin and other well-known marketing books, followed up by encouraging attendees to connect to our passions and do meaningful work. He argued that we are in a new economic reality where we are all artists who need to be doing work that we pour our hearts and creative energy into. Otherwise, he says we risk becoming replaceable cogs in corporate machinery who are rewarded for obedience, not originality. We need to stand out, not fit in, and look for opportunities to be innovative and unique.

The rest of the morning was dedicated to three panels:

• Enhancing Education Through Technology
• The Measurable Impact of Environmental Initiatives
• Social Impact Investing

For me, the highlight of the education panel discussion was learning the concept of a "classroom of one", where curriculum and assessment can be tailored to individual needs, abilities, learning style, and interests. I am often underwhelmed by proposals to use technology in the classroom; simply introducing computers without adapting underlying processes won't be very impactful. With a Classroom of One concept, I finally see an opportunity to make a fundamental shift in how education is delivered, and it would not be possible without technology.

For the environmental panel, I was particularly interested to hear representatives from American Express, Con Edison and the Mayor's Office of Sustainability agree that there are still huge opportunities for companies to implement "green" initiatives that actually benefit the bottom line. Businesses can do well by doing good, while motivating their employees and serving their customers better.

From the social impact investing panel, we learned that the $300 billion available in the US for private philanthropy is dwarfed by the $50 trillion in for-profit investment. Social impact investing attracts private capital into socially beneficial investments that may generate a profit. Opportunities include building low income housing, financing "green" retrofits of apartments, and guaranteeing loans for charter schools. With private capital meeting these investment needs, philanthropic resources are freed up for social problems that don't have market-driven solutions.

Social impact investing can deliver a similar return to traditional investing, however measuring social impact is an ongoing challenge. The Impact Reporting and Investment Standards is a start for providing transparency and consistency in reporting. McKinsey has a website with resources for measuring social impact.

Lunchtime speakers wrapped up the day, including Seth Pinsky from the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) discussing the ways the city is nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship.

I walked away with a feeling that there are individuals across the private sector attempting to address our most pressing social problems with their own perspectives, approaches and resources. Forums like this one, sponsored by the Foundation for Social Change, create an important platform for people interested in social innovation to share information and collaborate, and hopefully scale the best ideas.

See a great short video about the foundation and some of the people they work with at their website:
http://www.foundationforsocialchange.org/