Doing Well by Doing Good

This discussion explored how companies large and small intermix Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into their way of doing business, creating an internal culture of “doing well by doing good.” Women in businesses ranging from banking to venture capital investments to beauty products, the strategies of making CSR a part of each corporate identity opened up a very lively conversation.

Moderator: Stephanie Forbes
National Brand Ambassador, West – The Macallan

Stephanie Forbes is the National Brand Ambassador for The Macallan, covering the Western region of the U.S. As an ambassador, she is an advocate and educator of The Macallan specifically and in the whisky industry. She represents The Macallan at many event functions hosting and conducting tastings and also performs media interviews on behalf of the brand. Since joining in March 2023, her previous roles in casino gaming as well as private aviation have lent themselves to the luxury world of The Macallan. Forbes also supports partnership relations with Lalique, Bentley and Haute Living magazine.

Panelists
Dulari Amin
Founder – Synergy Ventures

Dulari Amin is an entrepreneur and investor with a 20-year track record of investing in and building both early-stage and growth companies that are better for humanity and kinder to the planet. Her portfolio includes CPG, tech and healthcare companies. Her venture studio, Mothership, provides expertise across strategy, marketing, operations and talent - helping founders scale faster and smarter.

Karissa Bodnar
Founder & CEO – Thrive Causemetics & Bigger Than Beauty Skincare

Karissa Bodnar is the founder and CEO of Thrive Causemetics and the Bigger Than Beauty Skincare line. Her philosophy goes far beyond skin deep by empowering diverse communities. For every product purchased, Bodnar’s companies support a wide array of causes, from cancer research and education groups to racial justice and veteran’s organizations. All of Bodnar’s products are vegan and made from 100% cruelty-free products.

Karen A. Clark
Senior Vice President & Inclusion Strategies, Business Dev. Manager – City National Bank

Karen A. Clark serves as SVP and multicultural strategy manager at City National Bank. In this role, she is one of the key drivers toward the bank’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). She works with internal partners from different departments across the bank to help solidify City National’s inclusion efforts and manages initiatives through the bank’s 11 colleague resource groups such as the Women’s Network, LGBTQ+ Alliance, Black Colleague Alliance and Asian American Network.

VIDEO | 36:05

Doing Well by Doing Good

Shared insights from the Event

WHY CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IS GOOD FOR THE COMPANY AS WELL AS THE WORLD AT LARGE

Karen A. Clark: In this whole world of authenticity, folks are serious about that. Which means you’ve got to be transparent, and if you’re going to be transparent, you had better have something good behind the curtain. A lot of it also has to do with the chaos and corruption in the world, and there are a lot of people who just want something clean and good and pure - we all can control something in our lives. You have a circle of control, circle of influence and you have a circle of concern. People want to be recognized and they want to be seen, so companies have to be a lot more responsive to that desire in their customers.

Dulari Amin: I think we’re in a different era of corporate social responsibility. I do believe that business is a driving force in our world. It’s what makes the world turn. So if business is a driving force, then I have to consider if can I invest in businesses that are doing things differently. How can I be an influence on those new generations of companies, so we can have a net positive impact on the world? That to me is designing a company inside out, for the service of the greater good for the planet, for the people and to also be profitable. This is a new model for business and I’m really here to champion that and be a part of that change.

Karissa Bodnar: My company started almost 10 years ago, and since then, we’ve donated $135 million in funds and products. I started with one cause, one charity and one product. I’m really focused on the individual impact - to me it’s really about making an impact every single day. We’ve donated $135 million, but we’re also incredibly profitable. We are profitable because we have focused on our customers, because our customers are our greatest investors, and that is how we’re able to give back. I started with one charity in Seattle, and now we’ve supported over 500 charities worldwide. We aren’t able to do that unless we have an incredible connection to our community - our community being our customers and our employees.

ON THE GENERATIONAL SHIFT WHEN IT COMES TO BUSINESS, PRIMARILY ON HOW YOUNGER PEOPLE ARE CHANGING CORPORATE CULTURE AND ITS DRIVE TOWARD DOING GOOD

Amin: I think if corporations and investors can partner up with businesses that are designed for the better and for doing good - they’re all coming out with better products and better businesses. Customers, consumers, they can all demand more. Asking questions like, “Can we demand that the companies that we buy from have more transparency, more accountability?” You all have a right to know the key things: Where is your product made? Who made it? Are they paid fairly? Are there children working and living in dire conditions to make the product? How did it get shipped to us? What’s the carbon load like? I think brands are accountable for all of that kind of information. I think consumer mindsets are changing. We have a lot more choice, and there are entrepreneurs creating incredible opportunities for us to get behind good.

Clark: What we’re seeing now in terms of corporate social responsibility is the influence and the impact of the Millennials and the Gen Zers. The new generation, they want to know: “How is this business that wants my consumer dollars - how is this business serving the world?” Because that’s what’s important to these newer generations. And so corporate America is responding, as we always do, to each generation, with an internal change to address what is important to the new generation. I think that’s how the generations have impacted corporate social responsibility today.

Bodnar: For us, it really has evolved based on the demand of the consumer. They are telling us how to give, and they have the opportunity to tell us where they want us to give. We find those charities with the help of our community and using social media. It’s not that hard to just ask people, “Where do you want us to give?” Then, at a tactical level, we have an amazing team internally that is vetting those charities and making sure that we execute on our promises.