Businesses increasingly see the value of sustainability initiatives and continue to develop new and innovative sustainability strategies. Yet something is holding many businesses back from deploying those efforts.

One of the great pleasures of being at the forefront of a movement like social entrepreneurship is to witness its evolution and progress from the front row. Opportunities to work with new start-ups are the best chance to see what the next-generation of social innovators is doing with the ideas we pioneered.I recently had the opportunity to serve as a mentor to three up-and-coming social entrepreneurs in Chicago who focus on education and youth development outcomes.

Download Measurement Drives Strategy: A Guide to Outcomes-Based Strategic Planning and Program Design

  Several weeks ago I wrote a post on corporate responsibility reporting and ended it with this thought – “More targeted metrics that tell the story of how CR initiatives have impacted both communities and the business would be at least a step in the right direction.”  I recently came across some work done by two professors at the Harvard Business School that explores a burgeoning development in reporting which could prove to be one of these progressive steps.  This development would help companies to better communicate their social impact in a more material and holistic way.  

According to Accenture’s “A New Era of Sustainability” report, CEOs around the globe have begun to embrace sustainability and are bringing sustainability concepts out of their strategy groups and pushing them through their operations and supply chains.   The report summarizes the findings of an extensive survey of more than 700 UN Global Compact members on sustainability topics.  The report is optimistic, pointing to signs that business are starting to see the implications of not implementing sustainability efforts, and therefore starting to actively work towards operationalizing these efforts.

Hannah Jones gets it. 

Last week I read an article on the Huffington Post’s Impact Blog that highlighted a relatively recent innovation in the realm of government finance - social impact bonds (SIBs).  SIBs are bond offerings specifically designed to fund social outcomes.  The premise behind this new idea is simple and makes a lot of intuitive sense.  

The microfinance industry seems to have gotten a lot of attention lately.   Especially since Muhammad Yunus’ forced step down from his position at the head of Grameen bank in March, there’s been some renewed media interest in the microfinance movement, and the press certainly hasn’t all been positive.  A recent article published by the U.K.’s The Independent adds to the chorus calling for reforms. 

The New York Times recently published an article highlighting the city of Somerville, Massachusetts - a city that's actually trying to measure its residents' happiness.

I recently came across an article on the Standard Social Innovation Review that described Panera Bread's relatively new responsibility venture, its line of 'Panera Cares' cafes.  These restaurants are intended to look and feel (and smell) like traditional Panera outlets, yet at Panera Cares cafes there are no prices.  There are only suggested donations.  The idea is to provide those in need, who might otherwise find themselves at a standard soup kitchen, with a venue where they can enjoy a meal in a warm, inviting, and comparatively dignified environment.  The company's experiment with this model seems to be a success so far.  The arti