Social Responsibility: A Global Virtual Summit–Q&A with John Gerstner/Discount Offer

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What motivated you to organize this conference?

You could say this was an alignment of some stars that had been orbiting for quite awhile. First, social responsibility (or sustainability, corporate citizenship and green) is a topic I’m very interested in, going back to when I was Manager of Environmental & Safety Communication at John Deere about 10 years ago. Next, I credit Rick Sauter, Communitelligence Vice President, who had initiated talks with Cisco about partnering on a conference. When the topic of social responsibility came up, there was an mutual a ha moment. Six months of planning later, we’re on the eve of New Models of Social Responsibility: A Virtual Global Summit with Cisco as our technology partner.


What do you hope people will come away with?

This may sound idealistic, but I would like this summit to
push professionals in a cross-section of fields including CSR, corporate communication, marketing, and PR to be inspired by our speakers to launch their own personal social responsibility mission. I know some of our speakers will advance the idea that employees shouldn’t wait for their organizations to “do” social responsibilty. They should start the ball rolling on their own. I expect lots of other ideas and inspiration will come out of New Models of Social Responsibility. And we’ve asked all speakers to make sure they deliver practical, how-to advice as well. In addition, these are the formal goals of this conference we are planning as an annual event:

  • Expand understanding and visions about the business case for social responsibility globally
  • Spark more organizations to think out-of-the-box when starting and or evolving their programs
  • Share ideas and practical, how-to information on managing and communicating social responsibility programs on a budget that can work for organizations of any size, anywhere.
  • Build a knowledge resource and avenue for ongoing dialogue and learning that will feed the agenda for future summits

    Why virtual rather than physical?

    There are certainly advantages to physical conferences, but we felt virtual was the perfect medium to “walk the talk” of a social responsibility conference. By being virtual, we’re greatly diminishing our carbon footprint, we can truly reach a global audience and we’re able to secure distinguished speakers who probably would have been able to participate if it were a physical conference. The fact that this is a virtual summit makes it all the more exciting to produce.


    It’s unusual to have two halves of a conference five days apart. What made you choose this format?

    Again, there were a couple of reasons. We recognized that very few people would be able to devote an entire day to sitting in front of their computer, especially in an office where so many other things are hitting them. We also figured a second day at a different time would make it possible for others in different time zones to attend. Also, having Part 2 five days after Part 1 gives attendees and speakers a chance to reflect on what was said during Day 1. It will be interesting to see how the dynamic does change between the two days.

    You’ve got some pretty impressive partners. How did you bring them aboard?

    We have found the CSR community to be very supportive and inclusive. Our team targeted a group of influential partners that would show the scope and diversity of organizations working on social responsibility. Many said they were happy to participate, based on the quality of the speakers and unique format of the two days, This has been one of the most rewarding aspects of hosting this summit.

    Where do people go to register?

    Individuals can get the full agenda, program, news release, speaker bios, and register on the conference homepage at: https://www.communitelligence.com/content/ahpg.cfm?spgid=377&full=1. If any questions about the summit, please call 480-816-5550 or email me. Hope to meet all of you virtually.

    The interview ends here. John graciously offered my readers a nice discount: $100 off the full two days, or $50 off a single day. Use the registration codes sr09pp50 for the $50 off 1 day’s registration and sr09pp100 for $100 off both days (I recommend that you copy and paste). Note that a bunch of people from the same organization can register for a single fee, which is pretty cool.

    DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: https://cmp.ly/4

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    About

    A lifelong activist, profitability and marketing specialist Shel Horowitz’s mission is to fix crises like hunger, poverty, racism, war, and catastrophic climate change—by showing the business world how fixing them can make a profit. An author, international speaker, and TEDx Talker, his award-winning 10th book, Guerrilla Marketing to Heal the World, lays out a blueprint for creating and MARKETING those profitable change-making products and services. He is happy to help you craft your messaging and develop profit strategies. Learn more (and download excerpts from the book) at http://goingbeyondsustainability.com