Business for Societal Impact (B4SI) partnered with Dream Impact / ESG Innovation Lab earlier this year to convene sustainability and social impact practitioners for a hybrid corporate roundtable on the topic of “Managing Social Impact: What’s Measured Can Be Managed.”

Hosted at Dream Impact’s ESG Lab in central Hong Kong, the discussion centred on the benefits of leveraging strategic frameworks such as B4SI to align business goals with social impact objectives. This alignment is important for achieving sustainable positive impacts for local communities which are linked to the business strategy.

Throughout the discussion, participants emphasised the need for robust measurement systems for application by business, and frameworks like B4SI are useful for identifying change indicators and establishing quantitative and qualitative assessments to capture positive societal impact, ensuring accurate reporting and effective management of social impact strategies.

One of the session highlights was a presentation by The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited, sharing insights into the successes and challenge areas of their social impact initiatives. This presentation was complemented by a case study demonstrating the application of the B4SI framework to these initiatives, providing a practical example of how the framework can effectively measure, manage and report the positive changes of CSR efforts on people, community organisations and the business itself. These real-world examples evidence the B4SI framework’s ability to enhance strategic alignment and improve impact assessment, proving it to be an invaluable tool for companies looking to optimise their social impact and refine their reporting processes aligned to the global standard.

Dream Impact also showcased their capability in providing tailored social impact solutions to companies in Hong Kong, and the complementary nature of their services to B4SI member companies engaged with the B4SI global network, and applying the social impact framework and management resources.

This event opened up collaborative discussions that underscored the importance of frameworks like B4SI in providing the tools necessary for companies to not only report, but effectively manage their social impact strategies. The B4SI framework plays a pivotal role in helping companies to structure their efforts systematically, making it possible to track progress, learn from experiences, and make informed decisions that benefit both the company and wider society. This robust approach to social impact is what makes B4SI a leader in the field, and its application during the roundtable provided practical insights into its versatility and effectiveness.

We look forward to our continued collaboration with Dream Impact in Hong Kong and to expanding the use of B4SI across the APAC region. We welcome any corporate organisations interested in learning more about B4SI – contact us on: b4si@corporate-citizenship.com