The Antidote to Purpose Washing
Originally published on LinkedIn
As employees and consumers increasingly desire to work for and buy from brands with a social mission, many companies feel pressured to stand for something. As a result, some are running positioning campaigns based on what they think consumers want, without much foresight. While a haphazard purpose announcement might get a brand through a news cycle, it will quickly become evident if there is no substance behind it. And boom, the brand is a “purpose washer”.
From our 25 years of experience mobilizing companies and their employees for social impact, one way purpose washing can be avoided is simply by going local. For one, sixty-five percent of employees expect companies to have greater involvement in local communities. But more importantly, by partnering with community organizations, asking them what they need, and then matching that need with the skills of the organization, you can make a substantive impact.
For example, when Cisco approached us to incorporate purpose into Cisco Live! US - their annual marquee conference - we knew going local was the answer. The company had already announced a commitment of $50 million to help combat homelessness in their backyard of California, so this was the perfect opportunity to demonstrate how to make this message real in San Diego, where the 2019 conference was held.
We developed partnerships with the San Diego YWCA, Think Dignity, and other nonprofit organizations to create a powerful Social Impact Zone where nearly 6,000 volunteers were able to spend their time productively for the community. Our goal was to ensure that this incredible donation of human-power was used efficiently for the public good. Ultimately, Cisco employees and other conference attendees packed more than 20,000 meals and made furniture, blankets, school kits and more, which impacted 26,000 homeless in the San Diego community.
“We were so amazed to see how engaged and compassionate the participants were and had great discussions about the intersectionality of homelessness and their personal causes,” said Merlynn Watanabe, the Programs & Operations Manager of Think Dignity.
Now we’re gearing up for Cisco Live! 2020 in Las Vegas, where again we’ll be activating their Social Impact Zone by going local. Cisco’s goals this year are to “help accelerate sustainability efforts in the Las Vegas community and beyond”. To activate this purpose, we’re focusing on initiatives that support environmental education, water, reduced carbon footprints and other relevant programs. We’re currently working to identify local organizations and create relationships so that we can better understand how to mobilize Cisco employees to make a real difference in people’s lives.
When you look grassroots leaders in the eyes and understand that you are contributing to their hard work in a meaningful way, it’s easy to connect with why you’re doing this work in the first place. An emotional, human connection is established that is much more powerful than checking boxes in any corporate sustainability report.
So if you’re concerned that your social impact work may be accused of purpose washing, try going local. It shows that you value transparency, community, and real human connection.