Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Events to Attend in 2019

Everybody loves an event. And social value enthusiasts are no different. These events allow you to engage and discuss key themes, relevant to corporate social responsibility, with like-minded professionals who are passionate about the way businesses should operate responsibly throughout the world. From what we have experienced, these are people that truly care about our planet and her people.

But, alas, you can’t attend them all. So here is our list of the top CSR and sustainability events you should consider for 2019 (in no particular order).

You should also check out our top 5 CSR & Sustainability Awards to Apply For too!

The European Conference on Sustainability, Energy and the Environment 2019

This event hosted by IAFOR is set to shine a light on all things relevant to sustainability at the 7th Annual Conference in Brighton (UK) on the 9-10th July.

The conference, which has a clear academic perspective, intends to promote the collaboration of thinkers who are leading the dialogue within the sustainability space across the globe.

The event seeks to tackle some of the more pressing issues facing global society by looking at our responsibilities across a range of themes including the environment and sustainability.

You can find out more, here.

The NCVO Annual Conference 2019: Looking to the Future

This one is for our social enterprise/ third sector comrades.

To celebrate all the truly amazing things charities do, the NCVO is hosting their Annual Conference on the 1st of April 2019 at The Brewery in London.

Digital plays an extremely important role in the development of charities and offers new and innovative ways to address some of the greater challenges facing the third sector. In juxtaposition to our private sector counterparts, digital adoption amongst charities is still relatively low. But that is changing, and NCVO is promoting that movement.

The great thing about the NCVO Annual Conference is that it can be personalised to your organisation, as you can choose the workshops suited for you. With a list covering trust and transparency – something that is particularly pertinent to the third sector due to a 6% reduction in trust – alongside key socially valuable topics such as equality and inclusion, there is something for everyone.

You may be thinking that this event isn’t appropriate for the private sector and corporates, but they have a dedicated workshop on volunteering. Volunteering is particularly important to the private sector due to the benefits it provides in terms of employee satisfaction and retention. Indeed, millennials (21-35-year-olds) who engage with workplace activities and volunteer programmes are twice as satisfied with their work.

Our top tip is if you are considering an event, and budgets are quite tight, then prioritise this one. Plus, if you book by February 8th 2019 you get 10% off – bargain!

You can book here:

Ethical Corporation’s Sustainability Reporting and Communications Summit 2019

This two-day event set to run in late 2019 (October) boasts over 300+ attendees, 60+ senior speakers, and 15+ of networking hours from a host of Fortune 500 companies.

Trust us when we say it is quite an impressive list – and the yet-to-be-confirmed cost is likely to reflect that.

But don’t let that put you off. The agenda is more than insightful, with a plethora of sustainability-related topics to be covered. The current schedule aims to explore the role of technology in allowing for more accurate reporting alongside keynotes on how to embed sustainability measurement into your overarching financial strategies and reports.

Our favourite subject, measurement and transparency, is also set to be discussed.

Depending on the soon-to-be-announced cost, this may well be the event with the best ROI.

Tempted? Here’s the link to the pre-order brochure.

The Insight Technology Conference 2019

Another event scheduled for March 2019 – the 8th in this case!

The UK’s largest technology expo is back again, returning to Old Billingsgate in London to offer insight into how technology can affect the wider business to transform into digital, and we bet that covers something around sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

Notable topics that are set to be the focus include Artificial Intelligence (AI), and how to leverage its capabilities within your industry, something we have spoken about in relation to housing providers. They also promise to divulge key technology trends for 2019, which we think should link nicely to abundance and the role of technology in sustainability. 

Best of all, it is a freebie, with a chance to receive a giveaway item should you be amongst the first 500 people at the event. Well worth waking up for, and from our point of view, a nice free day out of the office.

The Economist’s Sustainability Summit 2019 (#EconSustainability) 

Update: This event has passed.

The Economist’s fourth Sustainability Summit scheduled for March 21st 2019 is the go-to event for green thinkers. Whilst the focus of the event is strictly on environmental sustainability, void of focus on some other key CSR topics, it is never a bad thing to have a clear focus. 

The event, that comes with an early-bird rate of £795, provides a platform to explore some prevalent issues within climate change and its subsequent impact on our planet. Hosting speakers from a variety of professional backgrounds, including policymakers, researchers and industry leaders, the event promises to reflect on current business practices and addresses some hard-hitting questions by reviewing our economic models.

Additionally, the event shall focus on topics such as plastic, of which 61% of turtles have eaten.

Located at the Riverside Building on Belvedere Road in London, The Economist’s Sustainability Summit is one to put on the list.

Further details here. 

The ISBA Annual Conference 2019

Update: This event has passed.

It is going to be a busy month for you if you plan to attend both this and The Economist’s event as the ISBA Annual Conference is also scheduled for March – the 5th of March 2019 to be exact.

Located in Troxy (London), the ISBA Annual Conference has yet to confirm their prices, with estimates ranging between £600 – £900.

The event plans to discuss equality and diversity, predominantly contextualised within the advertising industry. But that is not to say this event may not be relevant to you. This retrospective assessment of the advertising industry, and their diversity standards, will likely culminate in strategies and best practice recommendations that can be applied to any company who markets themselves – so everyone!

We suspect that they will offer solutions in positioning your sustainability efforts, and advice on marketing your efforts effectively in order to communicate the social value you as a business are generating. This is important for businesses as 40% of a brand’s reputation comes from their CSR, so it is worthwhile spending the time in getting this right. 

This is a personal favourite as mine, but I am a Marketing and Social Value Executive, so my personal fervour definitely creates some bias.