Five Purpose-Driven Takeaways from Social Innovation Summit 2023
As a community-driven organization, 18 Coffees never passes up the chance to connect with fellow changemakers, and there is no better place to do so than Landmark Ventures’ annual Social Innovation Summit.
This year’s flagship event took place in Los Angeles to build on the city’s rich history of storytelling. Over the course of the two-day summit, we heard from dozens of leading innovators and out-of-the-box thinkers working to bridge business with purpose. Here are our top takeaways:
Intersectionality matters.
This year’s Social Innovation Summit had a deep-seated intersectionality at the heart of its programming. There weren’t conversations about technology in one room and conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion in another — instead, speakers and panelists intentionally examined how issues of racial justice, equity, environmental justice, economic inequality, etc. were likely to connect and affect each other.
During a mainstage panel discussion exploring the economic power of the Latine community, moderator Beatriz Acevedo said, “This is not a DE&I session. This is a session where we talk about the business imperative of our community.” Organizations must recognize the layers of intersectionality behind individual facets of everyday operations and focus their resources accordingly.
CSR, ESG, and DEI are increasingly part of the same conversation.
Both in official conference content and in anecdotal conversations we had with attendees, it's clear that companies are struggling with how to organize their social impact work given the complimentary (and sometimes competing) interests of the social impact “alphabet soup.” As companies continue to recognize the importance of intersectionality, organizational and team structures will inevitably shift to break down traditional silos of social responsibility as organizations tackle increasingly complex issues surrounding impact.
To effectively navigate this change, teams should prioritize communication and take a people-first approach to ensure stakeholder buy-in. Organizations like 18 Coffees client Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are already embracing this model. Chief Human Resources Officer Amy Dinofrio said, “As you look at people first from a decision model, our staff is involved in all of the big-time decisions that our leadership makes. We’ll go out to the different people-leader groups, the senior staff, our equity in leadership group, different teams and get their suggestions. It makes the staff feel like they’re involved from the beginning — it also lends transparency so it’s not this big huge policy or procedure coming down for no reason at all. It gives the opportunity for staff to understand so that they’re already behind it.”
AI is in the ether, but only some are preparing accordingly
Some Social Innovation Summit speakers were clear that AI is becoming part of their focus, but the potential social consequences of AI—workforce displacement, increasing economic disparities, and the proliferation of misinformation to name a few—aren't on the radar of most executives who are (for example) still polishing their current ESG reports.
Meanwhile, nonprofit leaders like Gameheads Creator and Executive Director Damon Packwood are taking matters into their own hands and intentionally equipping the next generation with the necessary skills to adapt to AI. In a breakout session discussing racial equity in the tech space, Packwood posed the question, “We don’t know where we’re going, so what are the transferable skills people need to learn to be prepared for the future?” Keynote speaker will.i.am doubled down: “The unfortunate part is people of color aren’t building AI. We’re not hip to it yet. But if we can have a football field in every school, we should absolutely have computer science, robotics, AI, and technology in every school.”
Leaders are increasingly recognizing care for the whole person and thinking about equity beyond what we can see.
Employees are so much more than their 9 to 5 jobs, and successful organizations are continuing to value their people as, well, people. Rare Beauty’s Elyse Cohen shared the stage with PYM Founder Zak Williams and NEXUS CEO Rachel Gerrol as they discussed corporate strategies to dispel stigmas around mental health. Steve Aoki dug into brain health in concert with longevity and understanding the physical body. And Chief Human Resources Officer of Levi Strauss Tracy Layney shared the personal importance and positive business impact of paid family leave policies. Advocates have pushed organizations to think about invisible equity issues for years, and Social Innovation Summit offered a refreshing show of progress to date as organizations tackle this challenge in new and interesting ways.
The political environment is limited to background noise.
Many speakers, panelists, and attendees were acutely aware of recent attacks on DEI leaders, trans folks, and other targets of right-wing media. With a majority of sessions covering topics around DEI, CSR, and ESG, it’s clear that organizations are still seeing positive results and don’t plan to slow their efforts down any time soon. Blackstone Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Portfolio Talent & Organizational Performance Courney della Cava might have said it best: “We know that more diverse teams lead to better innovation, more engagement, more innovation, etc. Simply as an investor, we know diversity results in better companies.”
The 2023 Social Innovation Summit left our team with plenty of new ideas as we continue our own work in the social impact space. We have renewed energy to continue partnering with organizations invested in impact and are looking forward to reconvening with our favorite changemakers at next year’s summit. See you at #SIS24!
