Page 41 - Sustainability and entrepreneurship for CSO's and CSO networks Cambodia 1 November 2018

power balance is not right: a strong company could misuse the reputation and networks of a CSO in urgent need of funding.
Reasons for Companies and CSOs to partner:
1. Creating business value and societal benefits: a business-CSO partnership can result in measurable business and environmental benefits such as reduced costs, reduced risk, new market development and enhanced brand value along with reduced environmental impacts in the company’s product line, operations or supply chain.
2. Raising the bar on societal performance: innovations arising out of partnerships can create competitive advantage for a business as well as establish a new standard of environmental excellence for others to build on.
3. Leveraging skills and perspectives not available in the organisation: partnering with a CSO helps a company to address issues where it may not have the expertise, skills or resources to manage on its own.
4. CSOs also provide a valuable outside perspective: for the CSO, a partnership can provide a testing ground for the effectiveness of its work.
5. Building respect and credibility: when a partnership between a trusted CSO and a company delivers tangible results, it improves the image and credibility of both organisations.
6. Providing independent validation: CSO participation can provide independent third party validation of a company’s claim of environmental and social benefits from a project.
7. Helping achieve a long-term vision: While most leading companies and organisations have long-term goals and visions, they often are preoccupied with short-term priorities in their day-to-day operations. A partnership project designed to address a long-term issue can help provide the external push needed to realise long-term goals. (GEMI, 2008)
Preparations for a CSO - Corporate Partnership may take time and negotiations, but its worthwhile to try.
Keys to success are:
• Embrace differences, but do it carefully. Recognise and value that you are different in style, culture, language and operations.
• Assign a champion, a leader with decision-making ability. Make sure you will not end up in infinite meetings and workshops without tangible progress.
Plan for the relationship to evolve over time. Remain flexible, don’t create
log frames and plans carved in marble.
• Make corporate engagement part of your core business.
(Jonathan Doh, 2017)
In some situations, a partnership may not be practical. If the need is immediate, or can be achieved independently, a partnership might not make sense for a company. Similarly, a CSO may determine that a partnership is not the best way to achieve a particular policy goal or social outcome. In general, if a company or CSO can accomplish its goals on its own, there may be no need to partner.
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