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Skoll Foundation Launches $1 Million Partnership With Leading
Think Tank, Sustainability LTD (John Elkington, Julia Hailes,
1989 Laureates)
PALO
ALTO, Calif., — March 21, 2006—The Skoll
Foundation, dedicated to advancing the work of social entrepreneurs
around the world, today announced a $1 million, three-year, field-building
partnership with SustainAbility Ltd., a for-profit think tank
and consultancy which promotes sustainable development. The partnership
supports the Skoll Foundation’s strategy to focus on high-level,
multi-year partnerships with experts who can advance the foundation’s
work in the field of social entrepreneurship. The partnership
also signals a significant evolution in the work of SustainAbility,
and its co-founder, John Elkington, who is widely recognized as
a world authority on corporate social responsibility and sustainable
development.
Since its establishment in 1987, SustainAbility has consulted
with some of the world’s leading multi-nationals as they
have worked to establish responsible business strategies, with
emphasis on the economic, social and environmental impact of their
products. SustainAbility also has been a major force in advancing
triple bottom line reporting. While SustainAbility has been a
long-time promoter of the importance of capital markets to facilitate
social change, the three-year Skoll Foundation partnership will
allow SustainAbility to focus increasingly on identifying, developing
and promoting more innovative and entrepreneurial solutions to
the world’s greatest social and environmental challenges.
“SustainAbility is uniquely positioned to leverage its 20
years of experience and its global network to share the stories,
impact, and potential of social entrepreneurs with the global
business community,” stated Sally Osberg, President and
CEO of the Skoll Foundation. “Having someone of John Elkington’s
stature and experience advancing social entrepreneurship underscores
the global reach and success social entrepreneurs have demonstrated
in promoting sustainable, positive change in both developed and
emergent economies.”
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Skoll Foundation
in this critical area,” John Elkington, Co-Founder of SustainAbility
said. “Our work with major companies and financial institutions
continues, but we see huge potential in social entrepreneurship.
Our interests and priorities converge with those of the Skoll
Foundation on many fronts, but most particularly in our shared
belief that social entrepreneurs have the potential to drive positive,
large-scale social change.”
This unique public/private partnership seeks to accelerate the
development of the field of social entrepreneurship by building
bridges between social enterprises, businesses and financial markets.
Specifically, the award will fund:
• Production of a co-branded “state of social
enterprise” survey on the contribution of the social enterprise
sector;
• White papers and workshops on bringing best practices
within the social enterprise arena and wider business community
to the scale needed to meet the UN’s Millennium Development
Goals, and;
• Building awareness of social entrepreneurship through
research with the business and financial communities on the scale
of social markets and the contributions made by social enterprises.
About the Skoll Foundation
Headquartered in California’s Silicon Valley, the Skoll
Foundation was founded to advance systemic change to benefit communities
around the world by investing in, connecting and celebrating social
entrepreneurs—individuals dedicated to pioneering new solutions
that result in lasting improvements to complex social problems.
The Skoll Foundation invests in social entrepreneurs through the
Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship. It connects them through
Social Edge, an online community at www.socialedge.org and via
the annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship at the
Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Said Business School,
University of Oxford. It celebrates social entrepreneurs through
projects such as The New Heroes, a public television documentary
series that tells 12 dramatic stories of social entrepreneurs
who bring innovative, empowering solutions to intractable social
problems around the world. For more information, visit www.skollfoundation.org.
About SustainAbility
Established in 1987, SustainAbility (www.sustainability.com)
combines an independent strategy consultancy with world-class
research capabilities. With offices in London, Washington, DC
and Zurich, the company helps clients understand and respond to
the business risks and market opportunities driven by the rapidly
evolving corporate responsibility and sustainable development
agendas. SustainAbility also helps create the agenda—having
shown leadership in such areas as green consumerism, triple bottom
line strategy, corporate reporting, lobbying and tax policy.
Clients and partners include organizations like Canon, Deutsche
Telekom, Ford, Microsoft, Novo Nordisk, Shell, Standard &
Poor’s, Starbucks, and the United Nations Environment Programme
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