SAGE Judging Criterion #2 for the SRB category is:

Has the business created positive social change indirectly through the practice of corporate social responsibility (e.g., creating and implementing a philanthropic foundation; paying equitable wages to their employees; using environmentally friendly raw materials; providing volunteers to help with community projects; and so on) Evidence of positive social impact can include media coverage (e.g., newspaper, TV, radio) and potential market reach (e.g., regional, national, global scale).

Note: This criterion is worth 26 points total: 12 for written annual report and 14 for oral presentation.

Interpretation:

We subscribe to the definition of social responsibility based on the following description as taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_social_responsibility:

Corporate social responsibility (CSR), also known as corporate responsibility, corporate citizenship, responsible business, sustainable responsible business (SRB), or corporate social performance, is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. Ideally, CSR policy would function as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby business would monitor and ensure its support to law, ethical standards, and international norms. Consequently, business would embrace responsibility for the impact of its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere. Furthermore, CSR-focused businesses would proactively promote the public interest by encouraging community growth and development, and voluntarily eliminating practices that harm the public sphere, regardless of legality. Essentially, CSR is the deliberate inclusion of public interest into corporate, and the honoring of a triple bottom line: People, Planet, Profit.

In previous years, the 10 SAGE judging criteria included two separate criteria for mass media and global activities. These specific criteria have been eliminated as separate criteria; however, they have not been abandoned. Rather, they are now embedded here, as part of SRB Judging Criterion #2.

SAGE teams will be judged more highly if they can demonstrate evidence of their positive social impact and CSR policies through media coverage (e.g., newspaper, TV, radio) and web presence (e.g., web pages; social networking sites).

As for the global element, one goal of the SAGE program is to build international linkages between SAGE teams. Specifically, with existing technology SAGE has created a network among domestic business, international business, higher education and teenagers. It is vital for SAGE students to have ample opportunity to learn entrepreneurial skills, while at the same time learn how international trade directly affects many aspects of their lives (e.g., from purchasing decisions to career choices). SAGE judges will rate teams more highly if they can demonstrate positive social impact on the widest possible scale. Teams that incorporate a national or global dimension into existing activities can convince judges that they have acquired a deeper awareness and appreciation for conducting business in a market other than one’s own local market.

Sample Web Sites

www.thepeoplespeak.org/globaldebates
www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/

Sample Activities

SAGE teams from different states or countries may want to work with each other in determining if there is a potential market for import/export products. Or students may want to devote a couple days to studying how free markets work in an economy other than their own.  To connect to SAGE teams in other countries, email cdeberg@csuchico.edu and ask that he subscribe you to a listserv called “SAGEMAIL.”

Another idea for an outstanding global project is to participate in a UN-sponsored program called “The People Speak Global Debates.” Teenagers in more than 80 countries are invited to participate. According to its website (www.thepeoplespeak.org/globaldebates), any U.S. or international high school (grades 9-12, ages 14-19) can participate in the Global Debate. Students who are interested in global issues can use their voice to become involved in critical issues facing our world.

Students may also choose to focus on one or two books which can help them better understand global issues. Once they’ve read the books, they can provide an oral report to fellow SAGE. One outstanding book is The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits by C.K. Prahalad (2005). After reading the book, students not only will have new ideas about how to do business in other parts of the world, but they can also learn more about how major corporations can re-think their business models when choosing to do business in developing countries. Another book is by Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus. His book, Creating a World without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism envisions a world where business leaders use their intellectual, financial and social capital to create businesses that solve some of the world’s greatest challenges.