Nation's Top Corporate Citizens Share Best Practices at COMMIT! Forum
 Earlier this week, many of the nation's top corporate citizens gathered at the COMMIT! Forum in New York City to learn and share best practices. Corporate Voices was pleased to be a conference partner and sponsor of the forum's Responsible Workplace track. A few highlights follow.
Stanley Litow, IBM's Vice President of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs and president of the company's foundation, inspired the crowd with a keynote about IBM's innovative Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH), a joint effort with the City University of New York and the city's Department of Education. The new school has intrigued President Obama, who spotlighted it this week in remarks about education reform. Moreover, Litow detailed IBM's community investments and their very real pay-off--including recruitment of top talent, building and reinforcing brand value and media awareness, and attracting socially responsible investment Alice Campbell, Senior Director of Global Community Relations at Baxter International and a Corporate Voices board member, shared her company's perspective on how to partner with leading community organizations to make a valuable difference. Baxter's partnership with the Instituto del Progreso Latino has resulted in an exciting new model for career-focused high schools in Chicago. Said Campbell: "Through our Science@Work initiative, Baxter demonstrates our commitment to being a socially responsible member of our community. Just as important, our investment in science and math education is helping prepare today's students for the health care careers of tomorrow." Baxter's successful community partnership is just one model. Many others are detailed in, Corporate Voices' new publication, Opportunities in the Workforce Readiness Pipeline: A Community Engagement Toolkit for Business, which provides valuable guidance on creating partnerships that produce ready, skilled workers. Finally, Corporate Voices' John-Anthony Meza led a conversation on how businesses can invest in talent development by utilizing corporate responsibility and "crossing silos" between disparate departments within their company. He illustrated the point with Southwire Company's flagship training program, 12 for Life, which opens doors of opportunity to at-risk students in Georgia. Together, these examples demonstrate how diverse companies in different sectors can use very different approaches to achieve shared results--ones that are good for business, for employees, and for the communities they serve. |
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Virginia Telework Tax Credit Echoes Federal Action to Advance Flexibility: A Smart Management Practice for 21st Century Success
Recognizing workplace flexibility as a smart business strategy, as well as a smart traffic management strategy, Virginia has passed new legislation creating a Telework Expenses Tax Credit for employers. This new law provides for a tax credit of up to $1,200 per employee, with a maximum of $50,000 per organization, for eligible telework expenses incurred during 2012 and 2013.
Virginia's telework tax credit is similar to other tax credits and telework programs that many states have adopted, and echoes what the Obama administration has championed at the federal level. Important progress was made in expanding the federal government's use of telework when President Obama signed the bipartisan Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 into law in December 2010.
Corporate Voices for Working Families believes that workplace flexibility policies and practices, like telework, help modernize the workplace so that working families and businesses can be more productive, more competitive, healthier and happier. That is why it launched a national workplace flexibility campaign in 2010, at the request of the White House, to create a broader awareness of the positive business and employee benefits of workplace flexibility.
As the nation continues to struggle with the challenges of high unemployment and anemic economic growth, tax credits and legislation to encourage workplace flexibility practices offer businesses support in maintaining a competitive advantage, and help workers balance work and life. Read more about the Virginia Telework tax credit, a free Telework!VA Tax Credit webinar for employers, and about how to join Corporate Voices' national workplace flexibility campaign on Corporate Voices' blog.
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Corporate Voices Partner Companies Among 20 Business Finalists for the 12th Annual 'Citizens' Awards
 This week the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) announced the finalists for the 12th Annual Corporate Citizenship Awards, known simply as "The Citizens." Corporate Voices is proud to announce that partner companies Allstate and Capital One are among this year's finalists. The Citizens are a high honor for companies that show excellence and innovation in the way they address societal issues, both in the United States and abroad, and for their overall leadership in the business sector.
The Citizens are awarded in four categories: Best Business Neighbor, Best International Ambassador, Best Partnership, and Best Corporate Steward. This year's finalists are:
- Best Business Neighbor, a recognition of excellent U.S. community service or civic leadership: Capital One Financial Corporation; FedEx Corporation; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; PepsiCo, Inc.; UnitedHealth Group Inc.
- Best International Ambassador, in honor of excellent community service or civic leadership in developing countries around the world: Alcoa, Inc.; Amway Corporation; Hess Corporation; Pfizer/Pfizer Foundation; Tupperware Brands Corporation.
- Best Partnership, the first "people's choice" award for business-nonprofit partnership excellence: Allstate Corporation/Allstate Foundation with The National Network to End Domestic Violence; Intel Corporation/The Intel Foundation with Society for Science & the Public; Target with The Mission Continues; Dow Chemical Company with Habitat for Humanity International; Grainger with American Red Cross.
- Best Corporate Steward, a comprehensive category acknowledging excellence and responsibility in overall values, operations, and stakeholder relationships: AECOM Technology Corporation; Capital One Financial Corporation; Hormel Foods Corporation; Kraft Foods Inc.; Western Union Company.
The winners in each category will be announced on November 17, 2011. For the Best Business Neighbor and Best International Ambassador categories, a peer committee that includes past award winners will select the winner. For the Best Corporate Steward category, a panel of preeminent experts in corporate citizenship and business performance will select the winner. The Best Partnership Award winner is selected "people's choice" style in the public voting campaign on BCLC's website. Voting opened on Monday, September 19, and has already attracted more than 6,400 votes.
For more information on all the awards, visit bclc.uschamber.com/awards
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Reminder! Applications Now Available for 2012 Best Companies for Hourly Workers
 Corporate Voices, in partnership with Working Mother Media, is pleased to announce that the 2012 Best Companies for Hourly Workers application is now open. Businesses are eligible to apply if they have a minimum of 500 employees in the United States and if at least half (50 percent) of the company's total U.S. employees are nonexempt.
Being recognized as one of Working Mother's Best Companies for Hourly Workers is a prestigious award, and validates a business' support for hourly workers. This highly respected designation demonstrates to current and future employees, customers and competitors that businesses appreciate the positive effect that work-life balance, health and wellness, education and career advancement programs and practices have on the well-being of workers, and also on the business bottom line. Programs like these have been proven to positively affect recruitment, retention, productivity and a company's return on investment.
All winning companies will be featured in the April/May 2012 issue of Working Mother magazine, on workingmother.com and recognized at a gala event in May 2012.
Completed applications are due by October 14, 2011.
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NASBHC Launches New Website
 The National Assembly on School-Based Health Care (NASBHC) is pleased to announce the launch of its redesigned website - www.nasbhc.org.
It features:
- New design: a cleaner web experience with less text and more visuals
- Streamlined navigation: easier to find the information and tools that you need
- New and updated content: policy resources, mental health materials, technical assistance tools, and SBHC stories
- Brand new features: a scrolling newsfeed, visitor polls, and more
NASBHC is excited about the website's new look and features, and hopes it will provide dynamic and informative resources for advocates interested in the intersection of health and education, those who've spent years in the school-based health care movement and those who are just learning about the impact of school-based health care across the country.
NASBHC advocates for national policies, programs and funding to expand and strengthen school-based health centers, while also supporting the movement with training and technical assistance. NASBHC provides important advocacy work that supports Corporate Voices' mission and the interests of many of our partner companies
Visit www.nasbhc.org and post a comment with your feedback on NASBHC's Facebook page by 10/31/11 for the chance to win an Amazon gift card. Details at www.nasbhc.org/newwebsite.
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Corporate Voices at Upcoming Meetings & Conferences
October 2-5, 2011: STEM Tech, Indianapolis, IN
October 11-12, 2011: NCLR Workforce Development Forum, Chicago, IL
October 18-20, 2011: 2011 Work Life Congress, New York, NY
October 22-25, 2011: Growing the Workforce for a New American Economy, St. Louis, MO
November 3-5, 2011: Opportunity Nation 2012 Annual Summit, New York, NY
November 9-11, 2011: CAEL 2011 International Conference, Chicago, IL
January 25-27, 2012: AACC: Workforce Development Institute 2012, Miami, FL
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What We're Reading
Achieving Smarter Regulation, Business Roundtable, September 2011.
Beyond Degrees, National Skills Coalition, August 2011.
The College Completion Agenda: State Capitals Campaign, College Board Advocacy & Policy Center, 2011.
Reflections on Leadership for Student Success, California Leadership Alliance for Student Success, 2010.
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