6. ANALYSIS
6.5. Profiling partnerships as generators of global shared value
6.5.1. Becoming part of global partnerships
6.5.1.1. Cities Changing Diabetes
Partnerships produce material that cements the credibility of CSR communication. For instance, the Cities Changing Diabetes programme was born and launched in 2014 as a result of previous work conducted by Novo Nordisk to identify markets to operate in. CCD emerged from the need for “more active collaboration” and “a more persistent and longer engagement time” (Appendix 10.7). As one of the employees interviews asserted, “you could argue CCD could be a door-opener to actually share our story”, where the ‘story’ refers to Novo Nordisk’s TBL (Appendix 10.5), which reflects how closely intertwined CSR and TBL are, as CCD “fits perfectly into our Triple Bottom Line concept” (Appendix 10.5).
This partnership brings together reputable well-known and internationally recognised organisations (Novo Nordisk; Steno Diabetes Center; University College London, 2016) with the aim of sharing expert knowledge to co-create solutions to a social problem (Appendix 10.7) (Mirvis et al., 2016) and to raise awareness, not only among those at risk of diabetes, but amongst “people that have a role in urban planning and cities” (Lund Appendix). The later fits into the objectives of corporate social innovation (CSI) (Gallego-Álvarez et al., 2011).
Profiling new partnerships is a way of communicating explicitly about these new collaborations and how innovation is at the heart of making progress and constructing new networks to share knowledge that will ultimately allow Novo Nordisk to realise the goals of the TBL. Following the launch of Cities Changing Diabetes, partnering to “improve the environment and health in cities” is an advancement that runs parallel to such a global initiative.
This collaboration as profiled in a press release emitted by the company, is profiled under a knowledge-sharing objective between experts across disciplines (health and the environment in this case) “to generate new insights on a range of co-benefits of climate action”
(Novo Nordisk, 2015). Implicit in the language used, Novo Nordisk communicates its strong belief in the importance of working together, of integrating knowledge and most importantly in the belief that this generates shared value, or “co-benefits” (Novo Nordisk, 2015). This can translate into value-generation mechanisms with all other stakeholders, where the takeaway is that collective work and stakeholders engagement creates shared value.
This emphasis can also be spotted in the value-creating story communicated in texts such as this press release, where Novo Nordisk explicitly lays out its expertise in understanding their needs, thus hinting at the importance that stakeholders’ expectation have for the direction that the company follows: “Novo Nordisk brings to the partnership a deep understanding of how the condition affects individuals, families, health systems and societies” (Novo Nordisk, 2015).
Furthermore, expert endorsement is also included, which provides evidence to the reader that this “deep understanding” (Novo Nordisk, 2015) has a solid foundation in research and dialogue with experts. Amongst these “expert opinion-makers” (Morsing et al., 2008, p. 106), quotes are included from Mexico City Mayor (from the C40 side of the partnership) as well as from the Executive Vice President Jakob Riis (from Novo Nordisk’s side). As part of the objective of targeting a knowledgeable and expert audience, the company is aware that specific communication channels are to be exploited, and Twitter is an example of how social media is used strategically by ‘Big Pharma’ (Kooi et al., 2017, p. 123), as Novo Nordisk can find people there “who are more knowledgeable, have professional backgrounds and use it as a pool for their interactions” (Appendix 10.7), so can reap the benefits of these expert networks.
6.5.1.2. Global Compact LEAD
It was back in 2002 when Novo Nordisk became part of the Global Compact LEAD5, which is an example of Novo Nordisk jumping onto the bandwagon of another global requiring
5 LEAD is a platform for a selected group of approximately 50 UN Global Compact companies to drive leadership to the next generation of sustainability performance.
(https://www.unglobalcompact.org/system/attachments/20297/original/Novo-Nordisk-UNGC-CoP-2012.pdf?1360067617)
support from powerful actors worldwide: “as facilitators in developing our role as a company in society, we have also joined the NCD Alliance for instance”6 (Appendix 10.3). When interviewing Bo Wesley, Senior CSR Advisor for Cities Changing Diabetes, he referred back to this previous work and offered an example of a piece of CSR material - a “trend research brief”
(Novo Nordisk, 2011)- condensing some of the main objectives and finding of the Global Compact LEAD with the outcomes of the UN meetings where the “Emerging Market Perspectives for Rio+20” had been projected, looking at China, India and Brazil more closely.
The report was also authored by BSR7. The analysis of this material through the lens of CSR communication is relevant to this research because it reflects the beginning of the company’s involvement in this particular partnership and this collaboration with the UN is still ongoing and has opened up more paths to creating shared value in other partnerships.
This trend research brief can be seen as a way of targeting an expert audience as well as the organisation’s employees. An expert audience is able to grasp the extent to which Novo Nordisk is a company that is keeping up with and engaging in dialogue with others in an elite group of actors worried about CSR on a global scale. The brief, in a very objective way, addresses the formation of this Global Compact LEAD by the UN, where there is reference to a
‘higher’ set of goals, not just to doing business. Novo Nordisk is committed to greater good.
Furthermore, this great responsibility as a global citizen that the company takes upon itself is further underlined by the fact that there is a publication dedicated specifically to the progress made in this area, called “UN Global Compact Communication of Progress”, as they “are being recognised as a UN Global Compact ‘advanced level reporter’” and therefore there is a need for them to set the bar high when it comes to transparency and accountability (“Communication on Progress in implementing the United Nations Global Compact”, Novo Nordisk, 2015, 2016).
A difference can also be appreciated in the way that Novo Nordisk joining the Global Compact LEAD is described here in this brief to the way it is described in the “20 years in the
6 NCD Alliance: Non-Communicable Diseases Alliance (https://ncdalliance.org/who-we-are)
The mission of the NCD Alliance is to combat the NCD epidemic by putting health at the centre of all policies. Founded in 2009, it is a civil society network uniting 2,000 civil society organisations in more than 170 countries. Together with strategic partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations (UN) and governments, the NCD Alliance is transforming the fight against NCDs.
This section introduces the diverse members of our global network.
7 BSR is a global nonprofit organization that works with its network of more than 250 member
companies and other partners to build a just and sustainable world. From its offices in Asia, Europe, and North America, BSR develops sustainable business strategies and solutions through consulting, research, and cross-sector collaboration. (https://www.bsr.org/en/about)
business of sustainability” booklet (Novo Nordisk, June 2012), which is more of an internal reflection of the company’s journey of sustainability and where this is referred to more like a milestone and an achievement to be proud of. In this trend research brief, there is a meta-reference to sustainability discourse (when this very material can be viewed as sustainability discourse itself), when the assertion is made that “sustainability discourse is defined by people in Western Europe and North America and institutions dominated by the same culture and tradition” (Novo Nordisk, 2011, p. 1). By adding the concern for the fact that “trust in business is low in these regions”, there is an implicit call to trusting the company (Novo Nordisk, 2011, p. 1).
In presenting the uncertainty surrounding “sustainability” in the future, this justifies the need to conduct research and lays the ground to introduce the research being profiled in the document. Its objectives are to “delve deeper into the regional, cultural, social and economic drivers of sustainability” and this aim for deep informed research appeals to credibility from investors and also other stakeholders such as patients or journalists.
The fact that this research considers the question “What role do business leaders see for their organisations in driving changes in attitudes and/ or practices around sustainability internally/ amongst customers/ at the policy level” (Novo Nordisk, 2011), delivers the message that there is a desire to account not only for internal stakeholders (employees, corporate culture) but also for the general public and with policy makers (government, expert audience).
Furthermore, the role of leadership in rolling out sustainability initiatives is credited as well, as reference is made to business leaders across geographies. Research partners are also presented, showing that a process of knowledge sharing takes place and the generation of sustainability practices is not achieved in a unilateral way.
Other activities mentioned, such as “workshops with potential project partners”,
“stakeholder interviews”, “stakeholder roundtable & trendspotting workshop” and “stakeholder dialogues” (Novo Nordisk, 2011), provide more examples of ways in which stakeholders take part in this process of CSI or generation of sustainability practices (Gallego-Álvarez et al., 2011). Nevertheless, further clarification on who exactly these stakeholders are is missing.
Another indicator that this is aimed at a knowledgeable expert audience is the use of terms such as “’embracer’ companies”8 which refers to terminology from sources like the MIT
8 Embracer companies are those that have a formula for how sustainability-driven management improves
Sloan Management Review (Novo Nordisk, 2011, p. 1). Of course, this trend research brief is only a promise of the structure that this research would follow, but what is key is that it manifests the intentions of future steps in sustainability research and communicates the commitment of the company and the importance it projects on different stakeholder groups.
6.5.2. Responding to global calls for action