As we reach five years of growing shared value across the Asia Pacific, advancing this important business strategy becomes the next focus.

That was the intention of the Advancing Shared Value lab at the 2019 Shared Value Summit in Sydney today, which brought together a mix of high-profile visionaries and leaders to explore best practice.

The panel discussion began with an analysis of the internal conditions required to develop a shared value organisation. The panellists moved through a range of topics, including collaboration to unlock shared value.

“It’s not easy for communities to reveal their problems,” Enel Green Power Sustainability Asia-Pacific Area Emanuele Polimanti told the group. “But we can view everyone as partners in solving social challenges by building relationships based on trust.”

Mr Polimanti suggested that trust begins from within business, through communication.

“Internal communication across every function of a company is essential to engage effectively with communities,” he said. 

The session also explored emerging social trends and how companies can create competitive strategies which respond to the challenges facing customers and communities.

Novartis Head of Social Innovation and Strategy Michael Fuerst proposed that CEOs need to be behind shared value for it to thrive. 

“CEOs are set up to unleash the innovative capability of a company by giving their people the flexibility and autonomy they need to create change,” he said.