United Kingdom—Corporate Social Investment Strategy

DAI’s Sustainable Business Group (SBG) was engaged by a leading U.K.-based retailer of premium foods to be an advisor to its Corporate Social Responsibility team and produce a refreshed strategy and impact measurement framework for its shared value social investment initiative for the company’s fresh produce sourcing in emerging markets. This is a unique corporate initiative, in which its supply chain—comprising of importers, exporters, and commercial farms—contribute capital to the Foundation. The client required DAI’s expertise to allow it to proceed carefully with the expansion of Foundation activities to newer source markets in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. SBG performed a diagnostic of the pre-existing social investment initiative in its core markets of Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana, including key informant interviews with the program management and interviews with leading fresh produce suppliers to the client. The engagement included advisory support to present the refreshed Strategy to the client’s Foundation Board, internal working groups, and a series of workshops with external partners. The strategy included a refreshed Governance mechanism for participating source markets (countries) and guidance on the development of programmatic activities, including a global innovation challenge.