"We believe that it is a responsibility for a company such as ours to seek to have a beneficial impact on the world around us."
Hans-Paul Bürkner, President and CEO
Why We Engage in Social Impact Activities
Despite rapid economic development, the world still faces a multitude of challenges: approximately 2.6 billion people, about 40 percent of the world's population, still exist on less than two dollars a day, with about 1 billion of them living on less than one dollar a day. More than 850 million people—roughly one in eight—do not get enough food to lead healthy, active lives, and one in four children in developing countries are underweight, leading to more than 3.5 million children dying due to malnutrition each year before the age of five. Meanwhile, diseases of the developing world continue to exact a terrible toll: malaria, for example, is estimated to kill one African child every 30 seconds.
BCG's involvement in social impact work is motivated by such eye-opening facts. And although generally less dramatic, there are many examples of underprivileged communities in developed countries that also need support. Because we possess expertise that can make a difference, we are inspired to work with social sector organisations to have an effect on local communities and the world at large.
Our primary objective is to make a tangible and lasting contribution to the world in which we live. We are firmly convinced that together we can achieve more than any of us could individually. We also find that the work challenges us intellectually, helps us develop professionally, and fulfills us personally. Social impact is fundamental to who we are as an organisation, and is one of our nine stated values. Our Social Impact practice organises and coordinates our activities similarly to our commercial practices.
What We Do
BCG partners with multiple organisations around the world that seek to make a difference. We support these organisations by applying our talents, expertise and insights in the consulting services we provide to them. Our social impact work is conducted through both our global and local partnerships. We structure our efforts along eight topic areas: the environment, poverty and hunger, public health, education, community and economic development, arts and culture, corporate social responsibility and philanthropy.
In the last year, BCG completed more than 140 cases with about 80 social sector organisations worldwide.
Global Partnerships
On the global level, we work with selected partners in long-term relationships. Our global efforts focus on the challenges of the developing world and seek to support progress toward attainment of the U.N. Millennium Development Goals. Because these are long-term challenges, we believe they require long-term relationships with critical players. We have chosen to partner with
- the U.N. World Food Programme
- Save the Children
- the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- and other organisations in global health.
Local Initiatives
Our local social impact work aims to have a direct, measurable impact in the communities where our offices are located and where we live. Depending on local needs each office determines the topics it wants to focus on and the organisations it partners with. Some examples of recent local initiatives include helping transform public education in Dallas, teaching business skills to high-school students with the business@school program in Europe and Asia, and working with a foundation to open a world-class contemporary art centre in Beijing.
In ANZ, we tend to select a few partners to enjoy a deep and continued involvement with. Our current portfolio of pro-bono relationships includes
- An eight-year partnership with Indigenous Enterprise Partnerships (IEP) and Cape York Indigenous leaders and organisations on a range of Indigenous policy and economic development initiatives. One of BCG’s founding members, Colin Carter, has been on the board of IEP since its inception. Over 60 of our staff have undertaken projects over the last eight years. BCG-supported projects have included: preparation and planning of the four-year Welfare Reform trial; piloting new policies on housing, education, work and social norms; developing a school-based model of care for Cape York children; exploring the economic potential in emerging carbon markets for Indigenous people; and creating a proposal for improving educational outcomes in remote Indigenous areas. Noel Pearson, one of the indigenous leaders in Cape York, has said “We achieve more from three months from a high-calibre person from Boston Consulting than I’ve seen us get from the bureaucracy in three years.” We are proud of our relationship with IEP and the Cape York communities, and are committed to offer our continued support, with a particular focus on employment and education initiatives
- A four-year involvment of our Melbourne office with Debney Park Secondary College, a high-school with a reputation for violence and most students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. Over 30 consultants have been involved in improving flagging enrollments and working with students during careers days and on mentoring programs
- A one-year founding relationship with Teach For Australia, a pioneering social initiative to confront educational disadvantage in challenging schools in Australia. Teach For Australia recruits, trains and supports outstanding, well-rounded university graduates to inspire, motivate and teach students in schools, while preparing these graduates to excel as leaders in their chosen future careers. It is a two-year program supported by government, educators and leading companies in Australia. Graduates receive world-class teaching and leadership training and opportunities to develop through internships, coaching and networking. It has close partnerships with similar organisations—Teach For America (established in 1990) and Teach First (UK, established in 2002).
- An eight-year founding relationship with The Icehouse International Centre for Entrepreneurship in New Zealand. We are involved in assisting owners and managers of small-to-medium sized enterprises to prosper and grow—from business planning and mentoring, to capital raising.
We also participate in pro-bono initiatives for other organisations as needs arise, such as symphony orchestras, sporting codes and educational reform programs. If any of our people show passion for launching a project of interest to them, there will be many enthusiastic BCGers to support their thinking and make it happen. Our office-based Charity Committees also organise local support for a range of charities and many BCGers undertake efforts for causes close to their hearts, such as a coast-to-coast motorcycle ride in support of the Royal Flying Doctors or donating to Wesley Mission.
Volunteering and Sustainability
In addition to our project work, our contributions include volunteering in our local communities, charitable giving, and providing talent, contacts and resources.
BCG is also concerned with its own environmental footprint. We have launched BCG Green initiatives in many of our offices to reduce resource consumption, waste and carbon emissions.
Impact
Our ultimate aim is to improve the living conditions of those in need. One way of achieving this is by helping our partner organisations become more effective or by directly advancing a topic. We evaluate our impact by looking at what we achieved within the organisation, as well as its ultimate effect on beneficiaries. For example, in our work with the U.S. food bank network Feeding America (formerly known as America’s Second Harvest) we have devised a strategic plan that, once fully implemented, should help the organisation raise further funds to distribute additional food to its network and feed an additional three million hungry people each year.
Ways to Get Involved
There is a “menu” of options for getting involved in BCG’s social impact work. Participating in one of our social impact programs is a unique opportunity to make a difference and to gain personal experience. As a BCG employee, you can engage in social impact work in several ways:
- Case work: Become staffed on a global or local case, just as you would be staffed on our corporate client work.
- Social impact secondments: Apply for a social impact secondment. If selected, this gives you the opportunity to spend six to 12 months working with one of our global partners as part of their team.
- Social impact leave of absence: Take a social impact leave of absence to spend up to 12 months on social impact work of your choice. BCG can support you in identifying the organisation and position.
- Volunteering: Participate in volunteer projects through your BCG office. There are many that can benefit from your contribution. Examples include consulting to local social entrepreneurs, mentoring high-school classes, or spending a day with your office colleagues helping in a homeless shelter.