Fast Company magazine and Monitor Group announced today that they awarded one of the fifth annual Social Capitalist Awards to Herman Miller, Inc. The 2007 awards feature 45 non-profits who use the tools of business to solve the world's most pressing social problems--ranging from poor healthcare in developing nations to unequal education access, homelessness, unemployment and substance abuse in the United States--and who have demonstrated a consistent and unusually large impact on society.
This year, for the first time, Fast Company also launched an experiment to assess the social performance of for-profit companies, using Monitor's methodology. This experiment recognizes the reality that social entrepreneurship is not limited to the non-profit sector, and that companies are increasingly acting to have, and measure, positive impact on society, the environment, and their workforces. The magazine selected 10 companies to highlight.
"This year we've seen an explosion of diverse experiments, many of them engineered by Wall Street heavies, that attempt to bring new capital--and capital-market dynamics--to the realm of social good," said Fast Company Contributing Writer Keith Hammonds. "Through these deals, social entrepreneurs and businesses are raising the stakes, creating both business and social impact, and changing old-style capitalism as we know it."
Among those for-profit companies, Herman Miller's corporate goals include a comprehensive set of socially responsible objectives. Environmental sustainability, inclusiveness and diversity within its workforce and supply chain, and local and global philanthropy and volunteerism are fundamental to the company's values and it's commitment to a better world. Each has detailed metrics that are regularly reviewed by its management and board and shared across the organization. Herman Miller parallels its social agenda with an emphasis on performance innovation in its business, a strategy driven to achieve both outstanding financial results and social change.
For five years, Fast Company has partnered with global consulting firm Monitor Group to identify, evaluate, and celebrate top-performing non-profit organizations. The Awards assess social entrepreneurial organizations of different sizes and ages across social sectors as an explicit effort to further performance measurement and accountability in the social sector in a highly rigorous, data driven, comparative approach. Organizations are rated on five critical components: social impact, entrepreneurship, innovation, aspiration and growth, and sustainability, based on an application that included two years of operating and audited financial data, a statement of mission and objectives, and a survey to assess strategy and activities. Winners were selected by an independent advisory board of sector experts. In addition to the winners, the board also picked four high-potential "rising stars."
The winners are featured in Fast Company's December/January 2008 issue (on newsstands December 4 - January 22, 2008) and will be recognized at a ceremony at the Westin Washington D.C. City Center on January 8, 2008. The keynote speaker will be Adam Werbach, sustainability adviser to Wal-Mart and subject of Fast Company's September cover story. The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship will honor J.B. Schramm, founder of College Summit as the winner of its 2008 "Outstanding Social Entrepreneur" award. The event will be sponsored by Dow.
Complete information on this year's Social Capitalist Awards winners, including expanded profiles and links that let you make donations to the groups you find most compelling, can be found online at www.fastcompany.com.
About Herman Miller, Inc.
The designs and services of Herman Miller enhance the performance of human habitats worldwide, making customers' lives more productive, rewarding, delightful, and meaningful. The company's award-winning products, complemented by furniture management and strategic consulting services, generated over $1.9 billion in revenue during fiscal 2007. Widely recognized both for its innovative products and business practices, Herman Miller is a recipient of the prestigious National Design Award for product design from the Smithsonian Institution's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, and in 2007 the company was once again cited by FORTUNE magazine as the "Most Admired" company in its industry and included among CRO magazine's "100 Best Corporate Citizens." The company trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol MLHR.
About Fast Company magazine
Founded in 1996 and acquired in 2005 by Mansueto Ventures, LLC, award-winning Fast Company magazine (www.FastCompany.com) covers the ideas, trends and visionaries that are sparking change and creating the future of business. With a total paid circulation of 746,161, Fast Company explores the profound innovation, creative breakthroughs, best and "next" practices that are driving the business world.
About Monitor Group
Monitor Group is a leading global professional services firm working with corporations, governments, and social-sector organizations to help them drive growth. Employing over 1,500 people in 22 countries worldwide Monitor offers a blend of advisory, capability building, and capital services. Headquartered in Cambridge, MA, Monitor can be reached at 617 252 2000 or on the web at www.monitor.com.
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