Corporate Social Responsibility – #thepromise

Today I’ll be attending ThinkSocial and PepsiCo’s The #Promise conference which is an initiative focusing on the use of social media and technology to engage companies in working with people to address global challenges.

Social responsibility and public good  are ingrained throughout FortiusOne’s entire company and solutions. We are passionate about open data, information sharing, and collaboration. We spend our days, nights and weekends working with non-profits, government, communities, and citizens to utilize and create information to improve their lives and communities. Participating and supporting these organizations and efforts aligns with our business, but also with our responsibility to our communities.

In particular, mapping is a compelling tool to use in engaging in discussion, and happens to be our commonly preferred lens and platform. But in the end the goal is to actually act in ways that improve health, guarantee safety, educate people, and generally increase happiness. Our work in Afghanistan, Kenya, New Orleans, Haiti, and locally around DC have primarily been lead by our hearts and promoting ideals while also leveraging our corporate and personal expertise.

I’ll be interested to hear from other companies on how they’re actively engaging with citizens and consumers in affecting positive impact on issues. Is it more than mere marketing and are they working both in the spotlight but also where it matters and may not get all the media attention but have a real impact?