Corporate Affinity Network (CAN)
Network and benefits overview
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About Future 500
Future 500 is a non-profit consultancy that builds trust between companies, advocates, investors, and philanthropists to advance business as a force for good.
Such trust building is the foundation of
stakeholder capitalism.
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Our Theory of Change
We believe that helping companies and their stakeholders step out of their respective echo chambers and seek common ground, is essential to tackle our most pressing environmental and social challenges.
By supporting companies and their stakeholders seek common ground in uncommon places, we help catalyze collaborate solutions that enable both our planet and society to thrive.
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What We Do
We serve as matchmakers, mediators, trusted counsel, and critical friends. We tailor our approach for companies across sectors and geographies to cultivate their enterprise’s unique purpose and capacity as a positive force for good.
Stakeholder Engagement
Know who, how, and why to engage – before you find yourself under the microscope.
Sustainability Strategy
Build a program that drives efficiency, spurs innovation, and demonstrates your purpose.
Responsible Communication
Be a telephone, not a megaphone. Align your actions and tone to build lasting support.
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Our Corporate Affinity Network (CAN)
CAN is Future 500’s private network for senior corporate leaders seeking to deepen their expertise in sustainability and corporate social impact.
Through coaching, counsel, peer-to-peer learning, and facilitated engagement with leading advocates, CAN partners cultivate the relationships and skills needed to address today's most pressing sustainability challenges - social, environmental, and economic.
We design CAN to help corporate leaders progress stakeholder capitalism within their enterprises. We provide them with the knowledge and tools needed to help them solicit and effectively integrate diverse stakeholder feedback into business planning, so they can proactively address and mitigate emerging risks while identifying and seizing new leadership opportunities.
Learn more: future500.org/can
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2023 CAN Benefits & Pricing
BENEFITS | CAN | CAN+ |
2-3 in-person peer-to-peer meetings & knowledge and skill building sessions for two participants per meeting | X | X |
Private virtual meetings with stakeholder thought leaders (4-6 per yr.) | X | X |
Annual emerging issues briefing (see our most recent report) | X | X |
Timely alerts on material ESG issues relevant to your company | X | X |
Facilitated introductions to network peers to garner insights on shared challenges | X | X |
On-call access to our team with discrete requests for 40 hrs./yr. | | X |
Price/year [Note: Partners engaging us in project work at $50k+ receive complimentary CAN access | $25K | $42K |
“Without a sense of purpose, no company, either public or private, can achieve its full potential. It will ultimately lose the license to operate from key stakeholders.”�
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Proactive engagement is business-critical
“Engagement is as important as other tangible assets and market conditions in terms of a company’s success. When stakeholder cooperation was incorporated, a company’s net present value could be improved by between 40 and 60 percent.”
Spinning Gold: The Financial Returns to External Stakeholder Engagement. Henisz, Dorobantu, & Nartey (2011).
“Coca-Cola knew it needed more than a legal or regulatory right to use water; it needed the support of local communities. It viewed the partnership not as corporate philanthropy but as a core strategic business initiative.”
World Wildlife Fund and The Coca-Cola Company: A Global Partnership for Freshwater Conservation. Brownlee & Elias (2014).
“A recent McKinsey analysis determined that 30 percent of corporate earnings are affected by a company’s reputation with external stakeholders.”
Connect: How Companies Succeed by Engaging Radically with Society. Browne, Stadlen, and Nuttall (2016).
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Stakeholder capitalism is taking hold
A form of capitalism in which companies seek long-term value creation by taking into account the needs of all their stakeholders, and society at large.
Source: World Economic Forum
Source: World Economic Forum
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Examples of Future 500’s Impact
Conflict resolution, external engagement, & development of commodity sourcing policy
Supported a Fortune 500 brand in resolving a conflict with a hard-hitting activist group and its network, who were pressuring the company to adopt a zero deforestation sourcing policy. The result was the establishment of trust that led to the company collaborating with the leading NGO for several years, resulting in an industry-leading corporate paper and forest commodity sourcing policy.
Stakeholder Advisory Council
Advising a major regional electric utility on the modeling, formation and recruiting of a new stakeholder advisory council, which we then facilitated for the company for over a decade. The company now enjoys strong relationships of trust with a diverse mix of stakeholder leaders from NGOs, SRIs, foundations, and academia. This process has participation from the CEO on down and has inculcated a culture of proactive stakeholder engagement throughout the company to inform its business strategy, planning, and policy advocacy.
Integrating critical stakeholder feedback on ESG Report
Soliciting candid external feedback on a company’s inaugural ESG report to help inform and strengthen the company’s stated goals and aspirations, and align their program and report with current stakeholder expectations of corporate transparency and reporting. First report was praised by various investor advocates.
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Examples of Future 500’s Impact
Engaging SRIs/Impact Investors
Supported a Fortune 500 oil and gas company in developing and implementing a SRI impact investor engagement strategy. The process led to near-elimination of shareholder resolutions filed with the company while enhancing the executives’ capabilities to anticipate and plan for emerging ESG issues that may become materially relevant to their larger mainstream investors.
Materiality Assessment for Industry Association
Conducted global materiality assessment for an industrial sector association that informed their individual member companies’ assessments. We intentionally gathered broader and more diverse (and sometimes challenging) stakeholder feedback than most associations or their consultants provides to ensure a comprehensive risk assessment. As always, our outreach included mainstream and activist social and environmental NGOs, their funders, impact investors, academics and think tanks.
Stakeholder Positioning Analysis
Conducted a series of interviews of diverse anti-plastic, anti-toxics stakeholders from foundations, SRIs, activist and mainstream NGOs and academia to understand areas of strong disagreement and for potential common ground with businesses in progressing the global plastic treaty. Shared findings with both companies and advocates, recommending potential engagements between individual companies and stakeholders.