Global demand for our Net Impact services is demonstrated by our chapters outside the US that now total 34 including 17 in Europe, five in Asia, three in Africa and one in Latin America.  If we include independent members, Net Impact is represented on six continents and in 99 countries around the world.  It is through this demand that Net Impact’s Board of Directors realized that our small U.S. office cannot support and inspire this international movement alone.

Net Impact's Executive Director Liz Maw (center) visits members of the Instituto de Empresa Net Impact Chapter during a European Tour in March 2007

We are pleased to announce that Net Impact is investing in its first European staff member who will work on building and supporting Net Impact’s European base, providing greater value and more program offerings to our membership, and organizing the first Net Impact European Conference with partner universities. By establishing our first international base of operations, Net Impact will increase its presence in Europe and become a truly global organization.

With Europe already the home of 17 Net Impact chapters and more than 500 members, our largest concentration abroad, we see great opportunity to build and sustain programs and services that will increase the reach of our mission and leverage the impact of our current network.

Over the past two years, we have conducted research to find out how Net Impact can better serve our European members. While Europe’s traditionally shorter MBA programs provide a unique challenge in member acquisition and retention, we see various benefits to having operations in Europe, including the opportunity to:

• Connect chapters from different countries
• Increase support and infrastructure for European chapter leaders
• Create more European chapters
• Increase European interest and education in sustainable business
• Expand Net Impact’s European membership value and offerings
• Build the Net Impact brand in Europe

"We were a group of friends in our late 30s, all with business backgrounds and a desire to lead a movement where business and social responsibility are aligned to change society for the better. This, coupled with the absence of socially responsible behavior in the formal education and mentality of Greeks, made us look for a vehicle to implement our goal. Our search lead us to Net Impact, where we found an ideal match and Net Impact Hellas was born.”  - Dimitrius Stathopoulos, Chapter Leader, Net Impact Hellas

Net Impact Hellas co-directos Dimitrius Stathopoulos and Elena Matzaridou

In Spring 2006, Stathopoulos and his colleagues staged the official kickoff of a new Net Impact professional chapter in Athens, Greece.   By October of the same year, Net Impact Hellas established a legal non-profit charter signed by 15 founding members.  Months later, Net Impact Hellas coordinated the largest Net Impact event in history with over 4,000 people brought together for an event that placed Net Impact center stage. 

The record-setting event took place in July in conjunction with the Live Earth concerts held around the world.

"Net Impact Hellas organized the live broadcast of Live Earth concerts in a central square in Athens," Stathopoulos shared.  "Supporters included the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Transportation, Municipality of Athens, Ministry of Development, Center for Renewable Energies in Greece etc. The attendance was incredible and Net Impact was readily identified as the organizer with banners, opening remarks and members circulating in force to build interest."

In the early months, Stathopoulos and other Net Impact Hellas founders focused exclusively on recruitment of new members.  “Our early efforts paid off.  We now have 50 official members following our recent General Assembly,” Stathopoulos says, “and we enjoy the support of a part-time executive administrator to the Board who is critical to the success of our growth.”

In addition to the successful growth of the chapter, Stathopoulos says he is most proud of the increased awareness raised through its activities, both by word of mouth and through visibility at conferences, as well as the members’ enthusiastic and dedicated volunteerism at non-Net Impact educational events and in its executive committees. 

“We hold a weekly leaders meeting every Tuesday,” Stathopoulos says. “We developed a strategy document which serves as our guide and led to the creation of eight action teams.”

The action teams include Membership and Bonding, Community Service (Social Entrepreneurship and Corporate Social Responsibility), Public Relations and Fundraising, Education Outreach, Government and Non-Government Organization Outreach, Business Outreach and Research.

“We held several events focused on business thinking and action to positively change our society,” Stathopoulos added.  “After several meetings, our community members initiated actions in their own environment – business and personal – including recycling, energy management, supporting eco-friendly businesses and acting as ambassadors of change themselves.

“We developed a program to provide small to medium businesses and their employees a compact list of practical socially responsible actions (best practices) to adopt in their daily routine.”

Their efforts position Net Impact Hellas as pioneers in education regarding responsible leadership, encouraging people and businesses to enhance their socially geared mind-set.

A 1994 graduate of the Kellogg School of Management, Stathopoulos went to business school to gain diverse business experience in an international setting and concentrated on finance, marketing and strategy.  As a Net Impact Chapter Leader for more than a year, he noted that his involvement with Net Impact also benefited him personally.  “Motivating people to use their business skills to the betterment of their society, community, school, or business in a socially responsible way, as well as applying business leadership skills to my team, improves my leadership skills and builds my confidence that this experience will be a great asset for the future.”
 
Stathopoulos added that the best part of being a Chapter Leader is seeing the enthusiastic response to including people in a social venture network held in the highest regard on the global front.

“I changed my way of thinking and I appreciate the power of a social network. Net Impact inspired me and my team with ideas, tools, network resources and confidence to change my daily personal life in a responsible way and to educate people and businesses on the importance of socially responsible attitude and measurable results.”

For information on forming or joining a Net Impact chapter in your area, visit www.netimpact.org and click the “Start a Chapter” button at the top of the page or contact Abbey Banks at abanks@netimpact.org.

With 34 international chapters on six continents, Net Impact is a global movement fueled by our highly motivated and entrepreneurial member base. Recognizing this, the launch of our ambitious Net Impact Ambassador program will leverage the power of our network and extend the international reach of Net Impact. Net Impact Ambassadors are volunteers dedicated to driving growth in our network by fostering awareness, developing relationships and increasing the value proposition of the Net Impact network.

Net Impact's Membership Director, Abbey Banks and Chapter Manager, Will Morrison scope out potential chapter locations

According to Atul Philip, founder of the Minneapolis Professional Net Impact Chapter, the program provides an opportunity to deliver Net Impact’s tangible value abroad.

“Since we launched the Minneapolis Chapter, the power of professionals and students in contributing and building a more socially responsible community in Minneapolis is inspiring. I believe there is a great opportunity to extend Net Impact's reach to build socially responsible communities in countries with little or no access to the resources and knowledge delivered by Net Impact, so I joined the Ambassador program.”

Philip views this as an opportunity to develop his personal skill set and to contribute positively to the communities he visits.  “Especially in countries like China and India with explosive growth in business, it is important that both social and economic developments are considered by emerging business leaders. As a Net Impact Ambassador, I can leverage my previous experience in working with students and professionals and utilize Net Impact's expertise in social change to positively contribute to responsible development.”

Ambassadors include individuals who travel for business or leisure, others studying abroad and professionals living and working in regions that could benefit from Net Impact’s presence. Ambassadors work with Net Impact from the beginning to set goals and metrics which may include starting chapters, creating contacts, forming partnerships or delivering presentations to interested groups.

Since its soft launch earlier this summer, three Net Impact Ambassadors are active in Brazil, Saudi Arabia and India.

Will Morrison, Net Impact’s Chapter Program Manager, envisions incredible potential for success.

“The Net Impact Ambassador Program is a great opportunity to share the Net Impact mission with individuals, universities, unaffiliated networks and organizations all over the world,” Morrison notes.  “Ambassadors provide a vital service in extending our reach by building relationships and partnerships that will strengthen and expand Net Impact’s international presence. These enthusiastic members enable us to reach responsible leaders in regions that stand to benefit immensely from the resources Net Impact provides.”

For additional information on the Net Impact Ambassador program, visit the Net Impact Ambassador page or e-mail wmorrison@netimpact.org.

During the past year there has been a remarkable increase in awareness among the general public that we need to change the way we live. Every Net Impact member should take pride in their contribution to this important turning point – when a critical mass of people realized that we are all stakeholders in a global society and have an obligation to choose more equitable and sustainable practices to benefit society. We are pleased to report that business education is now deeply committed to supporting this trend – with Net Impact’s continued support.  In partnership with the United Nations Global Compact, Net Impact gathered with an impressive group of stakeholders in guiding the future of business education earlier this summer.

The group included leaders from AACSB International, The Aspen Institutes Business and Society Program, European Foundation for Management Development, Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative and Net Impact.  In addition, presidents, deans and directors of the world's most respected business schools including Harvard, INSEAD, Weatherhead, Wharton, Haas, Yale and others welcomed business education leaders from every corner of the world to engage in this historic gathering.  From India, Pakistan, China, Columbia, Australia, Indonesia, Italy, Argentina, Turkey, Trinidad, Japan and many more countries, the group welcomed leading academicians from business schools charged with educating emerging leaders coming from the most disparate constituencies in terms of resources, awareness and motivation to initiate responsible leadership.  The end result included a set of guidelines for the future of business education that was presented as “The Principles for Responsible Management of Education.”
 
While many of the Principles have a familiar sound to Net Impact members, adoption at every level by the most influential business educators around the world is a tribute to the many Net Impact members who laid the foundation for this action. Net Impact’s role in this coalition demonstrates the tangible influence of past members and serves as a reminder of our obligation to continue our leadership in the future.  
 
One of the ways Net Impact will move the principles forward is through our Curriculum Change Initiative.  Over the past year, 19 of our MBA chapters launched Curriculum Change programs with 60% reporting they will continue to be agents of change in this area.

 The keys for success include engagement of faculty and administration from the beginning and extensive documentation of student demand. 18 months into a process that typically requires years of planning to implement at business schools, we are pleased to see success stories beginning to take hold including:  

• UC Davis Graduate School of Management:  After demonstrating clear student demand, the administration added a course on sustainable business
• Tuck School of Business:  A Net Impact Curriculum Change group pushed to pass an initiative that requires students in mandatory consulting and entrepreneurship projects to present the social and environmental implications of their recommendations
• MIT Sloan School of Management:  The Curriculum Change group served a vital role in the creation of the Sustainability Lab at Sloan with a flagship course launched in Spring 2007 with strong demand from MBA and other graduate students
• Ross School of Business:  The Net Impact Curriculum Change group successfully integrated a new case into their mandatory strategy course

These changes demonstrate how Net Impact's unique resources and network are implementing responsible management into the mainstream curriculum.