Next week I will be attending a meeting of Business for Social Responsibility in Boston. The meeting will be interesting as it is seeking to develop a framework that looks at the materiality concept as it applies to issues of importance to stakeholders.

One of the more interesting problems comes in finding the balance between what matters to stakeholders and what matters to business. What struck me from the graphic below is that in some cases, there is almost an inverse relationship between stakeholder importance of issues that get plenty of attention such as climate change risk and what influences business. Clearly there is an education process to be undertaken though the question I want answering is whether it is possible to develop software that adequately addresses both dimensions. For instance, data centre usage is high in the agenda but how might software be developed that uses less energy cycles than existing systems?

Immediately afterwards, I go to Orlando to attend SAPPHIRE, SAP’s annual customer shindig. I will be taking part in a round table discussion on issues around sustainability, a topic that is taking on increasing importance for companies like Intel, HSBC and others. Alongside this, a wiki has been opened that has the support of SAP, AccountAbility, and RedMonk in association with Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), and the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF).

It’s first post refers to the use of Web 2.0 tools in the context of developing policies and actions that not only address issues of importance but do so in a way that allows business to prosper.

Web 2.0 revolutionizes how we regulate business, how we govern business, how we design and implement future business models, and how we innovate. But, there’s no guarantee that everyone – or anyone – will be pleased with the results of this revolution. Web 2.0 is an enabler. But what it enables is up to us and billions of other individuals.

• How do we want Web 2.0 to enable responsible business performance?
• How can we collaborate effectively to utilize Web 2.0 tools to enable stakeholder engagement and citizen voice that enhances the business and society relationship?
• How can Web 2.0 enable innovative, collaboratively generated solutions for pressing environmental, social, and governance-related issues?

In talking with OpenPages earlier this week it is abundantly clear that those businesses which understand risk management also understand that executing against risk management strategies can lead to significant business advantage. From my perspective, we can talk all day about whether it is right or wrong to undertake sustainability measures in a risk based environment but unless there is a benefit to the business then it won’t happen. I don’t expect to find definitive answers to these problems but I hope that fresh light will be shed on the nature and scale of the problems with which business has to wrestle.