Administration and Policy Forum
Build your sustainable talent brain

Tan Jingwen, the founder of the social enterprise "Good Food for Neighborhoods", on April 11, with the theme of "Building Your Sustainable Talent Brain", shared his experience as a CSR (corporate social responsibility) consultant, founding and operating social enterprises, how to Grasp social issues and invest in business innovation models to enable social enterprises to operate sustainably and continuously improve social issues.

​

The lecture was hosted by Jiang Mingxiu, Distinguished Professor of the Department of Public Adminstration. Graduate students and college students participated in and discussed the lecture. First, Tan Jingwen started from the perspective of "the needs of enterprises to invest in creating social impact" and the "persistence of NGOs", sharing that enterprises choose support objects. When it comes to investing in social solutions, evaluations will be made based on factors such as employee preferences, internal operating processes, and company operating characteristics.

​

Even if the NGOs assisting can cooperate, there are still differences in the principles and operating philosophies of the NGOs, and the resources of both parties are often unable to be combined to promote solutions together. Therefore, its original intention in establishing a social enterprise is to serve as a communication bridge to assist and understand the needs of enterprises. It does not provide short-term projects, but implements sustainable customized solutions so that both the company and its employees can participate.

​

Tan Jingwen also breaks the impression that social enterprises are small-scale and cannot make money. He uses the global policy direction and the transformation of social consumption patterns as the main axis, and uses the Dutch social enterprise "Toni Chocolate" as a case to learn about the origin of the company. , concepts and how to operate, supporting the business philosophy of no child labor, 100% packaging recyclability, etc. Through product packaging design, the concept and story can spread social influence even without advertising. While improving social problems, it also makes the company profitable and sustainable.

​

Finally, Tan Jingwen used the existing British social enterprises that produce popcorn and the French social enterprises that produce shoes as topics. He brainstormed with the teachers and students on site to discuss how to exert social influence. He also used the famous saying of Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, " If you think you're too small to make a difference, you've never been to bed with a mosquito." Even if one's personal ability is limited, it can still disturb the market giants and make changes like a mosquito.

​

In the future, organizations will be tested on whether they comply with the concept of sustainability. It is expected that when students invest in social enterprises, they can first clearly define the social problems to be solved and use business models to solve or improve social/public problems.