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Sustainable business practices focus on considering the impact on the environment, society, and the economy. While economic and ecological sustainability are already firmly anchored in practice, the social dimension of sustainability tends to be neglected. On the one hand, the spectrum of social outcomes is very broad and covers various areas such as diversity, inclusion, transparency and working atmosphere. On the other hand, there are various data-driven support services available to foster these outcomes potentially, but a link between them is missing. It is therefore becoming increasingly important for companies to focus on social values. They should understand the causal relationship between data-driven operations and social outcomes, improve them, and promote their social commitment.

Objectives

  • Introduce the significance of social values in business operations
  • Provide insights from a qualitative study and foster discussions
  • Encourage participating company representatives to identify potential fields of action

Agenda

09:00 – 09:10 Introduction
  • Welcoming participants and outlining the workshop’s objectives.
  • Highlighting the impact of social values on businesses in today’s landscape.
09:10 – 09:30 Input presentation
  • Exploring the Role of Social Values in Business:
    • Defining social values and their relevance to corporate practices
    • Results from a qualitative study (ongoing student projects both at ZHAW and HSLU) showcasing successful integration of social values into business strategies and results from a previous Expert Group meeting Smart Services on November 13, 2023).
    • Benefits of aligning business objectives with social values.
09:30 – 10:00 Exploring the Problem Space
  • Interactive Dialogue:
    • Facilitated discussion on challenges and opportunities in
    implementing social values within businesses (input from the
    qualitative study to start with)
    • Sharing insights and experiences among participants.
    • Identifying potential hurdles and strategies to overcome them.
10:00 – 10:20 Exploring the Solution Space
  • Potential Technical and/or Organizational Approaches to Address
    Challenges Identified:
    • Best Practices
    • Existing Blueprints
    • Assess against feasibility within own scope of action
  • Outlining the next steps and the support available (e.g., data
    booster) for participating companies.
10:20 – 10:30 Conclusion
  • Recapitulation of key takeaways.
  • Expressing gratitude and concluding the workshop.

Organizers