Top 3 Growing Trends in the Corporate Responsibility Movement of 2018

Within the last few years the role of the corporation and corporate America as a whole has changed a great deal. For years corporations were thought to be these behemoth organizations, with a tremendous executive structure built primarily on greed, competition, and the most selfish of ideals. The idea of "corporate responsibility" was barely a thing until the last few years, and corporate executives were known for their exorbitant spending, massive bonuses, and an overall lack of empathy for the “working man’s” plight. However, due to a new breed of corporate executive, such as Alicia Procello Maddox, the President of the Avery Dennison Foundation, the charity branch of one of the world’s leaders in the manufacturing of plastics, labels, & pressure sensitive materials, corporations are being held to a far greater standard. In her years in corporate America, Alicia Procello Maddox has held a number of philanthropic executive positions, positioning herself as a leader, standing at the forefront of our nation’s shifting attitudes towards the role of corporations. No longer, are executives and corporations going to be able to get away with their years of greed and be able to collect tremendous bonuses and ride in private jets, without balancing the scales and doing what’s right for the community. With Alicia Procello Maddox and other high-ranking female executives leading the charge, the #MeToo movement has made a tremendous affect on attitudes towards corporations. For years, a few men of influence and in high places within the corporate structure were leaving a stain on the name of everyone – giving men in corporate America this reputation for using their power & wealth to make sexual advances towards women. Often times, men would be thought to sexually harass females within the workplace, however Alicia Procello Maddox and other philanthropic executives have fought hard for many years to not only rid the workplace of sexual harassment but to help advance the status of women in general. With that said, here are Alicia Procello Maddox’ top three growing trends in corporate responsibility.

Ending Workplace Harassment & Inequality Of course, the fight has in many ways just begun. For women like Alicia Procello Maddox who have spent much of their careers fighting to end sexual harassment in the workplace, and get women on equal footing, a lot of progress has already been made and must be applauded. Everyday no matter where they work, more and more women are speaking out and are no longer afraid to hide their experiences of workplace inequality, even though corporate culture itself is designed to keep them quiet. With so many women speaking out, and such vile acts the #MeToo movement has done a lot to enact real concrete change. In 2018 we expect to see more women speak their truths and more corporations take the steps to get more women in places of power.

Expanding Workplace Diversity It is a fact we simply cannot ignore, most of those holding executive positions within corporate America are white males. And with 2017 being a huge year for women in the workplace, individuals like Alicia Procello Maddox are continuing their efforts to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace and corporate structure. While strides are being made for women, we expect 2018 to be a landmark year for even more individuals who were previously left-out of the party. We expect to see individuals from every cultural background, age group, sexual orientation, those with disabilities, and people with varied experience levels given a chance to enter into the corporate matrix.

Strides in Sustainability & Climate Resilience One of the greatest strides Alicia Procello Maddox and her team at the Avery Dennison Foundation have made is educating much of the world on sustainable farming practices. This is the future, sustainability in all facets – 2018 is going to be a year where we take a huge step forward in saving our planet and creating a safer more prosperous future for those in coming generations. 2017 saw its fair share of natural disasters, while corporations and their disaster relief efforts were all the rage, Alicia Procello Maddox believes they need to focus more on prevention, and creating a strong, resilient planet as opposed to just cleaning up the mess that’s made as a result. Corporations are heavily incentivized to find solutions to bettering the climate in order to protect their factories, their resources, and their supply chains.

2018 hopes to be a breakthrough year for corporations and their ability to make a difference in our world’s societies. Executives like Alicia Procello Maddox are making tremendous differences and educating the generations to come as they will be the one’s to build on what we are able to accomplish today.