Informal Working Group Co-Chairs:
- Antoine Sire, BNP Paribas
- Mariuz Calvet, Banorte
- Rhian-Mari Thomas, Green Finance Institute
Informal Working Group Members:
49 Financial Institutions & Private Firms
- AFD: Agence Française de Développement, France
- Aggrego Consultores, Brazil
- AXA, France
- BPCE/Natixis, France
- BNP Paribas, France
- BP, UK
- Banco del Progreso, Alcaldía de Cúcuta, Colombia
- Banco Sudameris, Paraguay
- Banorte, Mexico
- BNDES – Brazilian Development Bank
- CAF: Latin America Development Bank
- Citi, USA
- Credit Suisse, Switzerland
- Danske Bank, Denmark
- DBS Bank, Singapore
- EBRD: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
- EcoAdvisors, Canada
- EIB: European Investment Bank
- Ernst & Young, USA
- FAMA Investimentos, Brazil
- FirstRand Group, South Africa
- GlaxoSmithKline Plc, UK
- H&M, Sweden
- HSBC Pollination Climate Asset Management
- Iberdrola, Spain
- IFC: International Finance Corporation
- Impax Asset Management, UK
- ISS ESG: Institutional Shareholder Services Inc, USA
- JBS
- Kering
- KPMG
- Lloyds Banking Group, UK
- Manulife Investment Management
- Maua Capital, Brazil
- Mirova, France
- NatWest Group, UK
- Pimco, USA
- Rabobank, Netherlands
- Raiffeisen Switzerland
- Reckitt Benckiser, UK
- Rio Tinto
- Robeco, The Netherlands
- Standard Chartered, UK
- Storebrand Asset Management, Norway
- Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management, Japan
- Tesco, UK
- Wells Fargo Asset Management, US
- World Bank
- Yes Bank Limited, India
8 Governments & Regulatory/Supervisory Bodies
- CNBV: Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores, México
- COFEMA: Federal Council for the Environment of Argentina
- Government of France
- Government of the Netherlands
- Government of Peru
- Government of Switzerland
- Government of the United Kingdom
- RBA: Retirement Benefits Authority, Kenya
18 Think Tanks & Consortia
- CEBDS: Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development
- CDSB: Climate Disclosure Standards Board
- CBD: Convention on Biological Diversity
- CEDAF, Domincan Republic
- CIFAL Argentina
- Ecoacsa, Spain
- FC4S: Financial Centers for Sustainability
- SIF: Sustainable Insurance Forum
- Finance for Tomorrow
- GEF: Global Environment Facility
- GFI: Green Finance Institute
- IIF: Institute of International Finance
- IIGF: International Institute of Green Finance, China
- OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- PRI: Principles for Responsible Investment
- SusCon Japan
- WBCSD: World Business Council for Sustainable Development
- WEF: World Economic Forum
UPDATE: Explore the emerging recommendations and key messages from the Informal Working Groups. Download PDF |
To ensure that strong messages and concrete recommendations were presented in the three Stockholm+50 Leadership Dialogues, Informal Working Groups were established for each of the three themes to guide the work leading up to the international meeting. This process aimed to reinforce the bottom-up co-creation processes for the Leadership Dialogues.
Explore the Leadership Dialogues
Engagement in the Informal Working Groups
The Informal Working Groups consisted of representatives from relevant Member States, UN agencies, as well as relevant representatives from stakeholder groups, including youth, business and industry, Indigenous Peoples, local authorities, NGOs, the scientific and technological community, women, and faith-based groups. The participants were expected to have expertise and/or experience in the respective themes and to liaise with their peers and constituents to provide input and feedback to the working groups.
Explore:
Humans are social beings. We all feel the need to identify with groups. Most of us belong to formal groups -- work, church, clubs and trade associations, for example. But within all of these are informal groups -- people who connect and form a subculture within the overall organization. The impact of informal groups can be great -- either for or against the mission of your organization.
Informal Groups
You have probably seen some informal groups in your small business. There are people who have lunch together, carpool and play together and maybe work together. These informal groups emerge for a variety or reasons -- common interests, language or other personal relationships. Workers who have been assigned to another location frequently maintain informal relationships with their former coworkers. Informal groups maintain "the grapevine" in your business that communicates quicker and often more effectively than formal corporate memos.
Productive Groups
Informal groups are effective in maintaining your corporate culture. Informal groups cross organizational structure and can facilitate getting work done more quickly. "I used to work with Joe in the other division. Let's see if he can expedite..." is the sort of informal line of communication that can bypass corporate hierarchy. This appears in small businesses as well as large ones. Informal groups also provide a support structure for workers under adverse conditions. Whether you have a seasonal rush requiring overtime or a challenging work environment, the support that workers provide each other augments formal structures.
recognition.
Counterproductive Groups
Group pressure to conform to production standards can have a negative effect if the group's performance norms are lower than what your company expects. The group may have its own work standards about “breaking the curve” by producing too much or understandings between members about not telling management anything that would be detrimental to another group member. Informal groups are very effective in punishing workers who violate the group's standard. Sarcasm, hiding tools and other forms of gentle harassment can give way to sabotage and other criminal acts if the violation of group norms is considered to be severe enough.
Working With Informal Groups
Your employees may not act as you expect. While your employee handbook lays out the general rules and job descriptions specify certain tasks, the actual work environment may be different. Your employees see things from a different perspective. Thy have different attitudes, form relationships not prescribed by the organization chart and may have different working habits. They may find shortcuts to speed up the work flow. To make your small business thrive, you must identify the informal group relationships and embrace those that work while defusing those that do not. The success of Starbucks in transitioning from a small business to an international giant has been credited in part to the corporate culture created by the informal group structure.
References
Writer Bio
Thomas Metcalf has worked as an economist, stockbroker and technology salesman. A writer since 1997, he has written a monthly column for "Life Association News," authored several books and contributed to national publications such as the History Channel's "HISTORY Magazine." Metcalf holds a master's degree in economics from Tufts University.
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