How can companies turn their commitment to culture and cultural diversity into a coherent, sustained approach that delivers meaningful impact?

Oct 7, 2026

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1. Strategy and Consistency

2. Integrating Culture and Sustainability into the Business Model

3. An Organizational Structure Aligned with Stated Priorities

4. An Ecosystem- and Community-Based Approach

5. Combining Institutional Leadership with Proximity to the Field

6. Communicating to Create Dialogue, Not Just Visibility

7. Measure, Evaluate, and Learn

On September 29, 2026, Lilian Richieri Hanania, Co-Founder and Director of the CSSC Network – Corporate Sustainability in Support of Culture, led a workshop at SESC São Paulo on the role of culture and cultural diversity in corporate strategies.

Drawing on the framework used by the CSSC Network and a participatory approach inspired by Appreciative Inquiry, the workshop invited participants to build on their own experiences and reflect on the resources already available within their organizations, the practices that work, and opportunities to strengthen their contribution to culture and cultural diversity.

Drawing on concrete business experiences, the discussions highlighted the following key elements for building coherent, effective initiatives capable of delivering meaningful impact:

1. Strategy and Consistency

Some projects deliver results relatively quickly, while others involve profound transformations that may take twenty or thirty years. Sustained commitment helps build relationships of trust, consolidate initiatives, and move beyond one-off actions.

2. Integrating Culture and Sustainability into the Business Model

A company’s ability to act over the long term is strengthened when these issues are not treated as peripheral activities, but instead are integrated into its mission, purpose, or business model. Some companies are founded with this orientation already embedded in their DNA. Others develop it progressively. In both cases, the challenge is to make contributions to society, culture, and diversity a coherent component of the organization’s strategy.

3. An Organizational Structure Aligned with Stated Priorities

Commitments need to be reflected in the organization itself. This means that priorities related to culture and diversity should be institutionally recognized, supported by governance, and integrated into the company’s processes and practices. A visionary founder or leader can play a decisive role in setting this direction. For it to endure, however, it must gradually become embedded in the company’s structure and organizational culture.

4. An Ecosystem- and Community-Based Approach

The approach developed by the CSSC Network encourages companies to see themselves as actors within an ecosystem, interacting with employees, communities, local areas, cultural and creative stakeholders, public authorities, and other stakeholders.

The discussions facilitated in the workshop confirmed the importance of this approach. Before designing an initiative, companies need to understand the communities concerned, their realities, their needs, and the diversity within them. Their participation makes it possible to build projects with communities, rather than simply for them. This proximity contributes not only to the relevance of initiatives, but also to their legitimacy and their ability to generate a more lasting impact.

5. Combining Institutional Leadership with Proximity to the Field

The discussions also confirmed the value of a two-way dynamic. On the one hand, a clear, institutionalized policy supported at the highest levels of the organization provides direction, resources, and continuity. On the other, close engagement with employees, communities, and local realities helps identify needs, adapt initiatives, and maintain genuine dialogue. Impact can therefore be strengthened when strategic leadership from the top connects with participatory dynamics from the field.

6. Communicating to Create Dialogue, Not Just Visibility

Communication plays an important role in highlighting what companies are doing, but it can go beyond simply sharing information. It can become a tool for dialogue, awareness, and connection across different groups, creating the conditions for stakeholders to better understand one another and build responses together.

7. Measure, Evaluate, and Learn

Finally, expertise and good intentions alone do not guarantee that an initiative will achieve its intended results. Data, indicators, and, where appropriate, external evaluation or audit processes can help companies better understand the results achieved, identify areas for improvement, and refine their initiatives over time. Evaluation therefore becomes not only a means of measuring impact, but also a tool for learning and continuous improvement.

A special thank you to all the workshop participants for their engagement, enthusiasm, and thoughtful contributions. The wealth of experiences and perspectives they shared brought the CSSC framework into dialogue with a wide range of business realities and contributed to an especially constructive collective reflection.