Companies are starting to cash in the social innovation dividend

The global business environment has become more complex. Slowing growth, geopolitical volatility, climate shocks and tightening public budgets are reshaping the conditions under which companies operate. For businesses, this translates into rising exposure to supply chain disruptions, workforce instability, shifting consumer expectations and new regulatory demands.

Business growth increasingly depends on building resilience: to secure the supply base, retain trust, access emerging markets and anticipate social and environmental risks before they become costly. Social innovation is becoming a strategic lever for doing exactly that. It enables firms to future-proof operations, embed impact directly into offerings and supply chains, and unlock new forms of value creation.

Social innovation provides a pragmatic bridge; it aligns commercial objectives with measurable societal outcomes. It shifts the conversation from “giving back” to “creating shared value,” enabling businesses to build customer trust, enter new markets, strengthen supply chains and reduce long-term operational risk.

For example, Tencent’s Sustainable Social Value programme embeds social outcomes into products and platforms, leveraging WeChat, the cloud and AI with partners to scale climate, health and education, and therefore institutionalizing corporate innovation and impact.

In Brazil, Belterra Agroflorestas partners with major food and cosmetics companies through long-term offtake agreements that help smallholders shift from degraded land to regenerative agroforestry. Operating across six states, Belterra is restoring 40,000 hectares through diversified forest–crop systems and strengthening farmer livelihoods by improving market access and technical support.

Already today, a third of social innovation spending by Rise Ahead Pledge signatories contributes to the type of social procurement that Belterra enables. The pledge encourages corporates to commit to both financial and nonfinancial social innovation support. For example, NaTakallam, a 2025 Schwab Foundation awardee, provides companies with professional translation, localization and language-learning services delivered by refugees and displaced people. Corporate clients such as media, consumer goods and professional services firms source directly from NaTakallam’s global talent pool, which has already generated over $1.3 million in income for refugees and host-community members while expanding inclusive supply chains.

The case for building more resilient supply chains through social procurement is strengthening. New data published as part of The State of Social Procurement 2026, in partnership with Prewave, highlights the growing significance of social risks in global supply chains:

The analysis draws on more than 180,000 material supply chain events tracked between January 2023 and October 2025. These insights are complemented by new country studies on social procurement, analysis of emerging practices linking social procurement and human rights, a regulatory update and a wide range of practical case studies illustrating how companies are implementing social procurement in practice.

Together, the data and insights underline a clear message: companies need to stabilize their supply chains by addressing the structural social vulnerabilities within them. These vulnerabilities are increasingly exacerbated by economic uncertainty and trade policy shifts, including tariffs. Social procurement, the act of purchasing from companies prioritizing people and planet, provides a solution for that.

Given the context, it is logical that more companies commit to action. Four new signatories have joined the Rise Ahead Pledge, signalling stronger corporate engagement in social innovation:

CJ Group strengthens its commitment to social innovation by expanding inclusive education and cultural ecosystem support delivered across the Group and through CJ Welfare Foundation and CJ Cultural Foundation. In Korea, CJ will continue to foster cultural literacy, creative exposure and career readiness for underprivileged youth through its core programmes. It will also maintain support for emerging creatives through its music, theatre and film platforms, which offer training, production support and professional market entry. Internationally, CJ will carry forward its work to support creative talent in Vietnam and China and continue to advance girls’ education through its partnership with UNESCO.

Under the Rise Ahead framework, the company focuses on strengthening access and diversifying pathways for underrepresented youth and creatives, and forming partnerships that connect culture, education and empowerment, recognizing creativity as essential social infrastructure for inclusive growth.

Lenovo is strengthening its ‘smarter AI for all’ focus by ensuring that social innovators are included in the rapid acceleration of AI through targeted skilling that enables the development and deployment of AI technology solutions. The company is investing in programmes that support social innovators to realise their AI integration goals, while continuing to back the wider social innovation ecosystem through grants focused on expanding access to technology and education for those most in need.

In parallel, Lenovo is broadening its approach to social impact by integrating initiatives that support the creation, governance and scaling of innovation. Through this approach, the company aims to deliver measurable and credible impact while embedding inclusion in its innovations.

Northwell Health pledges to deepen its commitment to social innovation through responsible procurement and innovation-driven partnerships. The organization will expand supplier diversity by increasing engagement with impact-focused vendors and social enterprises, directing its purchasing power towards advancing health equity and sustainability. In parallel, Northwell Health will evolve its Innovation Challenge to prioritize scaleable solutions from social innovators that address upstream drivers of health and strengthen community well-being.

Together, these efforts demonstrate Northwell Health’s commitment to integrating purpose-led innovation into its operations and embedding equity and sustainability across its health system.

Their participation reflects a trend: companies increasingly see social innovation as a competitiveness factor rather than a philanthropic add-on.

Prosus is the technology company that powers some of the world’s leading lifestyle ecommerce brands, across Europe, India and Latin America, unlocking an AI-first world for over 2 billion people. The company aims to ensure that communities across these regional ecosystems can participate in and benefit from the digital economy. Its social impact objective focuses on addressing inequitable access to opportunities by enabling learning and upskilling, particularly for those excluded from tech-enabled growth.

This work is delivered through a social impact framework centred on supporting local social innovators. In partnership with its portfolio companies, Prosus backs grassroots initiatives that expand access to the digital economy. The company also works with strategic partners to scale education and skills programmes and provides humanitarian support in times of crisis. Together, these efforts inform a shared impact blueprint across operating geographies.

The 25 existing signatories of the pledge have also reported on their social innovation spending for 2024. Since the launch of the pledge, these companies have collectively invested $525 million in social innovation.

Key shifts in spending patterns include:

The Rise Ahead Pledge has become the strongest collective signal from the private sector that businesses can act in ways that support both profitability and societal well-being through social innovation. Its members are collaborating to provide support to social entrepreneurs around the world. For example, EDP and Schneider Electric have launched a new programme to support social innovators working on fair and inclusive energy transitions. And EY, Microsoft, SAP and MovingWorlds have partnered to provide support to social innovators implementing AI for impact.

Companies that sign the Rise Ahead Pledge join a global group committed to integrating social innovation into core business practices. They become part of the Corporate Leadership Council, a community shaping how the private sector will respond to one of the defining challenges of this decade: ensuring that business growth translates into societal progress.

This moment requires more than statements. It requires action. The path is clear, and the need is urgent.