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ADEC Innovations Featured in Independent Analyst Case Study

The independent research and advisory firm Verdantix has researched the carbon management solutions market, to help clients understand how end-to-end solutions can support their emissions management, reporting and reduction activities, and meet the requirements of disclosure regulations and decarbonization targets.As a result1, Verdantix defines ADEC Innovations as “a strong fit for firms tackling complex supply chain emissions”, and as a “supply chain specialist, with particular strengths and flexibility in emissions data acquisition and management”.

Verdantix research shows that firms’ IT leaders are eager to partner with sustainability leaders, but lack the time and resources to deliver; for these kinds of organizations, ADEC’s combination of custom software and manpower is particularly compelling. Read the full case study about ADEC Innovations

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1 Verdantix, ADEC Innovations Targets Complex Supply Chain Management Needs, December 2023

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Articles

Let’s Talk About Intentionality in Impact Sourcing

Article by James Donovan, ADEC Innovations Chief Executive Officer

When you’ve been around outsourcing and sustainability for as long as I have, you develop a complicated response to new buzzwords.  On the one hand, I’m thrilled by any new positive momentum towards a more sustainable future. On the other hand, I’ve seen a lot of exciting things slowly fade away. It happens. Yet every so often, buzzwords become something much bigger than any of us.

Recently, at the IAOP’s Outsourcing World Summit in Chicago, I found myself surrounded by a room full of people passionately exploring impact sourcing as a solution for businesses. And all I could think was, “Wow. This is really happening. The time is now.” To me, it’s a triumph that impact sourcing is something procurement departments talk about today. And I’m particularly impressed by how mature the conversation is.  But if we want to make sure all this momentum around impact sourcing makes a real difference, I think we need to start talking about intentionality.

What’s the intention behind impact sourcing? 

When it comes right down to it, the intention behind an initiative is always more important than the label you put on it. This is true if you’re changing core processes in a single business or if you’re facilitating sustainable development on a global scale. Because you can only measure the impact of any initiative in the context of its explicit goals. The intention is the measure.

In the case of impact sourcing, this raises some strategic questions across the ecosystem.  Is impact sourcing about numbers? Is it about pure philanthropy? For businesses, is the intention behind impact sourcing the impact itself? Or is it about the process used – the supply chain ESG reporting and management? There are no wrong answers here. But it’s important to be clear about intentions.  For outsourcers, how do we measure impact? Is employing a call centre in Rwanda more impactful than improving the diversity in a business’ executive ranks? The choice is hardly straightforward.  For the global community, exactly how much more responsible and accountable do we want to be for the way we hire and employ people around the world?

The answers to these questions will naturally vary across the community. But in my view, these are precisely the conversations we need to be having if we want to make sure impact sourcing is more than a buzzword.

Without a clear definition of intent, anything could be touted as impact sourcing. When that happens, it invariably muddies the waters. For instance, to some, impact sourcing might mean temporarily hiring people in a developing country. To others it might mean trying to help underemployed demographics like women with disabilities by providing them with education and job training. And to be clear, both of these are perfectly valid. But there’s a notable difference in intent and, in my experience, that difference matters.

At ADEC Innovations, we spend a lot of time thinking about whether we’re contributing more to the world than we’re taking from it. Some of our impact sourcing initiatives therefore tend to look a little bigger than usual. For example, we own and operate the only college in Silay in the Philippines. Why? Because our intention is to empower more young people with gainful employment through education. To us, that is what impact sourcing can be. At the same time we also have initiatives that accomplish job creation in a far more traditional sense.

We set up our ADEC Kenya delivery center just outside of Nairobi so we could bring employment opportunities closer to people who typically walk thirty miles a day just to get to work.  The intent is what drives these initiatives – far more than if the initiative is called one word or another. It’s what drives strategic choices like whether the impact sourcing needs to happen on or off-shore.

For instance, in Ireland, we partnered with Turas Nua in Ireland to help long-time unemployed people to build careers in the customer service industry. Even in the US, we’ve helped global businesses employ single American mothers who can only work remotely.

At the end of the day, what we want is a world where every member of the ecosystem does their part to contribute to common goals around sustainability. That everyone makes a sincere contribution they can sustainably commit to.  The intent matters because the measurability of these contributions matters immensely. It matters to the businesses spending money on these initiatives. And it most certainly matters to the people building their lives around the success of these initiatives.

The onus is on outsourcers

In every sector, in every country, populations and businesses are facing up to a diverse range of, frankly, existential threats. Between the impending fallout of aging populations and the millions of jobs being created and destroyed by AI, it’s clear to me that outsourcers are about to take on an even more prominent role in the global economy. As much as that should excite me, I’m also humbled by the responsibility it entails.

My hope is that as we move forward and deal with all these challenges, we do so with a clearer, more measurable view of what businesses want, what outsourcers can do and how the product of our endeavors impact the world. Impact sourcing could end up being some buzzword we forget about. Or it can be a catalyst for concrete change at a global scale.

The difference will be our collective intent.

 
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Announcements

ADEC Innovations Amidst Covid-19

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to spread around the world, industries from various sectors have taken unprecedented but necessary measures aimed at continuously delivering services while protecting the welfare of employees.

ADEC Innovations, for its part, has focused on maintaining critical services for customers while prioritizing the safety and welfare of its staff. In line with ADEC’s Business Continuity Management (BCM) plans, we have established a fast-paced and flexible plan of action to adjust to this new reality.

Work-from-home arrangements have been made available, especially to those working on critical operations for clients who have agreed with this business continuity approach. This set-up is supported by systems and mechanisms designed for effective telecommuting as an essential aspect of protecting services.

On-site employees managing the backbone of our operations have also been provided accommodation and transport arrangements in compliance with the strict community quarantine controls imposed by the government. Additionally, adherence to rigorous safety, cleanliness, and social distancing directives by local authorities were enforced in our operations centres, across our various locations.

We continue to closely monitor the global and local developments on COVID-19 through hands-on leadership, with particular emphasis on enabling various task forces to create an informed employee base.

In the coming days, we will be focusing on ensuring the security of our operations, as well as strictly maintaining the continuity of execution of our services.

This transition has been challenging for management and employees, but, thanks to everyone’s hard work, we have been able to implement our service recovery plan successfully.

As the world continues to deal with the growing threat of COVID-19, ADEC Innovations wishes to assure our stakeholders that we remain steadfast in our commitment to address the needs of clients and staff during this challenging time.

 

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Announcements

ADEC Innovations CEO Receives UN Visionary Award

December 8, 2014 – ADEC Innovations CEO Mr. James Donovan receives the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation Visionary Award 2014. Manila, Philippines, December 8, 2014 — ADEC Innovations, a leading provider of environmental, social and governance (ESG) solutions worldwide, today announced that CEO Mr. James Donovan received the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) Visionary Award 2014. Presented at a gala dinner held at the Global South-South Development Expo 2014 and hosted by the Organization of American States, the award recognizes organizations and individuals whom the UNOSSC regards as exemplifying the characteristics of innovation, partnership and leadership.
The Hill columnist Judy Kurtz, emcee of the gala and awards dinner, had this to say about Mr. Donovan: “For nearly two decades, Mr. Jim Donovan has focused on making a difference in the important issues of our time – healthcare, education, and sustainability. Bringing this market experience in leveraging data and business process management, Jim is redefining and revolutionizing the environmental, social and governance space. As the CEO of a re-launched ADEC Innovations, we recognize Jim as a visionary focused on helping improve all countries in the Global South – and beyond.” As part of the gala ceremony, Mr. Donovan stated, “Transparency, accountability and sustainability will drive massive change in the successful delivery of scalable solutions to support global development. These changes can only happen with the continued collaboration between public and private sectors in developing innovative solutions.” The other UNOSSC Visionary 2014 award recipients include the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza; the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology of the Government of Malaysia; the Ministry of Science ICT and Planning of the Government of South Korea; the Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Ahmed Al Meraikhi; and the Chair of International Science Technology and Innovation of the Centre for South-South Cooperation, Dato Cheong Yee Lee. About ADEC Innovations ADEC Innovations (formerly ADEC Group) develops and delivers environmental, social and governance solutions to help clients work smarter, more profitably and more efficiently. Focused on creating value and providing tangible, quantifiable benefits for businesses and governments around the world, ADEC Innovations expertise in sustainability, healthcare and knowledge management is supported by fully integrated technology and outsourcing services. Headquartered in Manila, Philippines with locations in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa, ADEC Innovations has over 5,500 employees and processes more than 30 million transactions each month. For more information, visit www.adec-innovations.com .